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Municipal Budget Season

By Patrick White

At a recent Select Board meeting, the board and Town Administrator Michael Canales were debating a number of spending decisions. At one point I said to Michael, "you are protecting the institution, and I am trying to protect the taxpayer."

Municipal Budgeting

The tax rate is based on operational revenue and spending. The lower the projected revenue and/or the higher the project expenses and property tax bills rise. Conservative budgeting in any given year results in a surplus the next year known as "free cash". Too conservative, and the tax rate is higher than need be. Too aggressive, and the Town could run out of money. A good budget is like Goldilocks and porridge, you want to get it just right.

The taxpayers need the Town to be on a solid footing. The Towns needs the taxpayers to be well served at a burden they can afford. This is more ying and yang than either/or.

It all comes down to assumptions and predictions: how much will Town accounts earn in interest? How much will we receive in hotel and meals tax revenue? How much revenue will our rents in town hall generate? The higher you budget each of these items, the lower the property tax rate. I tend to push back if I feel the budgeting is too conservative. Michael, ever cognizant of the institutional responsibilities, sometimes agrees and sometimes does not.

These conversations are never adversarial. Assumptions are just that: a prediction of the unknown.

There is a larger point here. Decisions on the operating and capital budgets are made by both the Finance Committee and the Select Board. These boards vote, and a majority vote of each board prevails. In the rare instance where there is a disagreement between these boards, a different procedure is used at Town Meeting to air that difference in opinion. In the end, Town Meeting decides. This is an example of the rule of law applying to local government. In this time where some question whether the rule of law will apply to the federal government, it is important to note that it applies to every level of government. In this way, the process is at least as important as the outcome.

In the example above, there were no lines drawn in the sand, only a process informed by mutual respect, compromise, and a desire to find common ground and meet the needs of Town and Taxpayer alike.