Dunbarton news : budget

No increase in Dunbarton town budget

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 19:17:00 GMT

BY PATRICK O’NEILL

Residents debated the operating budget and the need to treat milfoil in the town’s ponds at Dunbarton’s annual Town Meeting on Tuesday, March 10.

The selectmen discussed the town operating budget for this year of $1,871,319, a 0 percent increase over last year’s budget.

Chairman Leslie Hammond indicated the current economic downturn as reason not to make any increases.

“Given the dire predictions for the economy, we decided to craft a conservative budget,” said Hammond at the meeting. “It’s a plain vanilla budget.”

The town does have an unreserved surplus of $187,954 from 2008, but Hammond said it will be saved for 2010.

“We chose not to use the surplus this year, but to see it out to next year.”

Hammond also indicated that there was a 5 percent reduction in all town departments and no pay raises for this year.

The town also discussed a warrant article which would have appropriated $25,000 toward the treatment of milfoil in Gorham Pond. Ann Merrill, of Holiday Shore Drive, presented the issue to the selectmen.

“Our property values are being decreased and recreational value is being depleted,” she said.

Milfoil is a naturally occurring plant in pond water that can harm diversity and stunt fish growth. It can grow to 20 feet long and cause problems for swimmers.

There is no permanent fix, but according to Merrill, chemicals can keep the milfoil from filling ponds. Selectmen at the meeting suggested this year is not the economic climate for the appropriation.

After a lengthy debate between residents, the town defeated the article.

Residents also passed an article to appropriate $25,000 toward the revaluation of the town by a vote of 83-79. Selectmen did not recommend passage of the article, preferring to discuss the issue in 2010. The state mandates revaluations every five years. Dunbarton has 16,016 parcels, or properties, that would be involved in the revaluation.

Other articles that passed included $10,000 toward the maintenance and repair of cemetery monuments in the town and $275 for the Town Forest Committee.

$20,000 added to school budget in Dunbarton

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 19:11:00 GMT

BY PATRICK O’NEILL

The operating budget for next year and ice dams on the roof of the elementary school were the major points of discussion at the annual Dunbarton School District Meeting on Saturday, March 7.

The board originally proposed a budget of $4,896,508 for the 2009-10 year, a 0 percent increase over last year’s budget.

After an amendment was proposed to add an additional $20,000 for technology education, the article passed, raising the budget to $4,916,508. The additional $20,000 has a tax impact of 6 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value, or $12 on a $200,000 home.

“Our philosophy was to maintain the budget from last year,” said Debra Foster, chairman of the board, at the meeting. “This was not a year (for us) to bring up new stuff,” said René Ouellet, vice chairman of the School Board.

The board has had to deal with several rising costs over the last year, including rapid increases in the price of heating oil, electricity for the elementary school and transportation costs for the buses. Technology education was cut, among other things. A three-year lease on 30 laptops for $30,000 per year was removed.

“I think technology education is important and we had cut a lot of money out from it,” said David Schroeder, of Robert Rogers Road, who proposed the $20,000 addition to the budget. “The technology is just about sustaining itself right now,” said Carol Thibaudeau, principal at the school.

The $20,000 was added to the budget on the condition that it is at the discretion of the board members to put it toward technology education.

Board members also discussed the increasing problem of ice dams on the eaves of the school and plans to remove the problem permanently.

“We have struggled with ice dam problems on the school roof (for many years),” said Ouellet. “We really need a clear vision of what our options are so we can fix this once and for all.”

The board is planning a two-part process to fix the situation. Construction documents will be put together to put the thermal barrier above the roof of the school with insulation panels.

The board will then examine different methods to fix the problem permanently and each method’s cost. There were no dam-related costs in the operating budget this year.

“The more we wait, the more damage happens,” said Ouellet.

The only other article that residents passed at the meeting was a request for up to $10,000 to be added into the special education trust fund. The tax impact would be 3 cents per $1,000 assessed property value, or $6 on a $200,000 home.

SB2, budget up for approval at Town Meeting

Bow Editor — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 01:28:00 GMT

BY RYAN O’CONNOR

Dunbarton’s annual Town Meeting will take place Tuesday, March 13, and among several other articles, will vote to approve a 3.2 percent operating budget increase and a new full-time police officer position.

This year’s proposed operating budget of $1,825,744 represents a $56,000 increase over last year’s approved budget of $1,769,688.

The operating budget, with no additional warrant articles, will raise taxes 4 cents from $1.95 per $1,000 assessed property value to $1.99 per $1,000 assessed property value.

The increase represents $12 on a $300,000 home.

The town will again vote on the official ballot law, commonly known as SB2, as well.

Though SB2 failed by a vote of 502-241 on the town ballot last year, a petitioned warrant article has once again been submitted requesting official ballot law in Dunbarton.

The SB2 form of government allows residents to vote on warrant articles through an official ballot on Election Day, rather than in a public forum at Town or School District Meeting.

But residents may still amend and potentially change the intent of an article at a deliberative session that precedes Election Day.

Another article requests $68,565 to hire, train and equip a new police officer.

Other articles on this year’s ballot include requests for $32,000 for the purchase of protective equipment and a gear washer for the fire department, $29,000 for a new skid-steer for the transportation station, and the removal of $50,000 from surplus for a new roof on the town library and painting of the library and town office building.

There is also a request to remove $300,000 from the town conservation fund to purchase four lots to be used as the Bela Brook Conservation Area.

Dunbarton Town Meeting takes place at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 13, at the community center at Dunbarton Elementary School.

Operating budget proposed to be $1,851,421

Bow Editor — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 15:22:00 GMT

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.

School operating budget down $37,999

Bow Editor — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 15:20:00 GMT

BY RYAN O’CONNOR

Dunbarton School Board members worked long and hard to establish an operating budget lower than the current fiscal year, and they did so without cutting any positions.

The proposed operating budget is $4,685,984, down from $4,723,983 this year, a decrease of $37,999.

Though the school board considered cutting a guidance counselor from two days a week to one day, the board managed to make the numbers work without making a drastic change to personnel.

“It wasn’t easy; it was difficult and it’s not very glamorous, but it certainly is the first time since I’ve been on the board that I’ve seen a lower operating budget than the previous year,” said school board member Betty Ann Noyes.

“One of our major concerns was not to interfere with the level of service being offered to children in elementary school.”

Noyes said to decrease the budget, the school board kept many items level, though it still has to meet contractual agreements with teachers and support staff and special education increases.

Increases in electricity and fuel costs also factored into the budget, but there are areas the board found room to save.

“We are very fortunate in that the tuition at the middle school and high school has decreased and we will be saving considerable amount in that area,” said Noyes. “There were also things we wish to do in the building that we simply aren’t going to be able to do.”

Though the proposed operating budget has been set, Noyes says it is too early to determine the tax impact, especially because Dunbarton is scheduled for a 15 percent decrease in state adequacy, or $67,129, which is one of its main revenue sources.

“It is difficult to say, because as far as the budget is concerned, it will not raise the taxes, but we still need to determine income or revenue totals, and at this point it’s all up in the air,” said Noyes. “We know revenue is already down in one area, but that’s just what is predicted, so we just have to wait, unfortunately.”

In addition to the operating budget, the school board will again ask residents to approve the purchase of a generator, which was voted down at last year’s meeting.

If approved, said Noyes, the generator would be available for emergency purposes for both Dunbarton Elementary School and the town.

The cost would be $71,000, though the district is hoping to offset the cost by 30 percent through a school building aid.

The tax impact of the generator would be 22 cents in the first year and 1.3 cents for each of the following six years.