Town staff outlines June budget deadline and contingency plan

A staff member for the town told the council that the town charter requires a budget to be passed and signed in June and described the temporary “112th” budget procedure the town can use if it cannot adopt a new budget on time.

The explanation matters because the administration and council must set spending and tax levels for the coming year while state aid — which the staff member said makes up roughly 25 to 30 percent of the town’s budget — remains uncertain until the legislature finalizes a state budget. The council is scheduled to consider the town budget on June 8, with an alternate date set for June 15 to address any necessary corrections.

The staff member said the 112th budget allows the town to operate on a pro-rated share of the prior year’s budget if the new budget is delayed. "We would do a what we would call as a 112th budget if you go beyond the normal time," the staff member said, adding that the town would resume normal budgeting once a new budget is approved.

The staff member walked through the council’s three options when presented with a proposed budget: approve it as submitted, reject it (which would send it back to administration for revision), or reduce line items. "They can approve the budget, right? ... they can say yes, no or reduce," the staff member said. The staff member explained that if the council reduces an item without specifying its reallocation, the reduction would fall to free cash in the following year if revenues end up higher than budgeted.

When asked whether the administration and council were finalizing the budget without knowing exactly how much the town will receive from the state, the staff member confirmed they were planning conservatively: "If the state passes a budget before July 1st of course we'd be able to modify and take that into account," the staff member said, but added that because the legislature’s figures can change late there is limited ability to rely on those numbers when assembling the town budget.

The staff member said the town typically uses the governor’s budget as a conservative baseline because the legislature sometimes adds or removes support for specific items during the final stages. Any unexpected additional state aid would, the staff member said, generally become free cash in the subsequent fiscal year, providing a cushion.

The council had not taken a formal vote on the budget during the portion of the meeting in the transcript; the staff member noted the June 8 meeting as the planned date for presenting the budget and June 15 as an alternate for corrections.