DALTON, Mass. — The Finance Committee will soon embark on its budget planning process, which comes with a notable challenge. 

 

It was demonstrated during its meeting last Wednesday that this year's budget planning will demand both strategic thinking to ensure financial stability for the town while maintaining critical services.

 

The town does not have a lot of budgetary flexibility because it does not have a lot of room with relation to Proposition 2 1/2, Chair William Drosehn III said. 

 

Proposition 2 1/2 limits the ability of town's to raise taxes and sets a levy ceiling. Drosehn said the town's levy limit is $280,000. 

 

However, it may change as the budget process progresses and the picture becomes clearer.

 

Town Manager Eric Anderson said he has been very clear to the department heads about the town's fiscal constraints this year. This is Anderson's first budget season with Dalton. 

 

"The reality is, Prop 2 1/2 is going to rear its ugly head, if not in this budget, certainly in the next, and we need to be as constrained as possible," he said. 

 

If the town is not careful, the only other two realistic options are cuts to capital expenditures and/or personnel, Anderson said. 

 

"[Capital expenditures is] an easy place to cut, but it's in some ways, the place you can least afford to cut … and the second is personnel," he said. 

 

"Department heads have to understand that the goal of this is to present a streamlined enough budget that's accurate and close enough to the revenue projections as well as the cost projections, that we stay under Prop 2 1/2, and we do that without cutting employees. It does not look like it's going to be an easy balance" 

 

When the department heads come back with their needs, with the fiscal constraints of the town in mind, public officials will have to review the budgets carefully. 

 

Although it will not affect this year's budget Anderson said he has noticed areas to streamline operations in Town Hall. 

 

Department budgets are expected back to the committee by late January. Then the Select Board and Finance Committee will conduct a detailed, line-by-line review, questioning and refining proposals. 

 

"I think there's a bunch of things we do pretty inefficiently, and we throw manual labor at things which are much better off done in an automated fashion, but that's going to take a while to institute. Probably not going to see any effects of that in this budget cycle," he said. 

 

The town also has to keep in mind rising costs in wages and materials, Drosehn said. 

 

In the end, this budget actually belongs to people. We build it, we take ownership, we go to the annual town meeting, and then we turn ownership of that budget over for people," he said. 

 

The finalized operating budget, along with any capital and contract considerations, must be ready and printed for residents by early April, ahead of the annual town meeting.

 

Voters can make any changes, whether it is increases or decreases, to any account that they want.