MASON — Town administrators, employees and residents gathered in the Mann House on the evening of Jan. 3 to discuss the preliminary 2012 town operating budget put forth by members of the Budget Committee and Select Board. The proposed budget is $1,658,057, up five percent from the 2011 operating budget of $1,572,002.

The small crowd was enough to overfill the Mann House foyer, and latecomers retrieved folding chairs from the Historical Society upstairs before settling in to pore over handouts of the proposed budget that Select Board Administrative Assistant Barbara Milkovits passed around.

The five percent increase is mainly a result of higher anticipated costs in several areas of the budget, among them debt services, highway expenses and a state-mandated establishment of an emergency management protocol. But Select Board Chair Chris Guiry stressed on Monday that the budget is still a work in progress.

“People have to understand that the 5 percent increase is only a figure, at this point in time. ... That figure could be a negative number at the end of the budget process.”

Select Board member Peter McGinnity reported that the budget also reflected savings in municipal heating costs due to upgrades in the town building last year that included replacing a 30-year-old boiler and installing new windows.

But a few vocal residents concerned with rising tax rates repeatedly drove the discussion toward the necessity of cutting costs wherever possible. One resident, Alan Wolfe, cited plummeting property values in Mason and urged the board to reconsider budget increases of any sort. Wolfe’s comments led to lengthy discussion of the viability of salary raises for the town prosecutor and fire chief, as well as a police officer.

The town prosecutor, Martha Jacques, was slated to receive her first raise in three years of working for the town’s Police Department; her proposed salary would increase from $7,500 to $9,000. Police Chief Barry Hutchins had recommended a 10 percent salary adjustment for the second patrolman position currently held by Aaron Thompson, who joined the force in July of 2007. Thompson’s proposed salary would increase from $37,183 to $41,000; according to Hutchins, the second patrolman position has the lowest compensation among comparable towns in the state.

Fire Chief Dave Baker, meanwhile, had requested a $7,000 salary, up from $1,600, because he said he thought the salary should come closer to compensating for the demands of the position. The Fire Chief position is part-time, but, according to Baker, it can demand two days of work on heavy weeks.

The amounts in question were so small that they would, according to McGinnity, have an imperceptible impact on the town tax rate.

Pay increases for other municipal employees have not yet been recommended, said Guiry on Monday.

No changes to the proposed budget were made at the meeting last week. While Select Board members defended salary increases for the employees in question, stating that the employees were already underpaid compared to those in other towns of Mason’s size, Select Board Chair Chris Guiry nevertheless welcomed the scrutiny of concerned residents.

“It’s good that you’re here. And we appreciate your input,” Guiry told Wolfe and others, who in turn expressed their gratitude to the board for hearing them out.

“I don’t think any of one of us is going to spend foolishly, but we also have a commitment to the town citizenry to provide adequate services,” echoed McGinnity, adding, “It’s a delicate balance there.”

Board members also reminded tax-weary residents that the local school budget comprises around two-thirds of the town’s overall budget.

“I would recommend you attend School Board meetings,” McGinnity advised.

Speaking on Monday, Guiry reiterated his encouragement that voters attend budget hearings and meetings. “This tax rate is important to family finances,” Guiry said. “We’re certainly open to that, and really, regardless of what the Select Board puts down, it’s the Town Meeting that’s going to pass that budget.”

Above all, Guiry stressed the importance of a thorough understanding of the budget itself. “Clarity, especially in these trying times,” he said, “is worth its weight in gold.”

This article appears in the Jan. 10, 2012, edition of the Ledger-Transcript.