The Litchfield Budget Committee held a meeting at Town Hall on October 14th at 7pm. Members in attendance were Andrew Cutter (Chair), John David Son (Vice Chair), Keri Douglas, William Hayes, Derek Barka, Scott Taylor, Kate Stevens, Christina Harrison (School Board Representative), and Robert Leary (Selectmen Representative). Also in attendance were Town Administrator Troy Brown, Finance Manager Karen White, Fire Chief Frank Fraitzl, Deputy-Chief Doug Nicoli, Police Chief Ben Sargent, Captain Thomas Scotti, Conservation Committee Chair Matt Lepore.
Public Input
There was no public input at this meeting.
The following department budgets were reviewed at this meeting:
- 4220.10 – Fire Department
- 4290.10 – Emergency Management
- 4220.90 – Fire Hydrants
- 4215.10 – Ambulance
- 4210.10 – Police Administration
- 4210.50 – Police Support Services
- 4414.14 – Animal Control
- 4611.20 – Conservation Commission
- 4196.90 – Insurance
- 4155.10 – Personnel Administration
- 4197.10 – Advertising and Regional Associations
- 4414.10 – Health Agencies
- 4191.10 – Planning Board
Tax Cap Discussion
The Operating Budget is currently at $7,442,795, a 3.21% increase over what was voter-approved last March. Mr. Cutter commented that the Town has gone from a $5.2 million budget to a $7.4 million budget over the last five years. The Town is only $24,946 underneath the annual Tax Cap. The Highway Block Grant, Revenue Sharing, and State Revenues will influence that amount. The budget will also be affected once the Committee reviews warrant articles that ask for taxation. The Committee must agree on which, if any, warrant articles it would support, and any new taxation can not go over the tax cap.
Residents are encouraged to attend Budget Committee meetings in person at Town Hall unless otherwise stated. Public input is also invited before meetings via email to Chair Andrew Cutter at acutter@litchfieldnh.gov. Emails must include the commenter’s first and last name and address.
As a reminder, Budget Committee responses to posts on social media are limited. Past meetings can be viewed on the LitchfieldTV Youtube channel.