By Bonnie Adams, Government Editor
Westborough – 2013 is not yet a month old, Westborough officials are already thinking about 2014; or to be specific, the town's fiscal year (FY) 2014 budget.? A first draft of that budget was presented by Town Manager Jim Malloy at the Board of Selectmen's Jan. 8 meeting.
The selectmen's goal, Malloy noted, was to maintain the budget with a tax increase of no more than two percent over the FY 2013 level.
Based on an average single family home value of $428,706, the FY 2014 tax rate would be $19.14, Malloy said. Of that amount, $6,348 is for schools, $91 for AVRHS and $1,767 for the towns for a total of $8,205.
The town's FY 2014 budget is projected at $79,299,038; an increase of $2,335,806 over FY 2013 ($76,963,232). The school's budget, at $42,694,208, accounts for the majority. $20,956,888 accounts for shared expenses such as insurance and debt services. Town expenses are $14,946,942 and Assabet Valley Regional High School (AVRHS) expenses are $701,000.
Three line items account for the majority of the overall increase in the budget, Malloy said. The school department budget increased by $1,291,299; insurance costs increased by $574,800 and the fire department salaries increased by $91,188. Malloy explained the Fire Department increases were due to eight firefighters who recently reached their 10th anniversary with the department.
Based on an average single family home value of $428,706, the FY 2014 tax rate would be $19.14, Malloy said. Of that amount, $6,348 is for schools, $91 for AVRHS and $1,767 for the towns for a total of $8,205.
Malloy also presented a comparison of what the tax impact would be if the town only funded the schools $37,315,134, which would be the legal minimum allowed by state law. In that case, he said the average family home's tax bill would be $4,769. The annual difference would be $1,289 and monthly difference would be $107.
Noting that the town has an excellent reputation for schools, he added the FY 2013 average single family tax bill was $7,972, which was the 32nd highest in the state. A tax bill of $4,769 would rate the town the 116th in the state, he added.
The FY 2014 contains nine items, for a total of $851,500 for capital expense projects, Malloy said. The largest expense, $215,000 is for the Mill Pond School floor. $160,000 is also slated to replace the library windows, which date back to 1908, he said.
The Annual Town Meeting will be held this year on Saturday, March 16 starting at 1 p.m. in the Westborough High School auditorium.