Budget Committee Meeting ~ February 10, 2025

2025-02-10 · Budget Committee · 2:40:36 · watch on YouTube →

The Durham budget committee met for the third time on the 2025-26 budget, resuming its line-by-line review of the select board's proposal at page 17. Joe, the select board chair, opened by presenting revenue revisions prepared by the town manager and the contract accountant, Mark, which the select board had not yet voted on; several members objected to receiving changed figures on the night of a meeting. The committee worked through debt service, county tax, education, capital reserve transfers, fund balances and reserve account balances, then through general government, public safety, public works and community services. It agreed to make recommendations only and to hold its votes on department budgets until its February 24 meeting, while several members said they want the projected 3.5% tax increase reduced. The one vote taken was on a proposed warrant article moving $53,486 from the telecommunications reserve to the emergency reserve, which the committee recommended against.

No written minutes could be matched to this meeting. The transcript records that the speaker changed but never who was speaking, so any name attached to a statement below is inferred from context and is marked (?).

What was discussed

1. 0:03
   Opening and scope of the meeting

   The chair opened the third budget committee meeting on the 2025-26 budget and returned to page 17 of the select board's proposal. Joe (?) said the town manager and the contract accountant, Mark, had revised several revenue projections in response to the committee's feedback, and that the select board would review them the following night.

2. 5:51
   Revised revenue projections read line by line

   Joe (?) read the proposed changes: other excise tax (line 11-6105) from $9,000 to $6,000; code enforcement (line 12-6215) from $90,000 to $65,000; state revenue sharing (line 13-6300) to $925,000; and the homestead exemption reimbursement (line 13-6305) to $260,000. The package also reduced the additional use of fund balance, currently shown on page one as $595,000.

3. 11:02
   Cable franchise, ambulance and interest income; objection to late changes

   Cable franchise fees were proposed at $51,000, based on an average of $8,500 a quarter over six quarters; ambulance fees moved from $135,000 to $175,000; interest income doubled from $100,000 to $200,000. Joe (?) said Mark's advice was to hold the annualized tax change near 3.5% by using less fund balance rather than adjusting the tax rate. A member said it was not proper for one board member to present numbers the board had not voted on, and that changing figures between meetings made an informed recommendation difficult.

4. 16:26
   Response on process and whether another meeting is needed

   Joe (?) said the figures came from the accountant and the town manager, that he does not speak for the select board, and that he raised them to be transparent ahead of the board's vote. Members discussed using the already-scheduled third meeting to react to whatever the select board adopts. A member asked about the select board's votes of $2,500 for Durham Youth Baseball and $1,100 for the snowmobile club, described as unanimous and to be paid from reserves.

5. 22:02
   Debt service, county tax and education

   Debt service totals $853,188 across the 18 months, covering both the 2025 and 2026 payments, an annualized decrease of 31.2%. County tax is $816,323 and is paid once within the 18-month budget. Education is budgeted at $9,750,000, a 6.8% increase, against a school board proposal presented on February 5.

6. 27:13
   Transfers to capital reserves and the 10-year capital plan

   Transfers out of $595,000 fund the public works, fire department and buildings capital reserves under a 10-year replacement plan built by department heads. Jane (?) said the process is sound but that residents should be told plainly what is being bought rather than having it approved inside a budget line. Joe and Heather cited the public works truck that was not bought last year, and the town office generator that the CIP committee had not ranked high enough, as examples of the new process working.

7. 32:38
   Fund balances and ARPA

   The general fund ending balance for FY24 is $3,254,475. ARPA expenditures were given as $63,800 in one place and $63,873 in another, emptying that fund; Joe (?) said the money had to be committed under signed contracts before the 2026 deadline and that this was done.

8. 38:19
   Reserve account balances read out

   Joe (?) read balances including the historic district commission reserve at $1,330, the Jackson Tupper memorial reserve at $123, the grant matching reserve at $26,845 after $24,600 of expenditures, the recreation reserve at about $23,742, the telecommunications reserve at about $83,200, and a total committed of $1,741,195. Several individual figures in this passage are garbled in the recording.

9. 44:13
   Telecommunications reserve and cable franchise coding

   A member asked why the 2024 actual for cable franchise fees is not reflected in the transfer into the telecommunications reserve, and why the projection was being raised when residents are dropping cable. Joe (?) said the accountant had called the $9,703 entry an improper classification and that the remaining question would be emailed to Mark. Members also set out what the reserve was historically used for, including broadcasting equipment, an IT staff position and printing the town report.

