Budget: The proposed operating budget is $6,116,300, up slightly from last year’s default budget of $5.9 million, which went into effect after voters shot down the proposed $6 million budget at the polls in March 2018. Should this year’s proposal fail, the default would be $6,023,554. The estimated tax impact for the proposed budget is $3.73 per $1,000 of assessed property value ($932.50 for a $250,000 home). The impact of the default budget is $3.62 per $1,000 of assessed property value (about $905 for a $250,000 home).
Noteworthy articles: The town is asking voters to support the purchase of a new 10-wheel plow truck, which carries a cost of $215,000 with a tax impact of about 25 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value.
The town’s select board recommends the passage of Article 19, which calls for the establishment of a Road Reconstruction and Maintenance Capital Reserve Fund and to deposit $480,000 into this account. The town estimates that $284,481 of that deposit would come from the state’s Highway Block Grant. The rest, about $195,519, would come from taxes with an impact of 23 cents on the tax rate.
More articles of note: Increase hourly wages by $1 for the public works departments (3-cent tax impact); hire two full-time firefighters/EMTs (7-cent tax impact); increase wage and hours for an animal control officer (1-cent tax impact); hire a school resource officer with the cost shared between the town, the school district, and John Stark school district (6-cent tax impact); keep the library open one additional day each week and make one part-time position full-time (2-cent tax impact), purchase one fully-equipped police cruiser to replace an existing one (5-cent tax impact); raise $66,500 for a new roof on the safety complex (8-cent tax impact).
When and where: The deliberative session is Saturday at 9 a.m. at Weare Middle School. Voting opens March 12 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Weare Middle School.