Warwick FY 09 Budget Summary


The Finance Committee, Selectboard, and Town Coordinator have put
serious effort into preparing this year's budget, attempting to maintain
a reasonable level of services, while responding to some challenges
posed by forces beyond our immediate control.  What follows is a brief
overview of the circumstances and decisions that produced our
recommended budget.

Two factors are having an out-sized impact on this budget, one negative,
and the other positive. First is the Snow& Ice deficit, which this year
stands at $85,795, the result of a difficult winter and a mid-year
change to overtime policy.   This represents slightly over a dollar on
the Warwick tax rate, and must be paid down in the coming fiscal year.  
Balancing this is the assurance that, after nine years, the state grant
for the Warwick Community School debt will be adjusted upward by at
least $125,000.  Neither of these items will actually be voted on at
town meeting, but their impact will register clearly on the bottom line
when the tax rate is set later in the year.  The net effect will be a
"best case scenario" producing a tax rate not significantly different
than this year's $16.02.  At the moment, however, the proposed budget
appears to call for a rate of over $17.50, chiefly because we're
reluctant to show the adjusted debt payment until we have official
written confirmation from the State Treasurer's office.  In any case,
the proposed budget is balanced, in that it does not exceed our taxing
capacity under Prop. 2 1/2.

The omnibus budget, which includes all municipal and school operations,
has increased 2%, or roughly $36,000. The only major new initiative is a
proposed increase in the hours of the Town Coordinator, from twenty
hours to thirty.  This received a vigorous discussion, and the majority
opinion of the Finance Committee and the SelectBoard was that the
positive momentum being generated by the efforts of David Young, our new
Coordinator, was making a significant difference in overall efficiency,
and well worth the investment of additional funds in this position.

In addition to the operating budget, there are a number of warrant
articles for various projects, totaling $83,000 in expenses for this
year. There is also a borrowing article for a new Highway truck, which
will be subject to the approval of a debt exclusion vote at town
election, and will not impact the tax levy until the following year. 
We've reviewed these articles, and are willing to recommend them as
reasonable requests, although subject to debate and approval by Town
Meeting..  The net effect of the operating budget, the capital articles,
and the unfortunate reality of the snow & ice deficit, is an overall
spending increase of $145,266, or 8%.  (It should be mentioned that we
are already discussing a reduction of the snow & ice deficit, by
transferring funds that may be available at the end of the current
budget year, but that won't be known until June)



The available sources of revenue to fund the budget, other than
taxation, are expected to increase as well, by approximately $21,500, if
our recommendations regarding the use of Overlay Surplus and Free Cash
are followed.  Again, these revenues, combined with the adjusted grant
payment, do give us the confidence to state that even with the increased
expenditures of the proposed budget, the tax rate will remain stable,
and may in fact decrease slightly.

We are aware that these are challenging times for many, and we do take
seriously the need to balance the demands of town services with the
ability of our citizens to support them. Please attend town meeting and
make your opinions known.  We consider the proposed budget to be
reasonable and balanced, but the final decision is yours.

Chris Ryan	
Warwick Finance Committee