Budget Documents

Budget Summary:

Proposed FY26 Municipal Services Budget:  The proposed FY26 municipal services budget maintains the current level of town services and addresses: 1) Additional resource needs in the Assessor’s Office necessitated by the state’s requirement to conduct a town-wide reappraisal, as well as achieving the Selectboard’s goal to reduce costs associated with the mass reappraisal by transitioning to a rolling reappraisal moving forward; 2) Retention of volunteer firefighters by increasing stipends when responding to calls; 3) Recognition of DPW-Highway staff that have gained the skill and ability to operate heavy equipment, creating a growth opportunity within the department, and providing a benefit to the Town by having more than one person able to operate our large equipment when needs arise; 4) Community programming needs within Colchester Burnham Library by transitioning one 35-hour/week library employee to 40-hours/week.

The FY26 Municipal Services budget, not including the additional resources listed above, represents a 5.49%, increase compared with FY25.

Forty-two percent, or $7,134,155 of the FY26 Municipal Services budget is dedicated to the Town’s public safety services – Police, Fire, Rescue, Tech Rescue, and Public Safety Dispatch.  This amount doesn’t include the other municipal support services provided for public safety’s equipment, vehicle/building maintenance, information technology, human resource, finance/payroll, and general management needs. With those costs included, the Public Safety Services would represent well over half of our municipal services budget. 

The decision to hire a Fire Chief that oversees both the fire and rescue departments has resulted in an efficient and effective way to manage those resources while increasing collaboration among the public safety departments. The FY26 Budget Cover memo contains additional perspective about your police, fire, rescue, technical rescue and public safety dispatch work groups.  

The tax impact of the municipal services budget, along with the previously approved capital items, is a 4.86% increase to municipal services property taxes. Examples of the impact are noted below:

The budget is comprised of twenty-five service areas. The planned expenditures for three of the service areas have been reduced, and four increased by $5,000 or less.

Examples of increased costs for maintaining the same level of municipal services include:

• Increased costs for Health Insurance:  +$322,543  
  • Health carrier raised its rates by 14%.
  • These costs would have been much higher had we not negotiated directly with multiple insurance companies and utilized a high deductible plan.
• Increased costs for Capital Transfers:  +$66,000
  • This amount will be used toward the replacement costs for the Creek Farm Bridge, that is offset by a $66,000 decrease for Selectboard Contingency. 
• Increased costs for Services & Utilities: +$62,562
  • $19,261 – Primarily due to increased costs for Howard Community Outreach program due to loss of $160,000 in funding that was previously provided by the VT Department of Mental Health to support this program since its inception.
  • $3,050 – Additional costs for personnel development for new DPW-Admin staff.
  • $28,430 - Increased costs for utilities, including streetlights and associated maintenance costs, as well as for hazardous tree removal throughout the Town right-of-way.
  • $11,821 - Increased costs for facility repairs and maintenance of overhead doors at the maintenance facility, as well as the fuel island, and the state required testing of fuel tanks.
• Increased costs for Supplies & Parts: +$27,255
  • $23,355 - Primarily due to increased costs for tires due to supply chain disruptions, as well as higher prices for the asphalt that is used to fill potholes and make small roadway repairs in DPW-Highway.
  • $3,900 – Replacement of personal protective equipment/turn-out gear for Fire, as required by OSHA.  
• Increased Fees for Public Transportation Services:  +$18,678
  • GMT ADA fees increased by $16,531 due to increased usage.
  • GMT fixed-route services (Route 15 & Route 7) increased by $2,147.

Tax Rate: The Town Municipal Services Budget and Capital Funding total $15,403,051, net of non-property tax revenues. With an estimated 1.04% growth in the Grand List, the estimated municipal services tax rate for FY 2026 is $0.6700. The tax rate is estimated to increase by $0.0310 (just over three cents per $100 of assessed property value), or a 4.86% increase over the prior year.

Tax Impact: 

FY26 Estimated Municipal Services Property Tax Impact

Budget Document Links:

• FY26 Budget Cover Memo (PDF)
• FY26 Budget Presentation (PDF)
• Summary of Expense Changes (PDF)
• Summary of Revenue and Tax Changes (PDF)
• Revenue Detail (PDF)
• Expense Detail (PDF)
• External Funding Requests (PDF)