WHITMAN – Year-end financial snapshosts continued last week as the Select Board on Tuesday, Dec. 5 met in a joint session requested by the Finance Committee
“The Finance Committee always looks forward to a joint meeting with the Board of Selectmen just for an update since we last met during the special Town Meeting,” Chair Richard Anderson said, introducing new member Mike Warner. The meeting reviewed revenue projections, and reach concensus on overall expenditure levels, use of reserves and generaly allocation of resources as well as the distribution of budget guidelines to department managers to enable them to prepare appropriation requests.
“The benefit from this process … has helped us, I think, better prepare for Town Meeting,” Anderson said.
Finance has already met with police, fire, veterans’ services, the treasurer-collector and were meeting with the Building Department and assessor later that night.
Town Administrator Mary Beth Carter reminded the two panels that the town aimed to begin the budget process earlier this year. She met with Anderson, Assistant Town Administrator Kathleen Keefe, Hanson Town Administrator Lisa Green and Superintendent of Schools Jeff Szymaniak in July to discuss a preliminary budget timeline and the 5-percent increase budget increase over last year’s appropriation. She followed that up with in October with a request for all budget submission with 2.5 percent salary increases and level-funded expenses.
Carter began meeting with individual department heads in November and met a second time with Green and Szymaniak about what the two towns can afford for a school budget increase in fiscal 2025.
“This process will continue for the next couple of months,” she said.
So far this month, she has met with the assessor, treasurer-collector and accountant to prepare information for Town Meeting budget Article 2. She also drafted a budget based on the submission criteria she supplied to department heads.
“This budget is very fluid and is a work in progress,” she said.
Select Board member Shawn Kain said conservative revenue projections put the current levy is $30,971.437. Adding the Proposition 2 ½ increase of $774,286 and $450,000 in new growth raises the projected levy to $32,195,723. New growth estimates of $9,999,746 brings the total to $42,195,469 – a $1,143,299 increase over fiscal 2024.
Expenses in salary and insurance cost hikes and regional schools increases, among others, brings the town’s expenses up to about $1.4 million over last year – higher than revenue increases. That puts the town at a $273,060 deficit.
“We’re trying to get better and better at forecasting,” Kain said.
“This information is more comprehensive than anything we’ve ever had,” Anderson said. “I think it’s good that we’re here together to talk about where we need to end up at an earlier time than we have in the past.”
Carter is also reviewing approved expenditures at previous town meetings that could have come in under-budget, but funds of which, were not returned to the town – as was discovered about some DPW budgeted funds that were discovered unspent during the lead-up to the November special Town Meeting.
“I want to condense that …, but there are several articles with balances for projects that have not yet been started or completed,” she said of a plan to boil out some information.