A proposal to keep the town tax rate flat by spending some reserves, along with a combination of last year’s budget surplus and this year’s projected revenue, was a focal point of a March 1 public hearing on the proposed 2016-’17 Capital Improvement Plan, Board of Education budget, and town budget. Nearly 50 people came to Memorial Town Hall to hear town officials present their spending plans for 2016-’17, which, if approved by voters, would increase town spending by more than three percent.

By far the most heavily debated budget of the evening was the town budget presented by First Selectmen Tom Banisch, who has proposed imposing one-year modifications to keep the mill rate down.

“I am recommending that the Board of Finance [BOF] utilize $1 million from the fund balance to offset the mill rate and, through other sources of either unused funds or higher revenues, I recommend that the BOF utilize $800,000 of projected funds to offset the mill rate,” he said.

The Board of Selectmen (BOS) approved and forwarded its recommended town budget to the BOF, but Banisch’s recommendation raised concerns with Democratic selectmen, particularly Joan Walker.

“The $800,000 borrowing on projected revenues that haven’t been realized is something that quite honestly we feel tends to lead to deficit spending very quickly,” she said. “The $800,000 is dipping into something we are projecting. Sooner or later the catch-up will have to happen with the mill rate.”

Walker said she also took issue with Banisch’s suggestion to put projected FEMA reimbursement money toward the mill rate. She said one-year budget manipulations are not good for Madison’s future financial health.

“FEMA reimbursement to revenue I disagreed with because that paperwork is being filed this current year and historically we have not seen those kinds of revenues for at least two years,” she said.

This year the BOE is requesting a 3.65 percent budget increase, bringing its budget request to $55.8 million. The town is seeking a 2.53 percent increase with a budget of $24.6 million.

Health insurance costs played a significant factor in both budget increase requests.

“The story of our budget this year is there is a health insurance expenditure that is coming up on both sides of the budget,” said BOF Chair Joe MacDougald, who ran the meeting and fielded questions from residents throughout the night.

Combined, health insurance costs increased 13.2 percent. While the number was a source of concern for some, officials said the town has no control over the increase.

In addition, the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), now in its inaugural year, was presented to the public. The program is designed to create one comprehensive planning document for all of the town and public school’s capital needs for the next five years and evaluate possible funding options.

“The committee isn’t generating expenses,” said MacDougald. “All they are doing is capturing the real expenses and possible expenses, so the boards can look at them and see what they need to accommodate.”

Residents also came to discuss smaller budget issues in which they had a personal investment. Madison Travel Baseball President Ken Carone came to discuss the deteriorating condition of the town baseball feild located at Town Campus.

“The field is frankly below playable level according to current safety standards,” he said. “It has really fallen into disrepair.”

The field was originally built in 1998 and is in need of repair, Carone said, noting that a field repair line had been included in the budget, but that the amount had been significantly reduced.

“The CIP approved an amount of $150,000 and it was slated to move forward,” he said. “We were then notified that the recommendation went forward to lower that number down to $30,000. That it is a drop in the bucket—it doesn’t even pay for the backstops and the side fencing.”

Banisch said he was aware of the concerns, but there were some reductions that had to be made in the CIP.

“I have been one of the biggest supporters of baseball in this town for the past 30 years, so it’s not that I don’t care,” he said. “But we have an obligation in town to spend our money as wisely as possible.”

A second budget public hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, March 15 at 6 p.m. at Town Campus and MacDougald said he hopes to see just as many people there.

“More people vote on where they want the food trucks to park than on the town budget,” he said. “And this is something that is really more important.”

The BOF will hold a final Budget Public Hearing on Tuesday, April 19, at 7:30 p.m. in the Walter C. Polson Middle School Auditorium to present its final proposed budget. Voters will decide on the budget at referendum, most likely on Tuesday, May 10.