ORANGE — Following the failure of this summer’s Proposition 2½ tax override vote that would have supported the $21.3 million budget passed during Annual Town Meeting, Orange has adopted a new, tighter budget months into the fiscal year.

It includes cuts to schools, police, and snow and ice removal, and significantly decreases the town’s “free cash” — the remaining, unrestricted town funds.

Orange’s Special Town Meeting was Thursday, where residents voted through nine articles, one of which involved the budget. The new budget for the 2020 fiscal year, which began July 1, was approved at roughly $21.1 million.

The budget represents slightly more than a 4 percent increase over last year’s budget of roughly $20.3 million.

Still, the new budget contains cuts to the initial budget in 11 accounts:

Town Counsel was reduced from $50,000 to $45,000 ($5,000 decrease); Armory Maintenance, $42,600 to $38,235 ($4,365 decrease); Police Expenses, $98,075 to $92,190 ($5,885 decrease); Building Department Expenses, $4,775 to $4,536 ($239 decrease); Regional Animal Control Program, $20,000 to $10,000 ($10,000 decrease); Orange Elementary Schools, $6,675,680 to $6,625,072 ($50,608 decrease); Highways, Parks and Cemeteries Expenses, $235,560 to $228,000 ($7,560 decrease); Snow and Ice, $240,032 to $155,267 ($84,765 decrease); Sanitation Expenses, $115,693 to $109,167 ($6,526 decrease); Airport Expenses, $48,000 to $43,600 ($4,400 decrease); Agricultural Commission, $500 to $400 ($100 decrease).

The budget is $179,448 less than what was voted in June, but also uses $235,000 in free cash to balance the budget. While it was explained as necessary Thursday night, it was obvious that members of the Finance Committee and Selectboard think depleting free cash to balance the budget is generally a bad practice.

“Normally, using free cash to pay for operating expenses is not a good practice,” Finance Committee Chair Keith LaRiviere said. “We were hoping to avoid that by passing the override. … We are reluctant to do that, but we’re doing it anyway.”

LaRiviere said cutting the departments’ expenses any more would “not be wise.” Since 2012, costs for Orange have increased by about $605,000 per year on average, while revenues have only increased by about $231,252 per year in the same amount of time.

“Essentially, the process we went through was to go through and find deductions that we don’t think are going to kill us,” LaRiviere said of the cuts.

Each year, about $150,000 to $170,000 is used from free cash for snow and ice removal, which Orange is legally required to provide as a service. Orange has $692,739 in free cash, and with a $235,000 reduction to balance the budget, plus anticipated snow and ice costs, little is left if Orange has any unexpected costs. Town officials have publicly hoped for a light winter.

As for the rest of the budget — while Finance Committee and School Committee members initially thought Orange Elementary Schools would take a bigger hit following the tax override failure, the town received an additional $99,524.93 in Chapter 70 funds from the state, which reduced the cuts to the schools.

Reach David McLellan at dmclellan@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 268.