New Ipswich is proposing a budget of $2.88 million, an increase of $174,000, or 6%, from the current budget.

“We have attempted to keep the budget as flat as possible,” said Select Board Chair Shawn Talbot.

Among the increases proposed is $81,000 for the Highway Department, which includes increases in materials including salt and asphalt. The police budget is also proposed to grow from $784,152 to $800,683, which Talbot said was attributed to fixed costs, including an increase in the town’s required contribution to the state retirement fund for its officers.

Talbot said in the past year, New Ipswich has grown its tax base, and home values in the area have increased in value, which may also impact the tax rate for the coming year.

No police station article this year

One of the items not included in the warrant this year is a request for funds for a new police station, an item the Select Board has put forth several times in previous years, in various iterations, all of which failed at the polls.

“Right now, we’re trying to figure out the best way to approach it,” said Talbot. “We’ve been turned down a number of times.”

The most-recent variation of the plan is to tear down the former police station, known as Building No. 2, located behind the Town Hall, and build a freestanding police station, with the option to eventually build a safety complex that would include a new fire station.

Residents voted down a request for a $1.98 million bond in 2017 using that plan, as well as a petition article in 2019 which proposed the same plan but an alternative funding mechanism. The issue has not been back before voters since, but Talbot said it remains an issue the town must eventually address, as the department is currently both inadequate for police needs, and in a rented building on property currently for sale.

Talbot said the board had discussed creating a reserve fund to start saving for moving ahead with plans for the department, but ultimately decided it was too early in the process.

“With no exact plan, it didn’t seem prudent,” Talbot said.

The board does plan to continue to elicit community feedback on the proposal, or other solutions, this year.

Road maintenance, capital reserve requests

In articles that will be on the warrant this year, the town is continuing with its planned road maintenance program, with its traditional two warrant articles separate from the regular paving budget – one for $350,000 and one for $250,000. Residents will also vote on accepting $147,250 in state Department of Transportation block grants, which are not raised by local taxation, but is New Ipswich’s portion of state highway funding.

In a single article, the town is requesting a total of $258,000 in capital reserve requests: $75,000 for the Highway Department reserve, $50,000 for the Fire Department reserve, $6,000 for pool maintenance, $2,500 for Parks and Recreation, $40,000 for the Police Department, $30,000 for the revaluation reserve, $35,000 for building maintenance and $20,000 for fire protection equipment.

These are the exact amounts requested for capital reserve accounts last year, in the same split.

In another article which addresses multiple requests, the town is asking for $10,515 to support regional health services which provide services for New Ipswich residents. The request is slightly higher than last year’s requests totaling $9,550 for the same organizations.

The town is asking to discontinue several defunct funds and committees, including the ministerial fund founded in 1824, the landfill capital reserve and expendable landfill fund, and the elimination of all previously established road or highway advisory committees. Any funds in the disbanded accounts will be transferred to the town’s general fund.

New Ipswich’s deliberative session is scheduled for Feb. 8 at 6:45 p.m., at the Mascenic High School Auditorium. The official ballot voting, which includes all issues on the warrant, is scheduled on March 8 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Mascenic High School gymnasium.

Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.