Selectmen Eye $1.3M Budget Increase

Hampton selectmen are directing department heads and Town Manager Fred Welch to develop an operating budget for the upcoming year as close as possible to the 5.35 percent increase anticipated in next year's default budget.

Multiple selectmen said Monday it would be difficult to come in with a flat budget due to bonded projects and other expenses mandated by town meeting decisions, in addition to uncontrollable contributions to the state retirement and healthcare systems.

Still, members of the board asked that department heads provide detailed budget requests for the funding they need while keeping the 5.35 percent, or $1.316 million, increase in mind.

"The [5.35 percent increase] is going hit people pretty hard," said Selectman Mike Pierce. "I'd like to see us work toward keeping the shock… as painless as possible."

The current operating budget is . The operating budget is $4,002 less than the $24,603,429 default budget, which is the same as the previous year's default budget.

Overtime issues in the Hampton Public Works Department, particularly in snow removal spending that as of Monday was at 146 percent of its appropriated amount, have helped show that the current budgets may not fully address town needs, according to selectmen.

Selectmen noted Monday that those problems need to be addressed in the department heads' requests, especially since they said increases due to the state retirement system will put additional pressure on a tight budget. Vice Chairman Dick Nichols said the latter is where Hampton is "really getting hit" by the state, as the usual culprit for uncontrollable increases — healthcare — is "much more reasonable" in terms of an increase than it has been the past few years.

He said the percentage that retirement costs play in Hampton's budget has roughly doubled in the past 10 years, going from 4.2 percent of the budget in 2004 to a projected 8.3 percent in 2014.

The overall budget numbers don't include a new collective bargaining agreement for the public works union, which Nichols said is possible this year if a new deal can be struck in time to place it on the 2014 town meeting warrant.

Nichols also said that the tax impact is greater than a 5.35 percent budget increase, as he said that figure is based off a $24.6 million budget figure that includes about $6 million in revenues. The tax impact is more accurately represented when the revenues are pulled out of the calculation, according to Nichols, who said that would show the increase would be "closer to 7 percent" in terms of how it would affect taxes.

In order to ensure the budget is as palatable as possible yet still provides the town with funding for its services, Pierce suggested that the board "start at zero" and build the "budget from scratch" this year. Pierce said this would create an accurate-but-controlled budget that remains more "flexible" than if the board were to try and work off a baseline set by the current year's numbers.

Selectman Mary-Louise Woolsey said Hampton also has to "seek sources of revenue" during the budget process and can't "spend the rest of [its] days relying on the town clerk and motor vehicle registration" revenues.

Woolsey suggested the town could save roughly $1.9 million alone by bundling the bonds for six major projects at around the same interest rate as the fire stations bond, which is 3.4 percent.

"If we can bundle them now and put them out, I think it might be worth pursuing," said Woolsey, who also made suggestions about paying more attention to enforcing extraction fees for projects in town.