BY RYAN O’CONNOR
Dunbarton selectmen have prepared a proposed 2007-08 fiscal year operating budget, and it represents a 2.9 percent tax increase over the current year.
The general operating budget increased from the $1,769,688 approved at last year’s Town Meeting to $1,851,421.
If approved, the tax impact, not including warrant articles, will be 4 cents. This year’s tax rate is $1.95 per $1,000 assessed property value and selectman Chairman Mert Mann said he expects the new rate to be $1.99 per $1,000 assessed property value.
The increase represents $12 on a $300,000 home.
The largest increase in the general operating budget, said Mann, is attributed to highway department costs for the reconstruction and paving of Robert Rogers Road.
There are only two other warrant articles that may affect the tax rate.
Mann said a $68,565 article to hire and equip a new police officer could affect the tax rate by approximately 21 cents, though he noted the cost will only be for part of the year since the new officer would be hired in April.
The other article, which may affect the tax rate, currently requests $100,000 to purchase a 46.31 acre lot off Route 13, which could be used for a new town office building in the future.
But Mann said the article is still up in the air because the land is still being negotiated and there is currently no set cost.
Should selectman Les Hammond negotiate a deal by Town Meeting, the number would be read and voted on accordingly, said Mann.
“We plugged the number in for safety purposes,” he said. “We just had to put it on the town warrant to discuss this issue. First, we need to see if it’s feasible.”
A warrant article that won’t affect the tax rate requests $300,000 to be withdrawn from the Town Conservation Fund to purchase four lots to be used and designated as the Bela Brook Conservation Area off Grapevine Road.
Other articles on the warrant include a request for $50,000 to replace the library roof and paint the town hall/library building and the town offices, and $29,000 for a new skid-steer for the Dunbarton Transfer Station.
Mann said both costs would come from surplus funds.
Selectmen will also ask the town to appropriate $32,000 for protective equipment and a gear washer for the fire department. If approved, $30,400 of the cost would be accepted from federal grant.
Also, a petition warrant article submitted by Town Clerk Linda Peters requests a change in compensation for her position from a combination of salary and statutory fees to an annual salary that includes a benefits package.
Should the article be accepted, $18,450 would be raised in salary and benefits. The request is a petition article from Town Clerk Linda Peters ,who hopes to become a full-time employee as of April 1. Selectmen don’t support the article.
The warrant also asks the town to approve raising the veteran’s exemption from $100 to $500.
Dunbarton Town Meeting and voting take place Tuesday, March 13, at Dunbarton Elementary School.