Brattleboro Property Tax – Proposed Increase of 14%, Plus Maybe 5-8% More for Solid Waste

Here are some excerpts from the Town Manager’s memo to the Brattleboro Selectboard regarding their enormous FY’26 budget. I’ve left out some of the tables mentioned to make it easier for me to format. Go view the full document to see them.

At the start, they anticipate a 14% increase in property taxes, but this does not yet include any solid waste disposal costs, which staff say may add another 5-8%.

Get yourself a drink so you can spit it out in amazement as you read the details.

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Staff Recommendation

Staff requests Selectboard consideration of this matter for feedback only.

Executive Summary

• The FY26 General Fund base budget covers the essential services that Town government provides people in Brattleboro: protection from fire; protection from crime and disorder; medical care and transport; drivable roads; ever-improving bicycle and pedestrian routes; forward-thinking strategic plans and sustainability; community-centered library services; fun, relaxing, and healthy parks and recreation programs; well-administered and fair elections; equitable taxation; a public workforce focused on excellence; modern communications with the public; and other important responsibilities that makes peoples’ lives better in our town.

• FY26 will be a challenging budget year for the Town with increases in base budget expenditures projected in the 9% range to accommodate, among other things, investment in the Downtown Safety Action Plan and critical capital needs.

• The FY26 base budget incorporates inflation, union contract commitments, and necessary maintenance of Town equipment and facilities.

• The FY26 base budget incorporates one new initiative beyond the FY25 budget, the Selectboard-approved Downtown Safety Action Plan that is designed to build a solid foundation for the future.

• Due to shifts in available revenues for FY26, the property tax increase is projected at $2.5 million which is a 14% increase over FY25.

• The FY26 base budget does not incorporate solid waste solutions because that direction has not yet been determined. A series of budget alternates are being considered including how to address solid waste collection and disposal which is a contracted service that can no longer be provided at the cost and in the manner the town has come to expect over the past decade – this could result in a further expenditure of $1.0M-to-$1.4M with a tax rate impact of 5-to-8%.

• FY26 costs are projected to go up more than a typical year, but the increase is essential to make Brattleboro a place that people will want to visit, live in, work at, and invest in for the future – it remains to be seen how long it will be necessary to sustain additional downtown police presence, but there is a need right now.

• The new Online Budget Book FY26 is available at this link and from the Town website.

• The next steps include a Budget Open House on November 12, 2024 and staff work to address any suggestions or feedback from the Selectboard.

Key FY26 Base Budget Assumptions

In developing the base budgets for FY26, staff made several key budget assumptions. These are as follows:

• The base budget continues service levels at current full staffing capacities in all departments consistent with FY25.

• There are no new programs or staff positions included in the base budgets except for the Downtown Safety Action Plan, previously approved by the Selectboard.

• Solid waste collection and disposal are not included in the base budget because the current approach and costs are not possible and a policy decision has not been made on how to proceed.

• Base budget projects personnel costs consistent with approved collective bargaining agreements and level-funded cost of living adjustments

• Services and supplies are projected to increase generally at 6% consistent with inflationary trends and known cost increases.

• Discretionary programs such as Human Services and fund transfers were made consistent with RTM guidance or previous Selectboard direction.

• The base budget includes capital project expenditures anticipated in the long-term capital plans described in the 2023-2024 Annual Town Report and capital equipment expenditures based on the long-term capital equipment replacement plan.

• Projected sales tax and rooms and meals tax revenues are projected to increase at 5% over FY24 actuals.

• Revenues from Fees for Services are projected with modest increases consistent with current trends, but continue to assume the lowest, most conservative numbers modeled for Fire-EMS billing except for a slight increase for non-transport reimbursements according to the new State law.

FY26 General Fund Base Budget Overview

The FY26 General Fund base budget described below and included as Attachment A is a base budget that would continue current levels of Town service for the period from July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026. Attachment B includes the line item assumptions that were used to build the base budget which does not include any new services or unapproved initiatives. This budget delivers the essential services that the Town provides people in Brattleboro. Unapproved service changes or initiatives are addressed separately as budget alternates.

The base budget incorporates a capital transfer that would fund a base capital budget of items in long-term capital plans. There are no new capital requests in the base budget or in budget alternates. The General Fund base budget and alternates include projections of the property tax impacts for each. Given the demands on the budget for FY26, Department Heads withdrew a number of budget alternate requests deferred to future consideration. Selectboard decisions about which items to include in its final budget do not have to be made until January 2025. In the meantime, staff would like to gather any additional information that would help the Board determine their budget priorities for FY26.

Selectboard 2024-2026 Overall Priorities

The Selectboard discussed 2024-2026 overall priorities at its June 13, 2024 Annual Retreat and participated in a prioritization exercise that attempted to identify the highest priorities for FY25 and moving into FY26. From a list of 16 priorities, the Selectboard identified three that they could agree on as the highest priorities for the group. These were adopted by the Board at its July 9, 2024 meeting. They are, in no particular order, the following:

A. Finding a path forward for Community Safety.

B. Developing the concept of child safety zones.

C. Enhancing revenue sharing with the State.

Staff have been making steady progress on these goals so far in FY25 and have been doing so within the previously approved budget. The base budget for the FY26 General Fund would allow for continued progress in several of these areas, but the Selectboard may want to consider whether any of the budget alternates would also advance one or more of these goals.

