The Selectboard’s proposed budget raises property taxes by more than 12% and defers expenses—setting residents up for even higher taxes down the road. And over the past several months the Selectboard has chosen to deplete Town funds to hire new positions and cover new expenses. Brattleboro’s Representative Town Meeting (RTM) Finance Committee recently issued a clear warning: The Selectboard must take a more responsible approach to budgeting. I agree. We need longer term financial planning and political courage for responsible budgeting, and the Selectboard and Representative Town Meeting can help us get there.
The Selectboard placed an opinion poll on the March 4th ballot regarding the 2% of the Town budget allocated for human services. But there’s another 98% we need to consider. That’s where the biggest opportunities are for savings.The Selectboard should have taken the Finance Committee’s recommendations seriously. The committee exists to advise Representative Town Meeting members—the ultimate deciders on the budget. To increase the chances of the budget passing, the Selectboard should carefully consider the Finance Committee’s guidance.The Finance Committee expressed concern about the lack of a long-term financial plan and called on the Selectboard to direct the town manager to present a list of potential staff cuts for the coming budget and to identify cuts and deferrals that will likely reappear a year from now when we are considering the following year’s budget. The outgoing Selectboard chose not to implement any of these recommendations.
As an incoming Selectboard member, I am committed to ensuring Brattleboro’s leadership follows a responsible and long-term financial approach. The decisions made this year, relying on non-recurring revenues and postponed expenses, will only push the challenges into the FY27 budget. We need to forecast these impacts, address some of the kick-the-can aspects of the proposed FY26 budget, and pass a budget that Brattleboro can afford.
What I Heard from Residents: The Need for Fiscal Responsibility
When I was knocking on doors in Brattleboro during the Selectboard race, the top concerns I heard were about federal policy changes and local taxes. People shared their worries about social security, the economy, and property taxes. A 12.1% property tax increase is too much for many residents already struggling with rent and homeownership costs. Most of our paychecks are not increasing by anywhere near 12%, and social security checks most certainly are not.
Drastically cutting our human services budget, at a time when many federal agencies and programs are under attack, is not the answer. Social services reduce strain on emergency responders and are an integral part of our community’s support for children and parents, seniors, and residents at all stages of their lives. The Human Services Committee carefully considers each application using a score sheet for each application. The process involves considerable community oversight and represents a critical investment in the people of our community. And, again, this amounts to only 2% of our Town budget.
A Brighter Future for Brattleboro
Let’s look at the 98% of the budget that was not on the March 4th ballot for voters’ consideration. Representative Town Meeting does not have veto power over line items of the budget but could reduce the budget by any number of dollars and provide advisory guidance. Representative Town Meeting also has the power to turn down the entire budget and send it back to the Selectboard. This latter option would allow the new Selectboard to carefully consider the amount that can be responsibly cut at this point in the process. Alternatively, the current Selectboard could direct the town manager to take the Finance Committee’s advice seriously: Identify cuts and deferrals from this coming year’s budget (FY26) that are anticipated to reappear in the following budget (FY27), provide a list of possible staff cuts, and provide a pro-forma (hypothetical) budget for FY27. This is needed before Representative Town Meeting can in good conscience approve next year’s (FY26) budget as written.
The work ahead for Representative Town Meeting and the new Selectboard will be difficult. We will not have the luxury of several months to evaluate information and approve a new budget, and reducing the budget could mean hard and painful cuts. But working together, with an eye on the future, we can deliver for the residents of our town. During this time of national economic uncertainty and political turmoil, we need to do the hard work of scenario planning, courageous decision making, and looking ahead to see how decisions of today will affect our options tomorrow.
