Council Sets Budget Targets

The Town Council set budget targets of 2 percent for the town budget and between 0 and 2 percent for the Board of Education, as its Monday night meeting stretched past 12:30 a.m.

While Mike Demicco argued against setting targets at all, Chairman Jeff Hogan said the targets provide direction for the town manager, who then creates her budget accordingly.

The Board of Education process is not the same. The council originally looked at setting budget targets January 11 but John Vibert asked that the Board of Education tell them what percent increase would maintain status quo, as Town Manager Kathy Eagen had done for the town side.

Eagen said Monday she thought she could maintain current services at a 2 percent increase, though it would be tight. Hogan pointed out that the town had made cuts during the past few years.

After discussing Vibert’s request at two meetings, the Board of Education decided not to provide a number, Hogan told the council Monday night, in order to avoid “being backed into a corner.”

Patty Stoddard had explained at the Jan. 11 meeting that the board budgets for the next year by looking at projected costs.

Monday, Vibert said that while he was comfortable supporting the 2 percent increase on the town side, he didn’t want status quo for the Board of Education.

“Over the past four to five years, we’ve cut services that I think we should be providing,” he said. “We need to be rebuilding and set goals that allow the Board of Education to start that rebuilding process.”

But with a zero percent increase in salaries, the effect of any increase on programming would be multiplied, Nancy Nickerson pointed out.

“Salaries are 66 percent of their budget,” Nickerson said. “So two-thirds of their budget is at zero.”

Hogan agreed that a 2 percent increase for the Board of Education would translate into a 6 percent increase in the operating budget.

CJ Thomas said he was frustrated with the lack of guidance.

Nancy Nickerson made the motion to set the school budget target between 0 and 2 percent. John Vibert and Mike Demicco voted against the education target, as did Charlie Keniston, who said the target should be a number, not a range. It passed 4-3.