At a Budget Committee meeting, Town Administrator Andre Guaranton presented the Town Council’s recommended operating budget of $22,324,411 — excluding the wastewater district — saying the figure represents “an increase of $493,153 or 2.3%.”

The recommended budget, Guaranton said, is the council’s version of the document he presented to council in early September and would maintain current staffing levels while restoring some line items that were reduced under the town’s default budgets.

Why it matters: the recommended spending plan frames the town’s tax and service decisions for the coming fiscal year and sets the agenda for department-by-department reviews the committee will hold over the coming weeks. Committee members asked for follow-up on several items that could affect taxes, operations and capital needs, including health-insurance rates, impact fees, legal costs and road paving.

Guaranton outlined major revenue and expense highlights. The budget assumes level staffing with about 126 full-time and 35 part-time positions and includes a planned increase in the town’s legal-services appropriation. He told the committee the town had carried a legal line of about $110,000 for several years and the proposed budget increases that amount to reflect growing demand for outside counsel and complex matters handled across town boards and departments.

On benefits, Guaranton said the town is still awaiting final Primex (the municipal risk pool) rates. He summarized last year’s increases and the current outlook: “Last year the increase was 11.4% for health and .5% for dental,” and Primex’s current projections range from “about 3.7% on the low end and 25.8% on the upper end” for health; dental is expected around 4.4%. Guaranton said the budget currently holds health/dental at last year’s levels until final rates are available.

Roads and public works: Guaranton described a multi-year road-funding plan that was reduced during default budgeting. The paving line had been cut from roughly $900,000 down to $300,000 in prior years; the administrator said the town had added $50,000 in the recommended budget to begin rebuilding that reserve. He referenced a 2020 road study that rated town roads about 78 out of 100 and described funding scenarios the town has considered — roughly $500,000, $700,000, $900,000, $1.1 million and $1.3 million — noting the committee previously targeted the $900,000 “middle” level when funding allowed.

Public safety and operations: the operating request includes funds for replacing two police cruisers deferred under earlier default budgets and replacement of several ballistic vests. The fire budget, Guaranton said, includes funds for PFAS-free personal protective equipment in response to New Hampshire House Bill 1352 and for rising water-hydrant charges; the town has more than 300 hydrants distributed across three water districts, with two districts charging roughly $860–$880 per hydrant and one charging about $53 per hydrant.

Recycling and tipping fees: the recommended budget reflects a change in the town’s transfer-station policy. Guaranton said the council approved ending a condominium tipping-fee reimbursement program, a move the administration estimates will save about $75,000 annually. He also noted an increase in tipping fees to about $103 per ton (from $98) that reduced expected revenue in the transfer division.

Impact fees and schools: the community development portion of the budget keeps funding to update impact-fee rates, with about $20,000 identified to update traffic and school impact-fee calculations. Guaranton said the last comprehensive update was done around February 2005 and called for an update to separate existing traffic demand from growth-related traffic so fees can be properly apportioned. Committee members noted recent statutory changes and said school representatives have been working with town staff. Guaranton explained that impact fees must be tied to a capital improvements program overseen by the planning board and cautioned the town must properly document correlations between fees collected and capital improvements funded.

Property-auction receipts and miscellaneous revenue: Guaranton described an ongoing program to auction tax-deeded town properties after required board and conservation reviews. He reported the town received an unexpected $66,000 check after unable-to-locate heir searches concluded on older tax-deeded parcels.

Warrant-article process: the administrator previewed work on potential warrant articles and said the council wants to reduce the number of separate warrant articles after last season’s long ballot (about 37 articles). He said the town will consider grouping capital reserve requests and that the committee and council will solicit public feedback, including at an upcoming town 101 session in November. Guaranton also reminded members that the deliberative session is scheduled for Jan. 31 and the final town meeting for March 10.

Next steps and committee requests: Guaranton told the committee department-by-department review sessions will begin in the coming weeks; committee members asked that staff provide a corrected revenue breakdown for one chart and the balances for all impact-fee accounts (Guaranton said those figures are available and that a packet with an impact-fee summary was distributed to members). He also asked how the committee prefers to review department budgets; members said focusing on lines with significant changes would be sufficient, with the option to ask about other lines as needed.

Procedural action: the committee approved the minutes of its Sept. 25 meeting. A motion to approve the minutes was moved and seconded; the record shows at least one abstention (Mary Anne Susie) and other members recorded as not voting but the transcript did not provide a full roll-call tally.

What remains unresolved: final health- and dental-insurance rates from Primex; the final list and grouping of warrant articles; and the update to impact-fee calculations and their legal correlation to the capital improvements program. Guaranton said staff will return with department-level budgets and with the requested revenue and impact-fee detail.

(Quotes and factual attributions are drawn from remarks by Town Administrator Andre Guaranton and exchanges recorded in the meeting transcript.)