10. 54:36
    Authority to spend from reserve accounts; proposed emergency reserve transfer

    Joe (?) said the select board may expend from reserve accounts where the spending matches the account's purpose, and described a proposed warrant article to move $53,486 from the telecommunications reserve to the emergency reserve so funds are available for an unbudgeted emergency. A member said that reading of state statute is wrong and that the emergency fund is only available because the town authorized it by warrant article. Joe (?) said the town's legal counsel could be asked for an opinion.

11. 59:37
    Homestead exemption estimate

    A member noted the homestead reimbursement fell from $302,687 in 2023 to $262,933 in 2024, a drop of a little over $39,000, and suggested budgeting about $225,000 rather than the $275,000 originally proposed or the $260,000 now recommended. Members disagreed over whether the $260,000 covers 18 months or a single collection, one speaker annualizing it to about $173,000. Joe (?) said he was presenting the information, not making a recommendation.

12. 1:04:53
    Warrant articles and the committee's role

    Joe (?) said the only proposed reserve-account warrant language is the telecommunications-to-emergency transfer, and that recreation requests would be paid from the recreation reserve rather than raised and appropriated. Members said any article with a financial impact should carry a budget committee recommendation alongside the select board's. Warrant language was said not to be finalized until late February.

13. 1:09:53
    Projected mill rate and a call for a lower target

    The projected mill rate moves from 21.75 to 22.52, about 3.5%, against 1.99% last year. Allen (?) said 3.5% is not acceptable, that he would aim for 2% to 2.5%, and that the committee could set a percentage ceiling and leave the select board and department heads to find the reductions.

14. 1:15:29
    Percentage target versus department-by-department review

    Members argued that capping the mill rate would push all reductions onto town lines because the school and county assessments are outside the town's control, with one estimating that would mean a 1.5% to 2% town increase. Another (?) said the committee should not endorse reducing the fund balance draw below $595,000 given the expected school increase. Members also said they could not crunch accurate department numbers because the figures had changed that evening.

15. 1:21:06
    Budget calendar and decision to defer votes

    Jerry (?) said the draft budget has to reach the printer by March 4 to be printed for town meeting, which the chair translated into finishing the committee's votes at the February 24 meeting. The committee agreed that tonight would produce recommendations only, with motions and votes taken on the 24th.

16. 1:26:33
    Line-item recommendations for general government

    Neil (?) recommended the town not absorb the half-percent employer share of family leave, put at about $6,000 across three departments, and proposed changes to general government lines including training and development, legal services (suggesting $15,000 against $8,500 spent), eliminating the proposed HR position, and cutting the Text-My-Gov and website lines. Several of the figures he read are garbled in the recording.

17. 1:32:46
    Vehicle stipend folded into wages

    Jane (?) asked where the town manager's vehicle stipend came from and how moving it into salary affects future raises. Joe (?) said the stipend had always sat inside the wages and benefits line, that the total is unchanged, and that breaking the line down further raises personnel privacy issues. Heather (?) said the discussion was approaching personnel and performance matters that cannot be held in public.

18. 1:38:22
    Department head wages; a motion made and withdrawn

    A member asked whether the 3.9% shown for department head wages sits on top of a 6.4% increase given in August; Joe (?) said the 3.9% is the proposed increase for the 18-month budget. Neil (?) then moved a recommendation on the general government budget, it was seconded for discussion, and he withdrew it once the chair noted the committee had agreed to defer votes.

19. 1:49:12
    Public safety

    Members said they saw little to cut in public safety, describing the fire budget as about a 3.5% increase in line with CPI and accepting the two added stipends and the night coverage voted last year. Jerry (?) said grants cannot be budgeted in advance, so the full cost of items such as radios must be budgeted and grants pursued afterwards. About $10,000 is budgeted for radios; the increase in the telephone and internet line covers computer-aided dispatch tablets.

20. 1:54:53
    Public works, municipal buildings and cemetery

    Public works was described as roughly a 3.5% increase in line with CPI, with a comment to the select board and town manager to keep the roads in good shape. Jill (?) recommended the select board raise the education line (line 96-7915) to reflect the school board's 7.64% figure. On municipal buildings, the $10,000 for building repairs and maintenance (line 41-7253) is about double the actual, which Joe attributed to expected contractor cost increases over 18 months.

21. 2:00:35
    Community services and the Durham Youth Baseball request

    A member proposed $7,500 for Durham Youth Baseball in the 18-month budget, citing a conversation with the club's president, Mike Clark (?), about parking and facilities at the field. Joe (?) said the select board intends to pay the $2,500 requested from the recreation reserve, which holds about $23,000, rather than raise and appropriate new money. Heather (?) said the request had not been through the planning board process and was not fully funded for that reason. No vote was taken.

