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r ` <br /> Board of Selectmen February 18.. 1997 <br /> Page 2 <br /> As stated,Town Departments have worked very hard to follow the Select men's <br /> `deline of level-funding expense budgets without reducing services.For the most part, <br /> Departmental expense budgets are level-funded,with few exceptions. Areas targeted for <br /> mor increases were limited to Departments where deficiencies have existed in the past ; <br /> which threaten current service levels. Included here are modest increases i data processing <br /> to keep ace with technological reeds,in the Police budget to keep pace with previous year <br /> rd rates,in the DPW to address the landscaping of Town buildings and maintenance <br /> � g i �s solid waste costs, <br /> of our new traffic light, in the Board of Health to keep pace w g <br /> and in the Council on Aging to=sitian from grant operation to'Town operation for the <br /> very successful senior van.The result is an extremely lean budget which provides <br /> departments only with those funds absolutely necessary to carry out heir operations. <br /> One of the major reasons for keeping general govenune�nt spending to a mini um is <br /> thewin need for school spending.we are currently moving into the second year <br /> of a <br /> � g <br /> four-year tr sitionin program to bring up the full operation of our new high school.Last <br /> y g 1 the school <br /> year in order to fund the extraordinary costs o opening the high school, <br /> Department received budget growth of$1,692,025,or approximately 25%. For fiscal year <br /> 1998,the School Department has requested an additional$2,547,710 over their fiscal year <br /> 1997 budget,far growth of approximately %.This represents projected spending levels <br /> g � ma <br /> p over .2 million dollars or 3 in just two years.These amounts are far move what <br /> may raised given the'Town's relatively slog revenue growth under the consn amts of <br /> Proposition 2 1/2. <br /> By <br /> cuttingall other Departments ments back as much as passible,it was possible in the <br /> recommended budget for fiscal year 1998 to provide the School Depannent With an <br /> increase of$1,000,000 or roughly 12% from the previous year. Any additional increase <br /> would have to comae from the application of non-recurring revenues such as the stabilization <br /> fund or other reserves, or from an override of proposition 2 and l/2. As in-previous gears 1 <br /> have limited my budget recommendations to those figures which are fall r supportable with <br /> g <br /> our recurrg revenue strew. <br /> I look forwardvery much to the opportunity to meet with the Board of Selectmen i <br />