Jeanie Forrester: Meredith town manager proposing many staff changes

The Nov. 10 Meredith Selectboard meeting focused primarily on the upcoming 2026 budget including a department reorganization proposal, an overview of wages and benefits and setting the 2025 tax rate.

The town manager proposed three alternatives for reorganizing the Community Development Department with a recommendation to implement the third alternative.

These organizational alternatives are based on an extensive February 2023 assessment and recommendations for improvement of that department. All alternatives recommended a name change of the department from Community Development to Planning and Development.

Alternative 1 maintains the current staffing of 4.5 positions (town planner, code enforcement officer, administrative assistant, one full-time and one part-time office clerk) with the town manager managing across the planning and zoning functions.

Alternative 2 adds a director position bringing the department up to five positions as recommended in the 2023 study. There would be a director, senior planner, code enforcement officer, planner 1, and a full-time office clerk.

Alternative 3 would reorganize the department and the town manager’s office. Under this alternative the Community Development Department staff would include a senior planner, code enforcement officer, planner I (upgrading the administrative assistant position), and an administrative assistant (upgrading the office clerk position). In addition to these changes, the manager’s office would upgrade the human resources director to deputy town manager with duties to include human resources and special projects, and add a new administrative assistant position. In addition, the director of administrative services would assume a second position of deputy town manager, finance and operations. These deputy town managers would manage more of the town manager’s responsibilities so she can pursue economic development strategies while utilizing a consultant for higher end tasks. This alternative is recommended by the town manager at an additional cost of $82,000 for staffing changes, plus $75,000 for a consultant.

Another proposed staffing change is the addition of a part-time water/sewer technician to be funded by the water/sewer rate payers at $32,575. Also requested is the town manager’s proposal for a $25,000 salary study, which will include a review of all job descriptions.

Not included in the 2026 budget but requested are changing the Fire Department office clerk and the solid waste clerk from part-time to full-time, and a wage adjustment for the fire chief and call firefighters.

There was an overview of wages and benefits included in the 2026 budget with a recommended 3.2% cost of living adjustment, increasing costs $220,617 over 2025. Benefit offerings remain the same as 2025 in choice and employee/employer split, 10%/90% respectively. Wages, withholdings (Social Security, Medicare, etc.), and benefits represent 48% of the budget.

The final presentation discussed the proposed municipal tax rate of $3.62 for 2025. However, that rate assumed retaining a fund balance of 13.47% of the general fund operating expenditures. The board asked for a reduction to 12%, directing the manager to use $709,150 from the fund balance to reduce the municipal tax rate. The final municipal tax rate will be $3.44, a 2.7% increase from 2024. Please note this is the municipal tax rate only. The final tax rate of $10.62 will include municipal ($3.44), county ($1.03), local education ($4.95) and state education ($1.20).

The next budget workshop is at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 18, at the Humiston Building, and residents are encouraged to attend.

The next meeting of the selectboard is Monday, Nov. 24.

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Jeanie Forrester serves on the Meredith Selectboard.