Weston selectmen recommend budget increases to finance board
WESTON — From high school track renovations to infrastructure improvements, salary increases and beyond, the Board of Selectmen has recommended 2023-24 operating and capital budgets to the town's Board of Finance.
In a meeting Thursday, First Selectwoman Samantha Nestor said the goals for fiscal year 202324 are to maintain town services within reasonable costs, address infrastructure needs, minimize the impact of the mill rate, assess expenditures and revenues and recognize that the grand list has recently increased, which will help offset some increases in the budget.
Nestor's proposed operating budget included an increase of $615,915, with 90 percent of it being “obligatory.” This includes wage, medical insurance, workers compensation insurance and retirement contribution increases.
“If you take out the obligatory expenses that we have, really the increase is 0.42 percent, or $61,000,” she said.
Nestor said the budget would have been much higher if the town did not receive outside funds such as a $500,000 state grant for a police locker room and bathroom upgrade, $535,000 in ARPA funds for a replacement of the Fire Rescue Five engine and $575,000 in APRA funds for road repaving.
The board voted to recommend approval of the 2023-24 Board of Selectmen operating budget, totaling nearly $15.3 million.
Selectwoman Amy Jenner did not vote to approve the budget, saying, "We can't continue to perpetuate operating expense increases of this magnitude," noting the 4.19 percent total increase.
The only reduction to the budget was in the amount of $2,880, which were supposed to be inflationary adjustments for legal vendors, Nestor said.
The board also unanimously voted to recommend debt services in the amount of nearly $3 million.
Another unanimous recommendation was for the 2023-24 capital budget, totaling $3.5 million with an offset of $34,592 from prior capital projects that have been closed.
The last item recommended for approval was the Board of Education operating budget of just over $58 million, which Jenner also did not vote to recommend.
Weston Superintendent Lisa Barbiero said the request represents an increase of 2.94 percent.
“The administrative team analyzed multiple sources of data to evaluate our academic programming and determine how to maximize student growth and achievement given our available resources,” she said.
Salaries and benefits represent 76 percent of the request, she said.
“Our employees are the district's most valuable resource and we are proud of the connections that they form with our students,” Barbiero said. “As a small district, this is our greatest strength.”
Some of the Board of Education's upcoming capital items include repaving of the main high school parking lot and a replacement of the high school track, according to Nestor's presentation.
This year's grand list had a 1.3 percent increase, Nestor said, which included the number of new home constructions, additions and remodels.
The mill rate is expected to increase from 32.97 percent to 33.20, she said.
Nestor also said that the town's unemployment rate is almost at preCOVID levels. It currently sits at 3.4 percent, whereas in 2019, it was at 3 percent.