HAMPSTEAD — Despite rising costs, the town's draft budget is about 1 percent less than it was last year.
Department heads presented their budgets to the Board of Selectmen and the Budget Committee Tuesday. Several departments will meet with them again for revisions, and the budget still could change, according to Sally Theriault, the town's administrative assistant.
The draft budget stands at $5.13 million, down 1.11 percent from 2009.
"We came out with a budget that was down from the previous meeting, which is not always the case," Selectman Richard Hartung said. "We're trying to put out a good budget that's hopefully flat from last year."
During the meeting, the selectmen cut $50,000 from the paving and reconstruction budget, Hartung said, to move back toward a baseline budget that had been increased in 2008 and 2009 to deal with special projects during those years that the town did not want to leave up to a vote during the deliberative session.
"Not that we don't have needs this year, but in all fairness, we got it out of there," Hartung said.
The highways and streets budget will be revisited again, however, so it could potentially increase from its current value of $797,830, Theriault said.
Hartung said the selectmen will meet again with the Fire Department and the cemetery trustees.
Funding of $5,000 each for two organizations, Sad Cafe, a nonprofit youth center in Plaistow, and the Center for Life Management, a community mental health organization, was cut from the budget, but voters will have the chance to restore that funding at the polls.
The town faced a 16 percent rise in the cost of medical insurance for employees, Hartung said, and agreed on a "small" cost of living adjustment for employees.
"There's some back-and-forth," he said. "That's what makes a good budget, is the give and take and push and pull. It's part of the process, but I think we're doing well this year, in a bad economy."
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