At a virtual meeting of the Board of Finance on April 6, the Board discussed the proposed education and municipal budgets. Its goal was to come to an agreement on the proposals and vote to send them to a town vote. However, opinions were split along party lines, and both sides were unable to reach a compromise. The result was a tied vote which necessitates further discussion on April 13.

The public comment portions at the beginning and end of the meeting lasted almost an hour and 30 minutes and were again filled with residents speaking almost unanimously in support of the budgets as presented to the Board by the Board of Selectmen and the Board of Education. The overwhelming sentiment conveyed in these comments was to let the voters decide if the proposed tax increase (3.68% overall) was acceptable.

In discussing the proposed municipal and education budgets and the size of an increase or decrease, Board Member Mike Cammarota made a motion to accept both budgets as presented and to use $1.2 million of the bonding premium to bring the overall tax increase to 3.68%. This was seconded by Board Member Cheryl Reedy.

Both Cammarota and Reedy noted that for many years the Board has tried many different ways to encourage the public to be more vocal in the budget discussion. They stated their appreciation that this year it is bearing fruit. They noted that in light of the overwhelming support for both budgets shown by the public at the BoF meetings, they felt the Board should listen and put the budgets through to a town vote as is.

Board Chair Wes Marsh also voiced his support for the motion. The Board then voted, and the motion failed 3 to 3.

Board Member Thora Perkins made a motion for a 2.89% increase. To do this, she proposed reducing the proposed BoE budget by $400,000 and the proposed BoS budget by $25,000, plus using $1.2 million of the bonding premium.

After further discussion, the Board voted on Ms. Perkins’ motion. Again, the vote was split at 3 to 3, resulting in a failed motion. However, this was viewed by some on the Board as a good thing, as it established a potentially acceptable range between 2.89% and 3.68% from which to work toward an end result.

The Board decided to revisit the discussion and the final markup at a meeting on Wednesday, April 13.

The next Board of Finance meeting will be Wednesday, April 13 at 7:30 p.m.

By Greg Slomba