BRATTLEBORO — Six weeks after residents defeated a forthcoming municipal budget for the first time in town history, local leaders are set to present a new proposal to a special Town Meeting this month.
“When I run into anybody, they will say three things every time,” selectboard member Oscar Heller said Thursday at the last of eight budget-revision sessions. “They will say, ‘I don’t envy your job.’ Then they will say, ‘You’ve got to bring the tax rate down.’ And then they will say, ‘Here are the two, three, four things that I’m telling you that you can’t change.’ And that list of things is different for every person.”
Supporters note the plan set for consideration May 27 is down some $200,000 from the original $25 million figure. Opponents counter the resulting taxes remain up by double digits, from a rejected 12.1% to a revised 10.8%. And everyone else is questioning whether any budget will be approved before the start of the fiscal year July 1.
“A lot of the people who I’ve talked to would like to have seen a broader reduction in personnel across departments,” selectboard member Isaac Evans-Frantz said at Thursday’s session.
Instead, local leaders have retained all currently staffed positions and found savings by not filling several empty posts, including those of assistant town manager and information technology coordinator.
In the most unusual action, the selectboard — anticipating fire department overtime could rise to up to $700,000 or more annually because of recurring vacancies and contract requirements — voted to hire three more firefighters in hopes their regular salaries would cost less than paying existing personnel to work extra hours at a higher rate.
When local leaders began drafting a 2025-26 budget last fall, they learned that continuing to fund all current services amid rising staff counts and trash disposal costs would spark a 22% tax increase.
The selectboard went on to vote this winter to retain all personnel and instead decrease or defer other spending, only to see Town Meeting attendees in March defeat the proposal and its 12.1% tax hike.
Revising the budget this spring, officials discovered the rejected plan underestimated such contracted expenses as payroll taxes, retirement contributions and overtime, forcing them to raise the bottom line by $426,732 even before they started cutting.
A half-million dollars in reductions later, the selectboard’s new proposal already has sparked public friction.
Board chair Elizabeth McLoughlin opened the last budget-revision session by apologizing for earlier cutting off a local teenager voicing opposition to any loss of library hours. But two hours later, McLoughlin shouted and sounded her gavel at resident William Kraham when he wanted to speak about the cost of emergency medical services.
Kraham has long advocated for the town’s previous provider, Rescue Inc., which he credits with saving his life after sudden cardiac arrest. But McLoughlin, who voted for a recent fire department takeover of ambulance services, said his comments weren’t germane and threatened to stop the session if he didn’t stop talking.
“I will not have this discussion,” McLoughlin told Kraham before noting she had the right as chair to “request law enforcement assistance in removing a disorderly person.”
Local leaders will explain the revised budget at an informational session on May 21 and seek approval of it at a special Town Meeting on May 27.
