After a wave of rejected warrant articles in March, including the budget, the New Ipswich Select Board is operating under a default budget and facing a dilemma: balancing competitive pay for town employees with spending that voters will support.
Salaries stayed stagnant with no cost-of-living raises this year, but as board members begin to prepare next year’s budget, they weighed whether to bring them back. Employee pay accounts for a large portion of town spending.
Chair Jason Somero asked the board on their position on giving cost-of-living adjustments, or COLA raises, to employees.
“The big question for the board is: Do we do COLA raises? Is it important for the board?” he asked.
The board has traditionally given these raises, and Interim Town Administrator Jack Wozmak said it’s an important recruiting and retention tactic.
Jason Somero asked whether the board should make up for this year’s flat pay and give raises adjusted for two years of inflation: “Should it be more?” he said.
Selectman Joe Somero said the board has to take into account what will fly with voters in March.
“The minimum is a better chance,” said Joe Somero, referring to a single-year cost-of-living increase. “I think we’re hard-pressed trying to increase more.”
Jason Somero said he’d like to see at least this year’s inflation rate, 3.6%, applied as a wage adjustment for employees.
“Then to somehow work the magic of keeping the bottom line number still conservative while catching up on wages,” he said.
The board didn’t make a firm decision on a target amount for the budget, but Wozmak suggested a 4-5% increase in the overall budget was a reasonable starting point.
As board members began budget talks, Jason Somero said the ideal is always level funding — but that’s a tough goal to reach, especially with rising non-discretionary costs. He cited fuel and energy costs as potential stumbling blocks.
“Obviously, fuel costs have doubled,” Wozmack said.
“If not tripled,” agreed Somero. He pointed out that all energy costs have gone up.
Wozmak said insurance costs are also likely to rise, though the town doesn’t have those numbers yet.
The board also reviewed possible warrant articles, taking into account the results from last year’s meeting.
“Last year was a ‘No, no, no’ year,” said Jason Somero. “That’s all we saw.”
Some warrant articles that were voted down, he said, shouldn’t come back, such as a request for an additional position on the police department that failed at the polls in a resounding 303 yes to 1,065 no vote. Others, he said, deserved a second chance on the ballot, such as a new communications array to fill in dead zones for police, fire and public works radio communications. That vote was narrower, with 641 yes votes to 723 no votes.
“I am hoping to see that one on the warrant again this year,” Jason Somero said.
The board also discussed splitting up requests for capital reserves and expendable trusts, which have traditionally lumped all requests into single article, which was rejected wholesale in March, in a 573 yes to 759 no vote.
Jason Somero suggested a middle ground in which capital reserves for different departments are grouped together, rather than creating a long list of new articles.