Town Manager John Potter did what the Brattleboro Selectboard asked and has revised the FY26 budget with an additional $317k in savings. Here’s his memo to the board explaining the cuts he made on their behalf.
And yes, there are un-chill cuts to the Library.
….
MEMORANDUM
To: Brattleboro Selectboard
From: John Potter, Town Manager
Date: April 28, 2025
Subject: FY26 Budget Re-Development / Final Draft FY26 General Fund Budget
Staff Recommendation
Staff requests Selectboard consideration of this matter and action in the form of the following motion:
To approve the FY26 General Fund budget and Capital Plan, as presented.
At the Selectboard’s April 24, 2025 meeting, the board made several cuts and restored funding for the bus service. Then, the board asked staff to find an additional $317,033 in reductions without giving further board-approved policy direction. Staff therefore had a difficult task and generally balanced further reductions across the enterprise resulting in the attached budget.
The total expenditure in the draft revised budget stands at $24,971,305 (an 8.3% increase over FY25) with a property tax levy to balance of $19,620,094. The following table shows the overall % increase on the property tax bill from FY25, as the draft budget stands today:
Item FY24 FY25 FY26_RTM1 FY26 (4/28/25)
Municipal Taxes 16,679,637 17,701,970 19,840,778 19,620,094
Percent Increase 4.2% 6.1% 12.1% 10.8%
Dollar Increase 674,294 1,022,333 2,138,808 1,916,624
School Taxes 18,869,851 20,951,579 21,202,998 21,202,998
Percent Increase 2.9% 11.0% 1.2% 1.2%
Dollar Increase 524,561 2,081,729 251,419 251,419
Overall Property Tax Bill 35,549,488 38,653,549 41,043,776 40,823,092
Percent Increase 3.5% 8.7% 6.2% 5.6%
Dollar Increase 1,198,855 3,104,062 2,390,227 2,169,543
To get to this $19,620,094 number for municipal taxes, the Selectboard approved a total of six staff positions to be eliminated or reduced, and staff have suggested one more, for savings of $504,767 in the FY26 budget.
Department Position Savings
Town Manager Assistant Town Manager $140,596
Town Manager IT Coordinator $98,920
Police Data Specialist $91,375
Police PT ER Services Dispatcher $56,809
Finance Finance Clerk $57,986
Planning PT Sustainability Coordinator $44,578
Finance Finance Director $14,503
Total $504,767
The Selectboard made most of these and other reductions at its April 17, 2025 and April 24, 2025 meetings, and staff made additional reductions, as requested. These are summarized in the following table, by department:
Fire 179,223
Police 145,809
Town Manager 145,230
HR/Finance 105,105
Public Works 100,000
Library 27,000
Assessors 7,050
Town Clerk 1,800
Total 711,217
The additional items that staff incorporated into the final budget, exceeding the Selectboard’s requested reduction of $317,033, were the following:
Department Amount Item
Fire 141,723 defer ambulance fund
Public Works 100,000 delay intersection work
Police 89,000 delay car 1 replacement
Police 56,809 reduce dispatcher pos. to part-time
Fire 37,500 delay car 2 replacement
Assessors 5,200 reduce software fees
HR/Finance 5,000 reduce advertising
HR/Finance 5,000 eliminate employee recognition
Library 4,000 reduce computer maintenance
Library 4,000 reduce periodicals and newspapers
Library 3,500 reduce reference sources
Library 3,000 reduce office supplies
Library 3,000 reduce books
Library 2,000 reduce office equipment
Library 2,000 reduce non-print materials/adult
Library 2,000 reduce young adult sources
Library 1,500 reduce book and non-print supplies
Library 1,000 reduce replacement books
Library 1,000 reduce non-print materials/children
Assessors 625 reduce professional services
Assessors 625 reduce training
Assessors 600 reduce office supplies
HR/Finance 600 reduce computer supply
Total 469,682
In the revised FY26 budget attached, the Selectboard will also see a projection for FY27 that estimates a preliminary overall expenditure increase of 3.3% and a property tax increase of 3.4%.
Attachments
A. Final Draft Revised FY26 General Fund Budget and Capital Plan (4/28/2025)
