HARTFORD — When town meeting action gets underway this weekend, residents will vote on a $2.4 million budget, which is more than 4 percent higher than the current one.
Annual town meeting begins at 9 a.m. Saturday, June 17, at the Hartford Town Hall at 1196 Main St. Voters will take action on a 19-article warrant.
Hartford’s total budget for fiscal 2018 is $2,446,308, which is up $105,940 or 4.1 percent, according to Budget Committee Chairman Dan Maddox.
The town’s contribution to RSU 10 for fiscal 2018 is $1,340,026, an increase of $33,147 or 2.5 percent.
The town’s contribution to Oxford County is $92,736, an increase of $2,483 or 2.8 percent.
In a letter to Hartford residents, Budget Committee member Doug Crist noted that the town has no control over 58 percent of the tax bill. RSU 10 makes up 54 percent of the total budget, while the county is 4 percent.
The fiscal 2018 mil rate has not yet been estimated because the town is in the middle of reevaluation, according to Selectboard Chair Lee Holman. The current mil rate is $18.70 per $1,000 of assessed value.
The Board of Selectmen and the Budget Committee agree on all the numbers for the fiscal 2018 budget. They include:
- Summer Roads $316,000, up $44,090
- Winter Roads $284,600, up $14,741
- General, Administrative and Safety $219,072, up $35,951
- Sanitation $96,913, up $8,158
- Emergency Services $81,082, no change
- Reserve account $12,400
- Social Services $10,979, down $3,942
The major increases on the municipal side come from summer and winter roads, along with the General, Administrative and Safety accounts. The Roads account increases are comprised of higher wages for town employees, more materials and more money devoted to projects.
For administration, part of the increase is a move for more hours – 32 – for the deputy clerk, along with wage increases.
Voters will also be asked to use $177,500 to lower the tax rate, which is $8,150 more than what was used for the current budget. They will also be asked to appropriate $60,000 from the general fund to offset the tax rate, which is the same as the current budget.
Another article asks residents to move all unexpended monies at the end of the fiscal year from the Roads account into the Roads Reserve account. In the past, leftover money in the Roads account went into the general fund and did not go towards fixing the roads, according to the warrant.
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