Warrant articles unchanged ahead of Belmont’s March 10 Town Meeting

BELMONT — Town leaders hope to have their first approved budget in three years, after discussion during the Town Deliberative Session Saturday at Belmont High School focused on warrant articles on the ballot slated for Town Meeting on Tuesday, March 10. Voting takes place from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Belmont High.

The largest warrant article was the operating budget, which comes in at $12 million. The 2026 tax impact was $5.79 per $1,000 valuation, so if a homeowner owns a home valued at $500,000, their tax contribution would be $2,895.

Selectboard members, along with the budget committee, are hopeful the operating budget will pass, and discussed how hard department heads worked to keep line items low.

Department heads "were very respectful of the place we’re in with the cost of things. This is our second year operating in a default budget,” said Tracey LeClair, chair of the budget committee. “Being in a default budget is not a good place for the community to be.”

If voters don’t pass the $12 million operating budget, the town will operate on a default budget for the third year in a row. That figure comes in at $11.2 million.

A lot of the day’s discussion during the two-hour meeting centered on the town’s use of the Belmont Mill building, which was acquired after the now-historic structure burned in a fire in 1992.

Warrant Article 18, CRF Mill Renovations, asks voters to support $300,000 toward the final design, construction, engineering and modernizing the mill for the purpose of relocating Town Hall offices there. The funds would be deposited into the Mill Renovation Capital Reserve Fund for the project.

Most town employees work at 143 Main St., and Town Administrator Alicia Jipson said the space is cramped.

“People need to understand that this is created straight for the mill,” said Selectboard Chair Ruth Mooney, who also serves in a non-voting capacity on the budget committee. “We’re still not fully in the mill.”

While many renovations and up-fitting endeavors have already taken place at the mill, like the remodeled upstairs where selectboard meetings are held, a new roof installation, and new trim, there’s still a lot of work to be done.

That work includes finishing the lower level, which will eventually house the Town Clerk and Tax Collector’s Office. The space needs a large vault, which will come with a cost. The second and third floors will eventually host the planning department and town administrator.

Resident Ron Mitchell, budget committee member, named poor ventilation in the current town office as a potential future problem, arguing for the move to the mill.

“It’s time we finally get the mill done,” he said during discussion of the article.

Warrant Article 41, the final on the list, is a petition to sell the mill building, a move seemingly prompted by the amount of money the town has funneled into the space.

The warrant article was the only on the list not supported by the budget committee and selectboard. No one in the audience came forward to defend the petition.

“We’ve put $700,000 into that building, and it’s a shame we’re not in there yet,” said Mooney. “We have invested a lot in this building. I’m hoping there’s a few people who will vote against this petition.”

Additional discussion centered on the town’s investment in its long-term infrastructure, namely the public works and fire departments. Employee contracts and salaries were discussed — the second largest warrant articles — which highlighted known increases, like health benefits and insurance.

Article 5 asks voters to raise and appropriate $162,346 in wages and benefits for the fire department, which has a tax impact rate of $0.11 per $1,000 valuation.

“It’s a big number, but you have to realize, we’re trying to be competitive with surrounding towns,” Mooney said. “If we’re not competitive, we’re going to lose employees. Money talks.”

Article 7 asks voters to raise and appropriate $24,319 for increased wages and benefits for the police department.

Article 9 asks voters to raise and appropriate $41,575 for an increase in wages and benefits for the public works department.

“A majority of these increases are going to the ‘boots on the ground people,’” LeClair said during discussion of the articles.

“The cost of everything is going up, and there are deficiencies in line items that weren’t being routinely maintained,” added Brian Jackes, director of public works. “We need to start putting money into these systems, because they’re aging out.”

And finally, there was discussion on Warrant Article 13 regarding the town’s grant for a new fire truck, which requires a long-term lease and purchase agreement. The article was amended on the floor by Chief Donald Pickowicz, who received a note late Friday afternoon that Belmont’s commitment to the truck was lower than originally earmarked, at $364,823 instead of $425,000.

Late last year, Pickowicz learned the town was awarded a $500,000 grant toward a spec truck, built to their requirements, saving the taxpayers half a million dollars.

“These are affordable trucks for towns like us,” said Pickowicz. “It’s something I think will last the town the next 20 years.”

The grant funds are contingent on the warrant article passing to approve the lease.

“If this item is voted down, we lose the grant money and the truck,” LeClair said. “It’s a great win for us.”

In other news, Claude Patten Jr. will not seek reelection for his seat on the selectboard, a position he’s served since 2018.

“We need to thank him for his years of volunteering,” Mooney said.

For more information, visit belmontnh.gov.

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Katlyn Proctor can be reached at katlyn@laconiadailysun.com or by calling 603-524-0150.