The Litchfield Budget Committee held a meeting at Town Hall on October 6th at 7pm. Members in attendance were John David Son (Chair), Kate Stevens (Vice Chair), Keri Douglas, William Hayes, Derek Barka, Scott Taylor, Brian Bourque, Tara Herschberger (School Board Representative), and Robert Leary (Selectmen Representative). Also in attendance were Kim Kleiner, Town Administrator; Karen White, Finance Director; John Brunelle, IT Director; Jayson Brennen, Conservation Commission; Diane Plansky, Conservation Commission; Steve Gannon, Rec Commission; Deputy Chief Doug Nicoll; and Chief Frank Fraitzl of the Fire Department.
Public Input
There was no public input.
The following department budgets were reviewed at this meeting:
- 4520.10 – Parks and Recreation
- 4220.10 – Fire Department
- 4215.10 – Ambulance
- 4215.10 – Planning Board
- 4191.30 – Zoning Board
- 4195.10 – Cemetaries
- 4411.20 – Mosquito District
- 4194.10 – General Government Buildings
- 4150.20 – Information Technology
- 4611.20 – Conservation Commission
Business Discussions
The Town 2023 Budget is currently $238,828 over the tax cap, or $413,828 more than the 2022 Budget. More detailed information regarding health insurance and benefit costs to come in the following week. The Budget Committee continues to discuss its roles and relationships with the Board of Selectmen and School Board. The committee will begin voting on each Town department budget on October 20th.
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 John David Son at json@litchfieldnh.gov. Emails must include the commenter’s first and last name and address for the meeting minutes.
As a reminder, Budget Committee responses to posts on social media are limited. Past meetings can be viewed on the LitchfieldTV Youtube channel.