WILTON — Selectmen approved a proposed $1.7 million town budget Tuesday and the warrant for June’s town meeting.
Selectmen and the Finance Committee recommend the amount that factors in revenues from the town’s surplus account, bringing it down from the $2.8 million requested, Town Manager Rhonda Irish said Wednesday.
Selectmen recommend $4,919 more than the current budget. The Finance Committee recommends $7,719 more than last year, reflecting a Fire Department request for equipment.
Most items in the proposed budget were kept the same or lower than the current fiscal year.
“It wasn’t easy,” Irish said. “There are a lot of services in town that people want.”
The tax rate will not be affected by the budget, but the school budget and perhaps the county budget could change it, she said.
Selectmen made no recommendation on a $30,000 request for the town to help with the Wastewater Treatment Plant renovation, but the Finance Committee voted 6-3 to recommend it. The money is not in either budget.
Voters will decide at the June meeting. If accepted, the cost to taxpayers is about $11 per $100,000 of valuation, she said.
The Fire Department equipment costs include $1,400 for the purchase of radios needed by the East Dixfield Fire Department due to a narrow band conversion. Dixfield was also asked to provide $1,400 for the costs, she said.
The Police Department budget of $440,550 reflects an increase of $35,800 from the current year. It’s due to salary increases, fuel and vehicle maintenance, and half the cost of a new vehicle, Irish said. It also includes increases in computer maintenance costs and adapting radios to the narrow-band conversion.
“Some of these expenses had been covered by grants in recent years, some are due to contract negotiations and the added cost for a new vehicle is because we had not budgeted for vehicles in recent years,” she said of vehicle funding from grants.
In other business, the board accepted with regret the resignation of John Welch as the town’s foreman of roads, Irish said. Welch is resigning effective May 18 to accept a position with the Maine Department of Transportation. He began working for the town in 2000 as a truck driver and was promoted to lead the Public Works Department in 2004.
Three people are seeking Paul Gooch’s seat on the board, including Paul Berkey Jr., Chris Krause and Tiffany Maiuri. Selectman Tom Saviello and school board director Angela LeClair are running unopposed, Irish said.
The final public workshop on a downtown planning grant takes place at 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 9, at Academy Hill School, she said.
Amanda Bunker from Wright-Pierce engineers will present an active downtown plan that provides suggestions the town can opt to use for the next 10-plus years.
abryant@sunjournal.com
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