The Peterborough Select Board and Budget Committee met together Tuesday night, kicking off the 2023 budget season.

The general fund operating budget is projected to increase 9.54 percent to just under $12.27 million. Overall spending, which includes the operating budget, the enterprise fund for water and sewer and the ambulance, recreation and PEG revolving funds, as well as the pay-as-you-throw special revenue fund, is projected to increase 11.2 percent to $17.92 million.

“This past year we started the budget project [conscious of] high inflation,” Town Administrator Nicole MacStay said. 

Energy costs have increased, which have impacted costs of other services and products. MacStay said the town is not budgeting for or expecting grants this year. She explained that 60 percent of the town budget goes towards staff costs. In order to help retain staff and stay competitive in the job market they are starting the budget with a scheduled 8.7 percent increase in town salaries, with 5 percent for COLA and 3.7 percent merit increases. 

MacStay said fewer people were coming to the town for welfare assistance in the last few years when they were getting support through the Federal Government, but since that funding has ended there is an increase in requests for public assistance and they are budgeting for that as well.

Lilli Gilligan, finance director for the town, said there has been a 6.6 percent increase on health insurance premiums. Gilligan also accounted for six new projected positions and based the cost off of health insurance family plans to ensure they would budget enough money. 

Selectman Bill Taylor said, “It’s very possible we wouldn’t actually expend that.” 

The Capital Improvement Plan Committee (CIP) presented their capital plan to the budget committee and select board. They spent the last couple months gathering information from town department heads to come up with recommendations for future fiscal years.

The committee only looks at budget expenses above $10,000, and its presentation focused on taking out fewer bonds and building the town’s capital reserve funds. With bond interest rates high, they believe this will save Peterborough money in the long run. This may impact the tax rate, but MacStay said how much will “depends on how much of the fund balance is used instead of raising and appropriating taxes.” The Select Board would make that decision when they draft the warrant in February. 

“This is a great leap forward to be thinking this way,” CIP Chair Leandra MacDonald said. She believes this is a good time to self-fund large projects and equipment without paying for high interest rates.

“We hope you’ll decide to use fund balances to smooth out some of the transitions,” she said.

At the beginning of the meeting, Select Board member Tyler Ward brought up the prospect of abolishing the Budget Committee. He addressed the fact that the town administration does a thorough job with the budget and the numbers are rarely dramatically changed by the committee. 

After her presentation, Gilligan addressed Ward’s comment, emphasizing that the town oversees spending of $22 million between the town, schools, county and state.

“We want to present exactly what we predict is needed,” she said, “I think it’s important for the public to know there are people looking at this in detail.”

Meetings with department heads begin Jan. 10 at 5:30 p.m. with Public Works. The public hearing on the budget is March 7. For people who cannot attend, all meetings are shown on Comcast Channel 22 and livestreamed on the town’s UStream and YouTube pages.

In another matter, the Select Board approved an 8.7 percent increase in ambulance rates effecti ve January 3, 2023. They also  voted to sell a town-owned property on Greenfield Road. 

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