Windsor
There is another $136,000 for 13 agencies, including the Windsor Library, Historic Homes of Runnemede and Visiting Nurse and Hospice of Vermont and New Hampshire, that is voted on in separate articles. With the budget and outside agencies, total proposed town spending is a shade over $5 million.
The board and committee will review different parts of the budget on a weekly basis leading to a Selectboard vote, possibly on Jan. 24, to adopt the spending plan and send it to voters at the March 7 annual Town Meeting.
If the budget is approved as proposed, Marsh projects an increase in the municipal tax rate of about 4½ cents per $100 of assessed valuation. That would add about $59 in annual town taxes on a property assessed at $125,000.
Neither the board nor committee had any questions for Marsh on Tuesday night, when the revenue, capital spending and insurance pieces of the budget were reviewed.
Overall, revenues are projected to increase about 4 percent, or $202,000, with about $87,000 from non-tax sources. The miscellaneous police revenues line item is up $19,000. Marsh said the money will come from fingerprinting, a responsibility the town has taken over from Hartford. Windsor has a machine it purchased using a grant a few years ago, as well as trained personnel. Revenue from the state for property it owns in Windsor is projected to increase by $30,000.
The main budget has numerous small increases and decreases on line items in the $1,000 range. The police budget is up $69,000 (7.7 percent); fire and ambulance, $25,000 (2.2 percent); highway, $33,000 (7.5 percent); and economic development for the Windsor Improvement Corporation, $24,000 (31 percent).
Marsh said the WIC budget increase brings it to $100,000.
“Based on a (town) survey, there seems to be continued interest in WIC and its marketing of the town and helping with economic development,” Marsh said.
The police budget increase is partly attributed to hiring more full-time officers and reducing the part-time line item, Marsh said, pointing to a new union contract that increased pay and made the town more attractive.
The fire department also is budgeting for more full time positions — which come with a complete benefits package — and fewer part-time spots.
Marsh said they ran into a situation where some part-time firefighters were logging enough hours to require benefits, so they decided to hire two full-time firefighters.
Marsh told the Selectboard and budget committee that in the last few years the town has made great strides in stabilizing personnel and replacing equipment to provide the services needed without major tax increase proposals. One example is the ambulances, which now are leased.
“Now it is a question of maintaining what we have,” he said.
Capital spending, which is included in the budget, for the budget year beginning on July 1 is only $50,000 with $30,000 of that slated for painting the municipal building on Union Street.
Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com.
