Town Manager's Proposed Budget Represents 40-cent Tax Increase

Jessie Levine didn't have much time to get comfortable in her new role as Bedford Town Manager before jumping head first into preparing the 2013 Municipal Budget.

Last night, Levine, who began her new job in early September, presented her first Bedford budget to the Town Council, and the $26,263,131 proposal represents a 40-cent increase per $1,000 assessed valuation, or $145 on a $362,000 home (the median assessed valuation for a Bedford home).

Of course, Levine quickly noted that only 10 cents, or 2.3 percent of that 7.3 percent increase, is within municipal control.

The remaining 30-cent increase includes mandatory state pass-downs and infrastructure bond payments.

In total, the municipal responsibility for Bedford taxpayers would jump from $4.35 cents per $1,000 assessed valuation to $4.75, or from $1,740 on a $400,000 home to $1,900.

Levine said the 10-cent increase within the town's control includes $150,000 to fund additional staff, including an additional full-time police officer, a part-time administrative position for the police department (which was recently cut), and additional full-time positions in the Bedford Planning and Public Works Departments, respectively.

The remaining increase includes $146,422 to fund merit increases for non-union employees, which Levine says will address internal inequities and pay compression; $55,000 in increased health and dental insurance premiums; and $612,048 in capital outlay, a portion of which will be drawn from existing capital reserve funds, pursuant to the town’s ten-year Capital Improvements Plan.

Levine also made some tough decisions on requests from department heads that she chose not to include in her proposal.

Though $1.5 million has been bonded for a South River Road Fire Department substation, Levine said she didn't feel comfortable including the costs of staffing and additional equipment until she had more time to review the plans.

In addition, Levine didn't include requests for an additional full-time police officer, another DPW employee who would be in charge of field maintenance, and deposits for certain capital improvement projects.

In total, the municipal portion of each tax dollar represents 23 percent of the overall expense (the remaining 77 percent comes from county and state and local educational responsibilities).

The Bedford Town Council will review and dissect the budget over the next six weeks, meeting with department heads at weekly scheduled workshops, before creating a final budget to present to voters on March 6.

See attached PDFs for a more detailed explanation of the proposed budget and for a schedule of budget workshops.

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