At 7 p.m. in the second-floor conference at Town Hall, the Board of Finance will tonight continue its budget deliberations with the expectation the six-member board will vote on a proposed figure for both municipal operations and education that will then be presented to the public for a hearing on April 8
After the hearing, the board can again make adjustments in time for a town meeting on May 6 with a tentative referendum date on May 20.
The Board of Selectmen proposed a combined budget of $60.22 million, or $20.15 million for municipal operations, $1.752 million for capital expenses for schools and the town and $38.35 million for the schools that includes two reclassifications: an additional $235,000 to cover the cost of school resource officers that this year were funded through the Police Department and $500,000 in pension for school staff that will be moved into the municipal budget.
The school board’s original budget proposal was a 4.66 percent increase over the current $38.29 million; based on health insurance changes and retirement incentives the budget was altered to reflect those savings so that the budget proposal earlier this month reflects a 3.5 percent increase.