Select Board Meeting called to order at 10:07 am
Pledge of Allegiance
Roll Call – Beth Downs, Marlene Freyler, Mel Pfeifle and Karen Hambleton, Town Administrator, were in attendance.
New Business:
Set 2022 Tax Rate – Karen shared that the tax rate calculated by the Department of Revenue is $25.49 per thousand. This is an increase of $1.58 per thousand over the rate of $23.91 in 2021 and is due largely to increases in the Town’s budget and the School District’s budget.
There was discussion about using a portion of fund balance to reduce the tax rate. Karen had shared with the Board via email four scenarios using different amounts of fund balance. Mel brought up the topic of the upcoming budget and the implications of different tax rates as we go forward. Karen noted that the Department of Revenue has guidelines on how much fund balance can be used to offset taxes and recommended that the Board did not use more than $200,000. After much discussion, Beth proposed using $200,000 from fund balance to reduce the tax rate. This would give the Town a tax rate of $24.69 per thousand.
Motion: Beth Downs motioned to use $200,000 from fund balance to reduce the tax rate.
Second: Mel Pfeifle
Decision: 3-0
Mel reiterated her concerns about the use of overtime considering the very tight 2022 operating budget. The group also discussed how to manage the rest of the year’s expenses to avoid overspending the operating budget.
Motion: Beth Downs motioned to adjourn the meeting at 10:43 a.m.
Second: Marlene Freyler
Decision: 3-0 in favor
Upcoming Meetings:
- November 17, 2022 – joint meeting with Budget Committee
- November 28, 2022
Minutes submitted by Karen Hambleton, Administrator.