China selectmen make budget recommendations

by Mary Grow

China selectmen made their recommendations on Town Manager Dennis Heath’s proposed 2020-21 municipal budget at a special meeting Jan. 27, so the budget committee could review them Jan. 30. Voters will make final decisions at the annual town business meeting, scheduled for Saturday morning, April 4.

The major change Heath proposed was adding a full-time police officer, which would increase the police and animal control budget from this year’s $91,498 (of which $26,535 is designated as “police wages”) to more than $207,000.

“We can’t afford it,” was Selectman Wayne Chadwick’s immediate response, followed by a motion to leave police wages and related items at the current level.

“We can’t afford it,” was Selectman Wayne Chadwick’s immediate response…

Later, however, selectmen expressed willingness to support a proposal to put the police officer’s salary and related expenses in a separate, extra-budget warrant article with a price tag, so voters could decide on April 4 whether they want the service and are willing to pay for it.

Most other changes in the proposed budget are internal moves or rearrangements of expenditure requests.

For example, Heath proposes making Town Clerk Rebecca Hapgood, Transfer Station Manager Tim Grotton and Public Works Manager Shawn Reed salaried rather than paid by the hour, because, he said, they work as managers. He and selectmen agreed on recommended salary levels that would be approximately equivalent to the three percent increase recommended for China’s hourly workers.

The town manager moved requests for money for the China Lake Association, the China Region Lakes Alliance and stipends for volunteer firefighters and rescue personnel into the article funding community support organizations, raising that request considerably while reducing planned use of Tax Increment Finance funds and the fire and rescue budget lines.

Overall, Heath said, if budget committee members and voters agree with the selectmen, the 2020-21 municipal budget will have a minimal effect on the tax rate. The municipal budget includes the annual county taxes; the school budget is separate and was not part of the Jan. 27 discussion.

According to the budget summary for the current fiscal year in the town report for the year ended June 30, 2018, the municipal budget was less than 33 percent of overall spending; the county tax was less than 5 percent; and the school budget was just over 52 percent.

The budget committee meets at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 30, in the town office meeting room to review the selectmen’s recommendations for 2020-21 spending.