MONTAGUE — With budget season getting underway, the Selectboard is continuing to discuss which departments can make 2% cuts in fiscal year 2027.
After reviewing budget narratives from department heads on Monday, board members agreed they could likely make cuts to the Selectboard, Accounting Department, Assessing Department, Zoning Board of Appeals, Department of Public Works, Board of Health and Clean Water Facility, and would need to further discuss which additional departments could support budget cuts.
Departments that Selectboard members said are unlikely to face cuts include the Information Technology Department, Police Department, Cemetery Commission, Council on Aging and Turners Falls Municipal Airport. Board members said these departments either operate with small budgets already or have no wiggle room due to contract agreements. For example, board members explained, contracted services make up most of the IT budget, and to accommodate a 2% cut, the department would need to delay scheduled equipment replacements.
“This is not a budget that has a lot of wiggle room, from what I can tell. It’s managing vendor contracts, and they are what they are,” Selectboard Chair Matt Lord said. And while the town could scale back its timeline for equipment replacements, he continued, “that doesn’t seem like a long-term solution. … I read this as we’re really asking for trouble if we start cutting this budget.”
In his budget narrative, Airport Manager Bryan Camden wrote that the airport is currently operating with a smaller budget than it needs to support facility maintenance. Grants and increased traffic and fuel sales have supported the budget, but in the future, the town needs to allocate more funding to the airport.
“They’re doing the best they can with bare bones,” Lord said of the airport’s budget.
Selectboard members added that they need to discuss the budgets of the treasurer, tax collector, town clerk and libraries, as well as the Planning & Conservation, Building, and Parks & Recreation departments to better understand what impact a budget cut would have and if it is something feasible for the town.
In the coming months, the Selectboard and Finance Committee are expected to further review the budget requests of each department in preparation for presenting the final FY27 plan to Town Meeting members in the spring.