FY26 General Fund Base Budget — Expenditures

Total General Fund Expenditures increase in the base budget by $2.1 million from $23.1 million in FY25 to $25.2 million in FY26. This is a 9% overall increase. The summary of each category of expenditure is shown in Table 2.

The FY26 base budget incorporates inflation, union contract commitments, and necessary maintenance of Town equipment and facilities. Base budgets project personnel costs consistent with approved collective bargaining agreements (second year of three-year contracts) and level- funded cost of living adjustments (4%). Services and supplies are projected to increase generally at 6% consistent with inflationary trends and known cost increases.

The big increases in the FY26 base budget are for implementation of the Downtown Safety Action Plan and for capital project and equipment needs. These are evident in staffing and benefit increases that incorporate the nine new downtown Police Department staff and in fund transfers to the Capital Fund. Benefits are also projected to increase due to the higher costs of insurance and due to excellent ongoing recruitment in filling Police Department vacancies. In past years, benefits were budgeted based on past performance and not strictly calculated when we could rely on numerous vacancies, especially in the Police Department. This investment in the Downtown Safety Action Plan is considered essential to making the town a desirable place to visit, live in, and work at. This initiative may not be necessary forever, but the base budget delivers the opportunity to prevent further decline in the reputation of the town now and in fact have it stand out as a community worth investing in and contributing to.

The FY26 base budget has capital funding at 10% of the overall budget which is at the low end of expected capital needs in a municipal budget. Many municipalities maintain their capital needs in the 20-30% of budget range. The preliminary list of FY26 capital projects and equipment replacements is included as Attachment C. Most of the standard project lines such as paving, retaining wall maintenance, bridges and culverts, and sidewalk repair are increased modestly to keep up with rising costs.

One other significant development in the FY26 base budget is the reduction in services and supplies. This is primarily due to the current lack of policy direction on solid waste. The Selectboard has been discussing various options for solid waste and the two primary approaches under consideration are included as budget alternates to potentially add back into the final budget.

FY26 General Fund Base Budget — Revenues

The total General Fund base budget revenues necessary to deliver the current level of Town services are estimated to be $25.2M for FY26. This is a 9% increase over the FY25 General Fund budget or a $2.1M addition, up from $23.1M. The summary of broad revenue categories follows in Table 3.

Regardless of one’s support for the base budget expenditure increases, the FY26 base budget would already require a shift in revenue allocation. This is due to an anticipated reduction in fees for service of $0.3M and in use of fund balance, also down $0.3M. These reductions are because whatever solution is determined for solid waste, the Town is not expecting to be collecting revenues from the sales of trash bags and because there was no excess fund balance following the close of FY25 to apply forward into the FY26 base budget. Without these revenues, the additional $0.5M needed to balance the budget is shifted to property taxes. Most other revenue sources are projected at level funding amounts except for other revenues which are expected to increase by about 10%.

FY26 General Fund Budget 

There are currently four budget alternates for consideration, and these are presented in Attachment D. summarized below in Table 4. Budget alternates are increases or decreases to the base budget that could be incorporated into a final budget recommendation. Attachment D includes a description of the item, the amount of the possible change to the budget, and the tax rate impact of doing so.

FY26 Online Budget Book

Additional detail about the FY26 base budget and ways to understand how it is structured are available in the Town’s Online Budget Book FY26. In this tool, you can access all department budgets and all other line items by clicking the department name or service name on the front page under Table of Contents. There are hyperlinks at the bottom right of each static table that take you to an interactive engaging version of the Budget Book as shown highlighted in yellow on Figure 1.

Next Steps

For next steps, please review Table 1 above. There is an FY26 Budget Open House scheduled for Tuesday, November 12, 2024 from 4:00 to 6:00 PM at the Brooks Memorial Library. This is an opportunity for board members and members of the public to visit with each Town Department and learn about the services they provide and discuss the base budget.

At the Selectboard’s second regular meeting in November (November 19, 2024), staff will review feedback from the FY26 Budget Open House with the Selectboard and request any additional information that the board would find useful to establish its vision and set policy for the FY26 General Fund budget. In December, the board will have the opportunity to further review any proposed changes to the FY26 base budget and incorporate feedback from the public and RTM members. Staff can then make a final budget recommendation for review, discussion, and possible action at the Selectboard’s January meetings.

Questions for the Selectboard

• Does the Selectboard have any feedback on the key FY26 base budget assumptions on page 3?

• Does the Selectboard have any clarifying questions regarding the FY26 General Fund base budget, budget alternates, or preliminary FY26 capital projects and equipment replacement list?

• Has the Selectboard identified any areas to consider for service reductions or savings that staff could develop more information for your deliberations?

• Are there any questions about, or adjustments proposed to, the FY26 budget development process?

Attachments

A. FY26 General Fund Base Budget

B. FY26 General Fund Base Budget – Line Items

C. Preliminary FY26 Capital Projects and Equipment Replacement

D. FY26 General Fund – Budget Alternates

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1B71uZxtju88LCj5hmX4b5kTd5HhE6cw7/view