22. 2:11:34
    How warrant articles can be amended at town meeting

    Members confirmed that at town meeting an article's amount can be reduced but not increased, on the basis that a higher figure has not been vetted. Last year's article 9 raised and appropriated $6,700 for community services, itemized between general assistance, Durham Youth Baseball, the snowmobile trail, a generator and the Freeport scholarship fund. This year the select board proposes an article to expend from the reserve account instead.

23. 2:16:59
    Use of fund balance and request for capital plan documentation

    John (?) said the committee needs to decide what transfers out of reserves and fund balance it recommends if it wants to hold the tax increase down. A member asked for the rolling 10-year capital documents before the next meeting; Joe (?) said the dollar amount is the committee's business and that the item-level content of the capital plan is a policy discussion for town meeting, and undertook to make the plan easy to find on the town website.

24. 2:22:47
    CPI against employee and Social Security increases

    A member noted that CPI is 3.5% but the town's minimum wage employees and many residents received 2.5%, and that Mark's 3% to 5% range leaves room for compromise. Heather (?) asked the select board to look at all the numbers and try to hold the rate at 3%. Joe (?) said the committee's recommendation is really to the community, since the select board may not change its own budget, and that two sets of numbers would then go to the voters.

25. 2:28:31
    Motion on the telecommunications-to-emergency transfer

    The chair returned to the proposed article moving $53,486 from the telecommunications reserve to the emergency reserve. A motion to recommend declining it was made and seconded, with members arguing the town has not settled where it will hold meetings or what telecommunications upgrades at the Eureka Center or elsewhere will cost, and that the select board can already spend from capital and building reserves. Others said the select board should keep the flexibility.

26. 2:39:11
    Next meeting and adjournment

    The chair set the next meeting for Monday February 24 at 6:30 pm at the fire station, at which the committee will hear and vote on motions by department. Joe agreed to supply a clean, updated budget after the select board's meeting, in both printed and emailed form. The meeting was moved to close and adjourned.

What was decided

• 1:21:06
  The committee agreed to make recommendations only at this meeting and to hold its votes on department budgets until February 24, so that the draft budget can reach the printer by March 4.tabled
• 1:38:22
  Neil (?) moved a recommendation on the general government budget and it was seconded for discussion; he withdrew the motion after the chair noted the committee had agreed to defer votes, and the second was withdrawn.tabled
• 2:00:35
  Proposal that $7,500 be provided for Durham Youth Baseball in the 18-month budget rather than the $2,500 the select board intends to expend from the recreation reserve. It was discussed at length and referred to as a motion, but no vote is recorded in the transcript.outcome unclear
• 2:28:31
  Motion to recommend against the proposed warrant article transferring $53,486 from the telecommunications reserve to the emergency reserve, that is, to transfer zero. The chair announced that it passes; the count is garbled in the recording, given both as a running count of four in favour and as 7 to 2.passed
• 2:39:11
  Motion to close the meeting.passed

An outcome reads "unclear" where the recording does not state it plainly. The recogniser drops short words, and "the motion does not carry" is one missing word from its opposite.

Worth knowing

• 1:09:53
  The projected mill rate goes from 21.75 to 22.52, about a 3.5% increase, against 1.99% last year. Allen (?) said he would not vote for 3.5% and asked the committee to aim at 2% to 2.5%.
• 22:02
  Education is budgeted at $9,750,000, a 6.8% increase, but the school board's figure is given inconsistently: Joe cited a proposed 7.2% and a gap of 0.4%, while a member said the emailed proposal, page nine, says 7.64% and calculated $10,489,734 for the 18 months.
• 1:21:06
  The draft budget must be with the printer by March 4 to be printed for town meeting, so the committee's votes have to be finished at its February 24 meeting, 6:30 pm at the fire station.
• 44:13
  Cable franchise revenue figures conflict in the record: the accountant's note gives a 2024 total of about $37,462, the sheet is cited as showing an actual of $27,759 with only $9,703 transferred to the telecommunications reserve, and $41,600 is quoted elsewhere. The $9,703 entry was described as an improper classification and the remaining question was referred back to Mark.

Motion language found in the transcript

Located by pattern matching, with no model involved: "I move that", "I'll second", "all those in favour". This is an independent check on the summary above: 3 passages of motion language, against 5 decisions summarised.

Elsewhere

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