Budget to Increase by 7.5 Percent

The town’s budget has increased by 7.51 percent,  Timothy McInerney told the  last night.

The fiscal 2013 budget totals $45,914,922, a 7.51 percent hike from the current spending totals.

Education costs take up more than half the total, with $24,678,817, or 53.75 percent of the budget. That is an increase of 6 percent over current spending levels.

, citing the opening of a new , the subsequent addition of a new school building and the loss of federal stimulus funds as mitigating factors.

But McInerney told selectmen last night there is “nothing left to put on the table.’’

The amount of debt service took a significant jump from the current budget. The total of debt service increased by 42.12 percent, to $5,680,582, and makes up 12.37 percent of the budget.

McInerney acknowledged this figure will “raise some eyebrows’’ and noted that this reflects the debt the town has taken on for projects such as the new high school.

As debt is retired, and possible new debt is taken on, this number will fluctuate, he said.