WILTON – Selectboard and Finance Committee members met Wednesday evening to decide on a final budget to recommend to voters next month. As of now the town meeting is scheduled for June 15 and will be held at Academy Hill School.
All members strived to make as few increases as possible in light of the difficulties faced by the COVID-19 crisis. Department heads were asked to keep their requests to a minimum, focusing on necessary increases only. The final recommended budget was $3,399,284 from the selectboard and $3,455,205 from the finance committee. Those numbers showed an increase of $68,528 and $124,449, respectively, over the previous fiscal year’s budget.
The Fire Department put in a total request of $191,538, roughly $10,000 more than the previous fiscal year. That figure was supported by the finance committee, and dropped $5,680 by members of the selectboard. Selectboard member Tiffany Maiuri made that motion, reducing the Equipment line item from $21,500 to $16,120 and the Supplies and Materials line item from $1,500 to $1,200. The recommendation of $185,858 was supported unanimously by board members.
The Wilton Free Public Library requested $122,250 for the upcoming fiscal year’s budget. The only increase request came with Payroll Expenses, which saw a $12,900 increase, all other line items were left even with the previous fiscal year.
Several finance committee members said that could not support such a high spike in wage increases.
As pointed out by Finance Committee member, and WFPL Board Member, Gwen Doak, that number is large in part due to a lack of employee compensation offered to staff members. Staff members, some of whom have been employed for more than a decade according to Director Jen Scott, receive no health benefits and are currently paid $1.50 more than minimum wage.
“It affects our ability to attract and retain employees,” Doak said. “Salaries and wages are more heavily weighted when there are no other benefits being offered.”
Aside from a $25,000 annual endowment payment, the library fundraises their remaining income. This year the library fundraised $18,000 toward their overall expenses, much of which was used for a new boiler for the building.
The finance committee could not come to a conclusion for a recommendation. Selectboard members were also not in support of the wage increase, and moved to drop that number to $106,488. That figure represents a two percent increase, or $2,088 from the previous year. A total budget for the library of $111,438 was recommended by the selectboard.
“I’m only in favor of a two percent raise, which is what we’ve suggested for all of our departments,” Selectboard member Tom Saviello said.
How about sucking it up like the rest of us with zero raises. How about asking the community for volunteers to help run the library. When I was a kid, and folks actually researched and could read, one person ‘ran the library’. How about not sending fire department equipment and employees to drive by birthday partys. How about you bleeding hearts quit picking our pockets and do some ‘critical thinking’ about reducing expenses, taking better care of our assets and learning to reduce, recycle and re- use like the hard working, tax paying citizens. Can you spell ‘ fiscal responsibility ‘ and write the definition? This is a test and we are quite fed up.
The recommendation to keep the school budget flat should mean that our selectmen keep the town budget flat. I am in support of fair wages, but there must be cuts that will reduce the budget. The price of gas and heating fuel is at a five year (perhaps 10 year) low. This years line item for this expense should be significantly lower than previous years. Are there no savings from reduced building occupancy?
How about no raises for administration? There are people in our town who are out of work, and may not have jobs to go back to when the economy opens up again. Let’s support the community by keeping our town budget flat this year, or maybe even a small decrease.
Having spent a bit over 6 years in the US Air Force many years ago, i learned a little about how government
Works. Nothing has changed in the 30+ years since then. Alllllll government agencies ask for more money
Every year. This is the #1 problem with government. These leaders realized many decades ago that if they
Are frugal and don’t ask for an increase each year, the taxpayers may notice and complain the following year
When they may truly need a small increase. I remember the rush to spend every dime of our budget every
July/August/September in the Civil Engineering division at our base. We were told to get out there and find
Stuff that may need to be replaced or repaired and order the equipment or parts. And we always spent every
Last dime of our budget, and a little extra, so that we could ask for more next year!!! Otherwise our funding
would be held flat. We need a dramatic change of philosophy in our government!!! How about we start at
the local level right here in Maine. Let’s show the nation that Maine can lead the way and let’s start at our
Local level. The area towns must hold the line with no increases and the schools must do the same thing.
How about that ????? Anybody with me???
Mike, spot on, finally a fiscally responsible person.
Agree 100% Mike and others, do what you can with what you have but to ask taxpayers for more right now is truly insane….
Mike I agree with some of that. Not sure how that town works but anything left in our budgets goes back into the general fund at the end of the year. Maybe if like in the real world what you save and don’t spend would remain in your account then it would be an incentive to save to build up accounts to be able to handle bigger projects. Instead it goes back into the general fund and the bleeding hearts would rather give it out to every organization with their hands out instead of saving or putting the funds into the towns infrastructures.
Mike,
Thank you for your service to our country. You seem very passionate about your point of views and I encourage you to run for an elected position so you can represent those with similar opinions. That being said, I respectfully disagree with your opinions. I watched the meeting on the Town’s Facebook page and it was clear that only contractual pay increase for departments and increases in costs associated with the safety and well being of the community were approved for recommendations to the voters for Town Meeting. Ultimately the residents set the amount, and if they to defund anything then Town Meeting is the place to do it.
As for funds which are not spent, the Town had committed a prudent amount, in line with financial auditors report, to reducing the tax rate over the past couple of years. I am sorry that you experienced waste while you were honorably serving in uniform, but please don’t take it out on the local public officials trying to do the best they can. As I said, you should run for office so you can represent like minded citizens.