WHITE RIVER JUNCTION – The Selectboard is poised to approve a town budget proposal that includes a new position aimed at improving communication with residents and money to study the future of the town’s transfer station.

The board, which concluded budget preparation on Thursday, will propose an estimated operating budget of $19.2 million for fiscal year 2024, with $15.3 million to be raised by taxes.

The proposed budget is approximately a $766,000 increase from the current year’s spending. The increase is largely attributable to wage increases for town employees and the effects of inflation on fuels, equipment and services.

The proposal is projected to add 4 cents to the town property tax rate, equal to about $100 on a $250,000 property.

The Selectboard will approve the final warning on Tuesday at their next scheduled meeting.

Thursday was the board’s sixth and final budget workshop since Nov. 22, when the board began hearing budget presentations from town department heads.

The board held two budget meetings this week to review capital project requests and render final verdicts on unresolved issues, such as whether to create department reserves for project studies or approve a requested position for a part-time public information officer.

The board voted 4-3 on Thursday to add $25,000 to the budget to hire the public information officer, which would be provided through a contracted firm. This position was originally recommended in the 2020 Equity and Inclusion Strategic Plan, a joint project of the town and Hartford School District, to improve communication with the community. A budget of $15,000 was funded in the current fiscal year, though the position was never filled and there was initially nothing budgeted for the position for fiscal year 2024.

“While (our town) has so many strengths, communication is not one of them,” said Selectboard Clerk Kim Souza at a budget meeting earlier this month.

Souza said the town primarily needs a designated person to manage the flow of information to residents. At present, individual town departments promote their own news and events, and there is not a single source where residents can find that information.

Souza, Vice-Chairman Dan Fraser and board members Ally Tufenkjian and Mary Erdei voted in support of the position. Chairperson Michael Hoyt and board members Lannie Collins and Rocket cast the opposing votes.

“I just think that for $25,000 a year, you can get a pretty good website for a fraction of that cost,” Rocket said of his opposition.

The proposed budget also includes $100,000 to fund a comprehensive study of the Hartford transfer station, including researching the benefits of either leasing the facility to a private company or closing it entirely. The study will also consider the long-term feasibility of continued town operation.

Chris Holzwarth, project manager of the Public Works Department, said the facility has an extensive list of needed repairs and upgrades that must be addressed.

The budget will also create a $75,000 reserve to fund engineering studies for critical infrastructure projects, such as water and sewer upgrades or road improvements.

Souza noted that the historical lack of funding for project engineering studies has frequently resulted in the deferment of needed town repairs.

Previous selectboards, Souza said, were often hesitant to fund an engineering study unless the town was fully committed to a project. Conversely, voters were reluctant to agree to projects without the likely cost having been studied.

Holzwarth confirmed that the lack of engineering studies has also prevented Public Works from taking action on projects like water and sewer upgrades on Hartford Avenue, because the department’s cost projections will often be “way off” from the actual cost.

“This town has a lot of neglected infrastructure,” Holzwarth said. “We have to start somewhere.”

The next Selectboard meeting is on Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. at Hartford Town Hall.

Patrick Adrian may be reached at padrian@vnews.com or at 603-727-3216.