CONWAY — Five line items are responsible for much of the tax increase anticipated if the general operating budget is adopted as proposed.
Voters at town meeting will be asked to raise and appropriate $5,315,991, which is up $295,841 from the current fiscal year. Most of this difference is attributed to employee costs, information technology, technical schools, Conway Grammar School operating expenses and Frontier Regional operating costs, which add up to $259,771.
Town meeting is slated for 7:30 p.m. at the Conway Grammar School on Monday.
Outside the general operating budget, voters will be asked to raise and appropriate $125,000 for the capital stabilization account, $100,000 for the highway garage stabilization account and $50,000 for Conway Grammar School capital stabilization. Town Administrator Tom Hutcheson said adoption of all proposed articles would increase the town tax rate by more than $2, to roughly $18.78 per $1,000 of assessed value.
Hutcheson explained the $63,358 spike in Frontier Regional operating expenses is the result of many teachers retiring with pay-outs for their accrued sick days. He said this figure is a “one-time hit.”
Hutcheson said the $71,870 in technical school expenses comes from sending two students to out-of-district Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School in Northampton. He explained the town is responsible for paying all tuition and transportation costs for any students that choose to go to another district for a program not offered at the technical school in their own.
The town administrator also said the $31,105 increase in employee costs and $73,438 hike in Grammar School operating expenses stem from health insurance for all town employees going up 6.8 percent because the town is part of the Hampshire County Group Insurance Trust, established by the state for the joint purchase of insurance.
The $20,000 increase under the information technology line item is the result of a full upgrade to the town government’s computer system. Hutcheson said this is a new line item, as $5,000 had been budgeted in previous years through a separate account. He said much of the improvements were security based. He mentioned the town utilized the services of Network Advantage LLC, which is operated by Conway resident Roy Cohen.
A separate line item indicates town audit expenses are increasing from $1 to $13,000. Hutcheson explained auditing is conducted every other year and $1 was placed in the budget this fiscal year to keep the line item open in case the town need to appropriate money to it via a special town meeting.
You can reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com
or 413-772-0261, ext. 257.
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