SHELBURNE — The town budget for fiscal year 2027 is beginning to take shape, as the Selectboard and Finance Committee reviewed budget requests from the Arms Library, the Shelburne Free Public Library and the Highway Department on Monday.
Highway Superintendent Jeff Johnston said he is making cuts to the gravel line of the budget as the department has some gravel left over from last year that it can use, and he wants to increase the heating oil line and staff pay.
Highway personnel costs for FY27 are expected to be $342,420. Johnston said this will be more than the 3.5% cost-of-living adjustment the Selectboard had recommended to department heads, but would bring staff closer to regional averages for Highway Department wages.
“I asked for an additional dollar because he is really good at what he does and it’s hard to retain people,” Johnston said of the proposed pay raise for the department’s mechanic. “I think he’s deserving of it.”
After discussions with the Selectboard and Town Administrator Terry Narkowicz, Johnston said he is also requesting his own salary be increased to $97,500, based on how much time he spends at work and the projects he has undertaken. He currently makes $88,000.
“Really it’s the amount of time I spend here for you guys. I don’t even know what my hours are now … that you don’t see on the time sheet because it’s part of being a salaried employee,” Johnston said. “That’s where I came up with that number, plus the introduction of the vegetation management plan.”
Selectboard member Andrew Baker said he is in favor of giving Johnston a raise, since last year during budget season, he was a new employee and only received a cost-of-living adjustment. Baker said Johnston deserves to be recognized for the “quantity and quality” of his work.
“I have no problems with the $97,500; I think that’s really reasonable,” Finance Committee member James Burnham said. “I’m on board with that.”
For FY27, Johnston is also submitting two capital requests: a $5,545 pressure washer to replace the current one from 1995 and a $30,000 code reader scan tool that would allow the department to save money on contacting technicians to diagnose mechanical problems.
“It’ll allow us to plug into our trucks and have that scan already done,” Johnston said. “You’re not paying technicians to come out here in the field and read it to you and pay astronomical labor rates.”
Ted Sicker, treasurer for the Shelburne Free Public Library, said the library is increasing its budget for technology to replace aging computers, and is upping the programming budget due to increased interest among residents. These increases will be covered by library endowments, state aid and funding from the Friends group.
Sicker said the town’s appropriation for the library will increase by 3.5% to cover the 3.5% cost-of-living adjustment for staff, as directed by the town. In FY26, voters approved a $40,671 budget for the library.
The Arms Library board of trustees originally presented a 2.5% budget increase to the Selectboard and Finance Committee, which then recommended some changes after comparing the numbers to the library’s expenses so far this fiscal year.
Finance Committee member Terri Mitchell asked why the budget included $2,000 for information technology (IT), when the Arms Library has only spent $113 of its $2,000 IT budget for FY26. Similarly, in FY25, the library spent $516 of its $2,000 IT budget. Mitchell wondered if the budget should be reduced to accurately reflect what is being spent.
Director Laurie Wheeler responded that it was a mistake on her part, and that the library would like to purchase more computers, but she has not done so yet.
Committee members also asked if the library has made any progress on a memorandum of understanding with the town of Buckland on how shared library expenses should be paid.
Wheeler said the library trustees have made progress in initiating individual conversations with the respective finance committees and selectboards of the two communities, but they have not brought the two towns together.
Baker suggested the library reach out to Buckland Town Administrator Pam Guyette to get the topic on a Buckland Selectboard agenda, and when the two towns later come together to discuss, the library should have data about facility usership, broken down by town.
“The West County Senior [Services District] folks were just here and showed us their chart, and their software for meticulously documenting units of usership by town,” Baker commented. “I think the library could take a page from that book.”
The Shelburne Selectboard and Finance Committee will continue to review budget requests in the coming months in preparation to present the budget to voters at Annual Town Meeting, set for Tuesday, May 5.