BRATTLEBORO — With the drama of the 2015 budget process still ringing in many ears here, there was on Tuesday a sneak peek at the town's thinking on the 2016 general fund budget.
Interim Town Manager Patrick Moreland detailed at the Selectboard meeting on Nov. 4 budgets that assume a continuation of the same level of service as with FY15 and show an overall expense at or below that of its previous year.
With a bit of modification, he said, he can meet a request to produce a budget that shows no increase in the tax levy.
Comparing the proposed FY16 budget with the FY15 budget presents some challenges, he said.
To begin with, FY15 benefitted from the use of $200,000 in fund balance and a transfer from the Capital Fund of $310,540, for a total assist of $510,540 that does not reoccur in FY16.
In addition, he said, as a result of Act 148 of the Vermont Legislature, Brattleboro will implement PAYT - Pay As You Throw - “resulting in a significant decrease in General Fund expenses for solid waste collection and disposal.”
A separate Solid Waste fund has been established, with all solid waste expenses being removed from the General Fund to the new fund, Moreland said.
Also new in FY16 is a transfer to the Solid Waste fund to cover the gap between the sum of solid waste expenses and anticipated bag revenue.
Selectboard members agreed that homeowners would see an increase in out-of-pocket expenses for their trash removal and used the moment to reflect on the intent of the law: to motivate Vermonters to produce less trash.
The proposed budget also includes an allowance for a 2-percent salary increase for union and non-union staff.
In a memo to the Selectboard, Moreland gave additional detail:
• The budget assumes actual spending of $828,000 in capital for a series of items that should be replaced. The budget is able to accomplish this by employing a five-year note for the needed expenses, the first year of the note being paid in cash.
The result is a budget with lower expenses than FY15, and a modest increase in the tax levy of less than $0.01.
• To reach the goal of a level tax levy, the board could consider either using the fund balance or laying off 1 to 1{1/2} full-time-equivalent staff position(s).
'The elephant in the room'
“What this budget does not address is any cost associated with additional bonding for the Police and Fire Facility Upgrade Project,” he added.
Selectboard member John Allen was the first to call that project “the elephant in the room.”
Board member Donna Macomber spoke at that point in favor of all concerned bringing their best, most resourceful selves to the discussion:
“My approach to budgeting is much like my approach to life: I like to start broad, and I'd like to start with the memory of several of us being holed up in a room in January for an entire afternoon, and it's snowing outside, and realizing that the task at hand was sobering but that we had a lot of really keen minds that were tacking this unruly beast of a project.”
She added: “I actually think that we could come together as a community about how to proceed with the police-fire facility. I think we've been belaboring that long enough.
“I think a decision is going to practically make itself. The budget is gong to force us to do that.”
She wrapped up her remarks, which were a strong counterpoint to what others had characterized as “doom and gloom,” with a call for the community to approach this project “with a sense of possibility and curiosity.”
“I want us to, as crazy as it sounds, enjoy each others' company and be honest and not have a scarcity mentality,” she said.
Member Kate O'Connor noted, “We're basically where we were again a year ago, and we have to be really careful in what we do to figure this out. We've always been thoughtful and we will continue to be thoughtful,” she said.
A summary
Here are highlights of Moreland's budget's summary notes:
• Potential salary increases: All four of Brattleboro's collective bargaining agreements will require negotiations that will have an impact on the FY16 budget.The new administrative union is being negotiated now, while two others will need to be finalized before the end of the year but likely not before the FY16 budget is finalized and presented at Town Meeting.
The fourth contract extends six months into FY16 but leaves a six-month period of unknown wages that have yet to be negotiated.
The timing of these events leads to “a significant level of uncertainty” with respect to staff salaries.
Accordingly, Moreland wrote, a placeholder of $130,000 is carried, which includes an across-the-board salary increase of 2 percent for all staff, including management.
• Departments: This line totals the non-staffing-related expenses for all departments. “A modest increase of only $55,000 is shown over 10 departments. The single largest increase is for road salt at $20,800. Other increases include gravel, utilities, and professional services, among other small increases.
• Benefits: This item includes contributions to employee retirement, health insurance unemployment, and Social Security contributions. “The Town of Brattleboro is fortunate in that our budget for health insurance actually decreased, significantly reducing the benefits,” Moreland said.
• Solid Waste: All expenses normally associated with solid waste, including tipping fees and the district assessment, have been transferred into a new Solid Waste fund. As a consequence of this, the line has been eliminated.
• Debt/Debt Service: This account includes all principal and interest payments associated with General Fund borrowing. An equipment note from 2011, with an annual payment of $134,835, drops off in FY15.
But added to the debt service is a new five-year note with an annual payment of $66,942 for air packs for the Brattleboro Fire Department. The town's request to FEMA for air pack replacement was unsuccessful.
• Transfer to Capital: Equal to the first payment of a five-year note for a list of $835,000 in needed capital purchases.