CHESTERFIELD – Voters at Monday’s annual Town Meeting will consider a $3.4 million budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1, which is an increase of $85,906, or 2.5 percent, from this year.
Town Meeting will start at 7 p.m. in the Town Hall.
The Finance Committee and Select Board are recommending a 2 percent raise for town employees, which is included in the proposed $3,395,034 budget.
“We have managed to find ways to support our town employees by setting aside something every year for raises to keep up with the cost of living,” Finance Committee member Jan Gibeau said. “Otherwise it just isn’t fair to people who really work very hard for the town.”
Voters also will be asked to spend $230,000 on a 10-wheel dump truck for the Highway Department, and $45,000 for the purchase of a four-wheel drive police cruiser. If approved, the new police vehicle would replace a 2008 cruiser.
Both items would be paid for over a 10-year period or less.
Voters will also be asked to approve $30,000 for the Land Acquisition Stabilization Fund and $50,000 for the Capital Improvements Stabilization Fund.
“There is a shared feeling between the Finance Committee and the Select Board that procrastination is never good,” Gibeau said. “So we are very careful to do long-range planning around capital improvements.”
Gibeau noted that having a good working relationship between the Finance Committee and the Select Board is one of the keys to the town’s financial stability.
“Chesterfield has always had a lot to be proud of in terms of our stable financial state. We try to be very prudent while looking at what we need now and in the future,” Gibeau said.
Voters will also consider using $20,000 in free cash to fund a feasibility study for a new Public Safety and Town Office complex on the Davenport building site, as well as $26,000 for new guardrails on Ireland Street, $10,500 for cemetery repairs, and $8,500 for two sets of turnout gear for the Fire Department.
Lee Manchester, co-chairman of the Finance Committee, said the town currently has $488,446 in free cash holdings.
“That is a nice amount for a small town like ours,” Manchester said. “If all the free cash articles are approved, we will be spending about 15 percent of what we have and carry the rest forward for when we need it.”