BRATTLEBORO-The Selectboard has learned that it will cost about $2.1 million - a 9% increase from the current budget - to pay for municipal services just as they are, resulting in an about 14% rise in property taxes.
After the report from Town Manager John Potter, board members have asked staff to look again for potential savings.
Potter estimated that in the about $25.1 million base budget for FY 2026, the average taxpayer would need to pay an added $300, but said the board can still look at areas to reduce that number.
"I expect to hear more specific suggestions from the board and the public regarding where they would like to consider for service reductions," Potter said after the Nov. 5 meeting.
Potter said the plan is to continue exploring alternatives and hold focus groups in December before a final budget is reviewed in January prior to the March Representative Town Meeting.
"There is no 'proposed budget' at this point," he said. "Staff have presented a 'base budget,' which is what it would cost to continue municipal services more or less as the town is doing it now in 2025-26."
There are no policy proposals in the base budget, Potter said.
"The Selectboard is in a discovery process, with the base budget as the starting point, to have the best information for what stays in, gets put in, or gets taken out before they settle on a proposed budget," he said.
Potter added that "costs are definitely going up everywhere - schools, health care, newspapers, I imagine, vehicles, real estate, you name it - and running municipal government is no exception."
The base budget projects a 9% increase in expenditures but does not include a policy decision yet about curbside trash pickup, which could add another 4% to 6% increase to the budget.
That discussion is expected at the Selectboard's Nov. 19 meeting.
"Unfortunately, we are expecting a downturn in revenues in FY26 as well, so to deliver the same services would require an increase of $300 to $500 on the tax bill for the median household," Potter said.
Public forums planned
Residents David Levenbach and Robert Oeser plan to expand their practice of the past several years and host two forums for District 9 (formerly District 3) residents.
The first will take place before Potter submits a budget proposal for the Selectboard's consideration, and the second just before Representative Town Meeting, after the board has a voted to recommend a budget.
In a press release, the two wrote that the base budget as presented Nov. 5 "did not include municipal expenses associated with the new waste management program, an issue still to be resolved, but the Selectboard told Administration that it wanted the most costly possible outcome (to the tune of $1.4 million) included in the base budget. That would mean potentially a 22% increase in property taxes."
The once-discussed "pay-as-you-throw" service is not in the budget because Casella Waste Systems is moving to an automated cart system for solid waste removal.
Board member Franz Reichsman said the board seems to be leaning toward a $1.4 million contract with Casella for the service.
"At the same time, members of the Selectboard identified several ways to adjust the base budget downwards, and members of the public suggested other potential savings," Oeser and Levenbach continued.
"Even so, these seem only marginal changes. Citizens should also recognize that there may be a substantial increase in the state education tax over which the town has no say," the press release states.
"Early on, I raised the question whether we were using ARPA [American Rescue Plan Act] funding in a way counter to best practice. The Vermont League of Cities and Towns gave guidance that the use of the funds ought not to create future budget deficits. […] I believe the transition to [municipal] fire/EMS acted counter to that guidance," Oeser said this week, referring to federal American Rescue Plan Act money and the Selectboard's decision to take on a municipal fire/EMS department.
Oeser also told The Commons that "a 14% increase in addition to a yet-to-be-determined amount associated with the new solid waste program - which could rise to 22% - does not seem responsible, especially in a year when the state education tax calculations are up in the air."
The results of the U.S. presidential election also create uncertainty about policy shifts as a new party takes the reins of power.
"If the federal administration defunds or abolishes the U.S. Department of Education, even those funds may not be available to take off even a little of the pressure," he said. "It's as if we went shopping and spent all the money before we realized we didn't buy the essentials."
In Oeser's opinion, "a harder look is needed at the lines in the budget which show high increases."
The first forum organized by Oeser and Levenbach will be held in the Selectboard's meeting room at the Municipal Building, 230 Main St., at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 17. Enter at the rear of the building where there is an elevator.
Pleas to control spending
Two former board members at the Nov. 5 meeting urged the board to corral spending.
Former board member Richard DeGray said department heads' salaries should be frozen. "I think that will help with easing the pain," he said.
DeGray noted the base budget includes salary increases of 9% for the town manager, 8.2% for the police chief, 8.4% for the human resources director, 4.2% for the finance director, 6.4% for the director of public works, 4% for the recreation and parks director, 3.8% for planning director, and 4.2% for library director.
"You have to consider the taxpayer," said former board member Kate O'Connor. "You've got to look at this not just for this year but what you're doing for future years. If you're building too much, you're building a house of cards that's going to fall on you."
Disclosure: Kate O'Connor is the executive director of Vermont Independent Media, publisher of The Commons.
This News item by Virginia Ray was written for The Commons.