Selectboard weighs significant increases to highway payroll and staffing for next year

Board members debated how to reflect current staffing on the highway budget, with the working draft raising estimates to reflect two full‑time workers and a part‑time position. One committee member summarized the draft numbers as roughly $70,000 for summer maintenance and $60,000 for winter maintenance (labor), and suggested a 50/50 summer/winter split for bookkeeping. "What I figured up is roughly $70,000 for summer maintenance and $60,000 for winter maintenance for labor," a committee member said while explaining assumptions about hours and overtime.

Treasury staff and the chair agreed to run historical comparisons and add a formula to the budget spreadsheet so the board could see the impact of full staffing versus last year’s partial staffing. Members discussed a placeholder of about $130,000 for total highway labor pending the model and agreed to revisit payroll detail at the next scheduled meeting; no final appropriation was adopted during the session.