The Budget Committee Meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m.
Roll call – Laurie Colburn, Doug Southard, Timothy McKenna, Beth Downs, Jen Richardson and Justin Dohrn were in attendance.
Absent – Marlene Freyler, Selectmen’s Rep; Karen Hambleton, Town Administrator
Nominations:
Justin nominated Laurie for Chair and Doug for Vice Chair for the upcoming year. All were in favor.
Introductions:
Everyone introduced themselves.
Review Minutes:
Motion: Tim made a motion to accept the minutes from April 8, 2021.
Second: Doug seconded the motion.
Vote: 4-0 in favor (The other two members abstained from a vote because they were not on the Committee at the time of the last meeting).
Large Initiatives:
The Bement Bridge was accepted and came in a little under budget.
Justin reported that the pumper truck was tabled by the townspeople. Discussion ensued about the pumper truck.
Budget Process:
There was discussion about the process of going through each line item in the budget during the annual Town Meeting. Tim suggested not going through each item because all residents have access to that information going into Town Meeting. Discussion ensued about the budget process. Tim will inquire about the following with Karen and Brackett:
- The Town Meeting Structure
- Strategize on telling the entire budget story better
- Come up with talking points regarding budget, trusts, and other items that might need to be defined better
Expenses:
The Board members reviewed the budgets to date as of May 31, 2021.
Future Meeting:
Committee Members will check in with the various departments.
August 19 – 7:00 p.m.
Motion: Justin motioned to adjourn the meeting at 8:15 p.m.
Second: Tim seconded the motion.
Vote: 6-0 in favor
Minutes submitted by Donna Long, Recording Secretary.