The Greenfield Select Board held a public hearing Thursday night to discuss the town’s proposed 2023 budget. The proposed total expense budget is approximately $3.31 million, a 13.5 percent increase over the current budget. 

Greenfield votes on its operational budget as separate warrant articles for each department. Town Administrator Aaron Patt said, “This gives the voters a chance to see what the expenses actually are.”

The proposed Recycling Center budget is up 20.9 percent. CJ Hall, supervisor of the Greenfield Recycling Center, explained that a five-year waste-hauling contract ended and the vendor was only willing to sign the new contract for a year, which accounts for a $22,465 increase in contract services. 

“Things have gone up outside our control,” Hall said. 

Article 5 asks voters to appropriate $223,500 for 10 existing capital reserve funds.

“These numbers are up from what you’ve seen in previous years,” said Selectman Tom Bascom.

With inflated prices, the Police Department was struggling to find a cruiser that it could afford with the money saved in their capital reserve fund, with prices for cruisers around $50,000.

“A car is so much more expensive now than it was two or three years ago,” said Police Chief Brian Giammarino.

Next year, officials expect prices will be even higher. Select Board Chair Mason Parker said the capital reserve funds are “no longer funding that appropriation” with prices rising faster than the rate at which fund balances are growing.

At Town Meeting in 2015, the town voted to cap the fire chief’s wages at $20,000. Now, Greenfield has a new chief, but the Select Board is worried in the future they won’t have the ability to attract someone with that salary. With this warrant article, they are asking the town to let the Select Board set the fire chief’s salary again without a limit.

“When we did see the wage study we are very much under surrounding towns,” Parker said, and the Greenfield Fire Department got close to 400 calls last year, while Hancock only got around 170. 

Department of Public Works Director Jim Morris said fluctuating petroleum prices will impact how much  road reconstruction and repair he is able to do this year. Morris hopes to chip-seal paved roads this year, which will rehydrate cracked asphalt. 

Residents at the budget hearing voted to increase the optional veteran tax credit to the maximum amount of $750, up from $300.

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