In wake of pandemic, annual budget memo calls for ‘progression of service’

Budget season begins formally each year with the publication of a joint memorandum by the Select Board and Finance Committee. The annual memo provides a framework—and a schedule—on which departments and committees are expected to build their spending plans for the coming year.

At Tuesday’s Select Board meeting, Town Administrator Tim Bragan said this year’s memo is ready for publication, barring any last minute changes from Select Board or FinCom members. The letter will be distributed to department heads and committee chairs Friday, Oct. 22.

The Press obtained a copy of the two-page document late Tuesday night. It sets five overarching goals, as well as specific guidelines, that the two committees want every fiscal 2023 submission to meet. In addition, the Finance Committee has provided a set of criteria it will use to judge the total fiscal 2023 budget that emerges from the process.

For the first time, FinCom insists that every department submit a detailed budget narrative that explains “how the budget supports [fiscal 2023] goals and what decisions have been made with regards to what services will be provided.” Submitters are invited as well to provide “a prioritized list of [their] top additional spending opportunities with an explanation of the value created for the Town.” The memo includes a detailed budget calendar that sets noon Dec. 1 as the date all budgets are due to Finance Director Jared Mullane. (See box below.)

Goals for fiscal 2023 spending

Here are five goals —as written in the memo and sent to the Press on Tuesday— that the Select Board and FinCom have set for fiscal 2023 spending, which begins July 1, 2022:

• Ensure alignment with the Town’s Charter, Master Plan, and the goals outlined by the Select Board.
• Enable the Town and its boards to best serve the community and maintain natural and physical resources through strategic use of available funds.
• Provide operating funds that support a long-term view of capital investment and economic development.
• Provide support for open space needs, recreation, conservation, opportunity for housing diversity, and economic development.
• Provide a budget that is supportive of our climate resiliency goals.

These goals, the memo states, “are intended to serve the town’s short and long-term goals. As such, the complete Omnibus Budget and each budget submission will be evaluated in the context of these goals.”

Guidelines for fiscal 2023 budget submissions to FinCom

In addition, the Finance Committee has said it will evaluate—and presumably adjust—the final fiscal 2023 budget, according to these guidelines, as written in the joint memorandum:

• Maintains a service level that is commensurate to an expected progression of service, based on pre-pandemic service levels;
• Expands services or service quality through strategic application of budget principles;
• Provides sufficient funds for building and other infrastructure maintenance to ensure that capital facilities and equipment are properly maintained;
• Maintains adequate reserve and contingency funds for future expenses and unforeseen circumstances;
• Is supported by the town’s tax base and other revenue sources, without jeopardizing the town’s operations, credit ratings, and ability to service its debt in coming years.

The Press reached out to the chairs of the Select Board and FinCom for clarification of the phrase “commensurate to an expected progression of service,” but did not receive a reply in time for publication.