Preliminary Chatham Budget Shows 5 Percent Increase; No Tax Rate Hike Projected

CHATHAM – Officials are painting a rosy picture of the town’s finances, projecting that property taxes won’t have to go up to fund next year’s annual budget.

Town Manager Jill Goldsmith presented her proposed fiscal 2025 budget to the select board last week, outlining an operating budget of $40,019,480, a $1,928,940, or 5.06 percent, increase over the current year. With capital, education and other spending included, total spending is projected at $60,738,625.

The budget is designed to continue services at current levels, Goldsmith said, and includes no new staff.

“This is designed to address current challenges and also pave the way for lasting community investment,” she told the board Jan. 23.

Approval of the proposed operating budget will not require an increase in the current $3.57 tax rate, Goldsmith said, but there are several unknowns that could contribute to an increase in property taxes, including the school budget and possible capital spending.

All five of the town’s collective bargaining contracts also expire June 30; two are close to being finalized, she said. Funding for agreements settled prior to the May 13 annual town meeting will appear in an article separate from the operating budget, she said.

The town’s contract for water and sewer operations with Weston and Sampson is also expiring, and officials expect an increase of as much as $126,000 with a new agreement.

The capital plan is pegged at $2,367,220, which will be funded through free cash with no impact on the tax rate. The water department’s budget, funded by ratepayers, is set at $4,399,250.

Salaries and expenses are the biggest driver of increases in the operating budget, said Finance Director Carrie Mazerolle, up by $1.9 million, or 5.6 percent. Inflation and supply chain issues are factors. Major increases include $60,000 in the IT department; a $30,000 increase in SEMASS costs; $383,000 in employee benefits, including a projected 10 percent hike in health insurance.

“That actually might change,” Mazerolle said.

The Monomoy Regional School District budget has not yet been finalized, but Chatham’s portion is projected at $10,461,947, a 7.74 percent increase. Chatham’s percent of the budget is down slightly to 23.16 percent from 23.44 percent this year, Goldsmith said. Much of the increase comes in the Chatham Elementary School budget, which is the responsibility of the town in full; both Chatham and Harwich fund their own elementary schools based on a change to the regional agreement approved last year.

The CES budget is projected at $1,105,937, almost double the current year’s $650,794. Goldsmith could not explain the increase except to say that the school administration is currently negotiating a new agreement with teachers, and additional funds are being projected to cover any increase in salaries. She said she expects more refined figures this month.

If some of the CES cost increase is due to higher enrollment, that’s good news, said select board member Jeff Dykens. “If they had to add a classroom, I’d be excited, but that’s not what I’ve heard, at least I haven’t heard it yet,” he said.

The town’s Cape Cod Regional Technical High School assessment is also up at $607,980, with an enrollment increase of seven Chatham students, bringing the town’s total students at the Pleasant Lake school to 20, the highest in recent memory.

Goldsmith requests for four new staff members, at an estimated cost of $288,000, are on hold for now. The requests include a budget analyst/sticker office administrator, one new police officer, one new building inspector and a new boat operator/marine mechanic for the harbormaster department. Last year the town funded 8.5 new positions, she noted.

“I wanted to give the newer department heads and division directors some time to work on the service capacity through their own eyes and own perspectives” before recommending more new positions, she said.

Several capital expenditures would, if approved by the select board, be separate town meeting articles. Requests for $361,700 for a transfer station roll-off truck, $440,000 for electric vehicle stations at the airport, and $170,000 for the airport capital improvement plan would add to the tax rate if approved. Also likely to be separate articles and have an impact on the tax rate if approved are a $2 million debt exclusion for additional funds for improvements at the transfer station and $250,000 for sewer engineering. Separate articles that are already worked into the tax rate include $400,000 for dredging and $175,000 for the town’s childcare voucher program, a $25,000 increase.

Residents can find details of the town manager’s proposed budget online in a new “digital book” format. The numbers in the document are updated in real time, said IT Director Craig Rowe, and includes individual department budgets, staffing numbers and demographic information. The document runs to 700 printed pages, he said.

“There’s a lot of details here,” he said.

The select board will be asked to approve the budget on Feb. 27, after which it will be forwarded to the finance committee. Finance committee recommendations are due March 15, and the warrant for the May 13 town meeting closes March 19.

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CPC Endorses Projects Totaling $1.5 Million

CHATHAM – The community preservation committee last week gave its blessing to eight projects totalling more than $1.5 million, which will go before the May annual town meeting for final approval.

Affordable housing once again dominated requests for Community Preservation Act funds, money derived from a 3 percent property tax surcharge. The committee voted to support town meeting articles for $20,000 for the Lower Cape Housing Institute, $75,000 for the Friends Or Relatives With Autism and Related Disabilities (FORWARD) for the second phase of its project to build housing for adults with disabilities in Dennis; $100,000 for Spring Rock Village for construction of 45 affordable housing units off Millstone Road in Brewster; and $750,000 for Chatham’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund, $250,000 more than the initial request. It’s the second year the CPC has increased the trust’s requested amount.

The committee also endorsed $136,786 for repairs to the little league field at the community center, $100,000 for a new press box at the Monomoy Regional High School sports field, and $350,000 to restore the historic Stage Harbor Coast Guard boathouse.

Another $480,000 was set aside for future expenditures, and $15,000 was OK’d for administrative expenses.

Two projects were not funded: $89,000 for engineering and design of a multipurpose path on Route 137, and $500,000 for a shared living facility in Harwich for adults with disabilities.