Status Quo The Theme At The RTM’s First Budget Meeting

The most upset person after the Representative Town Meeting’s first budget hearing Monday night was the Town of Waterford’s water salesman.

Monday night, the RTM held its first of four budget hearings over the next seven days, where the group will finalize the 2013-14 budget for the town. The group was handed an $81.8 million budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal year, a 3.86 percent increase over this year’s $78.8 million total, and they did little to change that amount Monday night.

Monday, the group reviewed the budget proposals for 15 town departments, 14 of which were approved as is. The only budget that was cut was the budget for emergency management, after the RTM decided to cut $250 for spring water for the town’s dispatchers.

The RTM approved a $224,767 budget proposal for Waterford Youth Services, which represents a 12 percent spending increase over this year’s total, a $4.7 million budget for the Waterford Public Works, which represents a 0.3 percent increase over this year’s total, and a $5.2 million for the Waterford Police Department, which represents a 4.16 percent increase over this year’s total, as is. The police department is proposing to spend another $207,729 next year, which is the second-largest increase in the general government’s operating budget, behind insurance.

The RTM will continue its budget hearings tonight and Wednesday. On Monday, the group will review the Board of Education’s budget and then finalize the town’s budget for the 2013-14 fiscal year.

All of the meetings start at 7:30 p.m. and are held in town hall's auditorium. There is time for public comment at the beginning of each meeting, although Monday no member of the public chose to speak.

For more information about the budget proposal for next year, click here.