Auburn town, school budgets kept almost even

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 19:08:00 GMT

BY TOBY HENRY

Auburn officials focused on energy costs for the next year as they fine-tuned the town budget during a Jan. 15 meeting.

According to a draft of the proposed town budget released that day, the town’s proposed operating budget is $4.33 million, a slight increase over the $4.25 million that is listed as the final expenditures for 2008. The draft indicates that the Police Department, with slightly over a million dollars in expenses, is the single largest budget area, with the fire department at $355,580 and local government costs totaling $917,477.

During the Thursday night meeting, Budget Committee Chairman Lew Theos noted that gasoline costs, previously at around $1.50 in the region, have started to creep up lately. Committee member Jan Rego, also the Police Department’s office manager, said that the priceper- gallon had been “sky high” when the initial fuel prices were calculated this summer, but the price has since dropped from those peak levels.

The main fuel-related issue that night was how much to budget for the Auburn Police Department’s gasoline costs for the year, an amount that Theos said originally stood at $40,000 but was later dropped to $35,000. Committee member Deirdre Nash moved to drop the final fuel allocation for that department to $30,000, but the motion failed.

Later, some committee members opted to reconsider utility costs for the Fire Department, but in the end the amounts remained the same. The Fire Department has $7,182 budgeted for electricity and the heating oil allocation is at $10,500.

Overall, Town Administrator Bill Herman said wages come to $1,181,089, comprising about one-quarter of the total budget, with MediCare costs at $170,070. The final budget figure arrived at by the committee was $4,334,540, with a default budget a bit lower, at $4,313,233.

Concerning the town’s income, a total of $2,983,385 is listed for the coming year, with $1.1 million estimated as income from motor vehicle permit fees. State meals and rooms tax was estimated at $210,000 with business license permits totaling $42,000.

Selectman Al Sampson questioned an income item of nearly $200,000 which was listed among miscellaneous revenues under sale of municipal properties. Herman said that income was from the final payment on the Wellington Business Park.

Although the final budget was only a small increase over last year’s expenditures, Sampson noted that a steep drop in estimated income means that an additional $686,000 will need to be raised through taxes. The estimated amount of taxes to be raised is $2,021,015.

Also that night, school officials gave their final budget figure as $10,744,514, an increase of less than 1 percent. The school’s default budget is higher than the proposed budget, at $10,876,762.

Auburn says ‘yes’ to public kindergarten

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 20:33:00 GMT

BY TOBY HENRY

Residents approved the town’s first public kindergarten and town budget of $4,218,251 during the final annual Town and School District meetings March 14 and 15.

The voters’ decision to approve the SB2 official ballot voting system on March 11 means the traditional meetings held on Friday and Saturday were the last Auburn will have. Discussions on a failed two-town middle school was the focus as the school meeting began Friday night.

School Board member Kathi Porter said she’d wished she would have been kicking off the talks for Auburn’s vote on the project, but the new school effort ultimately evolved into a $62,000 budget increase.

Candia’s rejection of a 20- year contract had killed the project three days earlier before Auburn’s voters could take up their own vote on the two-town school. Porter said the additional $62,000 would be used to “research solutions for space and programming needs” for local students, and an overall budget of $10,133,854 was approved.

Residents also approved a kindergarten with a total construction cost of $382,833, with some $287,125 in state aid expected. State sources will also provide $95,040 toward the $111,060 needed to staff and supply the kindergarten next year.

Although some residents said they were concerned about financial difficulties for the many private kindergartens which have been teaching Auburn’s children, many residents said they felt establishing a kindergarten program was unavoidable.

“The fact of the matter is if the state tells us we have to do this, it’s like my 10-year-old arguing with me about going to bed,” said Chris Trickett. “Sooner or later she has to go to bed. They (the state) is telling us we have to do it.”

According to school officials’ plans, more than 50 students will attend the kindergarten when it opens next year, and a technical education classroom will be converted into two 1,000-square-foot classrooms. The kindergarten passed by a vote of 298-94, easily meeting the required simple majority vote.

Later, during the Town Meeting on Saturday, residents OK’d an additional $150,000 for extra winter road maintenance as well as $3,400 to cover increased costs for groundskeeping equipment. The final budget totaled $4,218,251 without warrant articles.

Voters also shot down an article to have the governor reject the longstanding pledge against having a state tax, and more than $300,000 in various town road projects were approved. Voters also supported a $75,000 request for wastewater planning.

Auburn News : budget

Auburn town, school budgets kept almost even

Auburn says ‘yes’ to public kindergarten