By ANDREW MARTIN
Hopkinton’s fiscal year 2008-2009 $23.5 million budget, which represents an estimated 1.9 percent property tax increase, passed on a close vote of 135-118.
The $23.5 million figure includes the $5.8 million municipal budget and Hopkinton’s share of the already passed
Chariho Regional School District Budget at $17.7 million. The total is a 2.43 increase over the current budget, which closes out on June 30.
Town Finance Director James Lathrop said the property tax should jump from $14.19 per $1,000 assessed property value to $14.47 per $1,000. That means a taxpayer with a home assessed at $300,000 will pay $84 more, or $4,341 compared to $4,257. The tax assessor, however, has not finished the exact numbers.
The budget’s major increases include contractual wage increases for town employees and additional debt service expenses. Also, there is an additional $9,000 allocated for four years of One Call Now service, which the school district has been using. The service will be used solely for emergencies in the town and not for political reasons.
The town also gave both the Ashaway Library and Langworthy Public Library an additional $2,000 to bring their funding to $57,000 each.
One of the budget’s bigger decreases was cutting a detective from the police department. That detective’s pay is pro-rated based on a retirement day coming this October. The department’s budget dropped to $2.04 million from $2.09 million.
The budget referendum also included the four following questions: - Failed 116-137: To authorize the borrowing of $3.5 million for a road improvement bond for repairs, installing guard rails and other upgrades - Passed 149-100: To allow for a capital account for the public works department -Failed 101-149: To allow for a capital account for the GIS/IT department -Passed 161-91: To restrict $10,000 of the unspent current public works budget for placement into a restricted emergency winter operations/snow removal account.
Taxpayers cast their votes from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. on the boiling hot Tuesday afternoon that resulted in a total of 254 ballots. And although the budget passed, a sampling of voters between 12:30 and 1:30 p.m. were all opposed to the spending plan.
Resident Michael Solerno said he did not want to approve a budget until some changes were made to curb spending, particularly on the Chariho Regional School District side.
“I think if they hold off on a few budget increases and I know some things have to be done. They keep battling with the school budget … and people just don’t have the money right now,” he said. He continued to say he approved the other surplus questions.
Another dissenting resident was Charlotte, who did not want to give her last name. “My feeling is that they can’t maintain what they have,” she said.
And soon-to-be-homeowner Lucille Langevin did not support the budget either. “My daughter owns a home and she can barely afford the taxes. Somebody’s got to cut somewhere and that’s all there is to it,” she exclaimed.
At the end of the night, though, the budget’s proponents won out – just barely.
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