Council expected to vote on budget Tuesday

By Eric Parry
Staff writer

May 16, 2008 10:06 am

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DERRY — The Town Council is expected to decide Tuesday on next year's proposed $35 million municipal operating budget.

The budget came up for a vote last week but Councilor Kevin Coyle postponed it after Councilor Brad Benson made a motion to rearrange money for economic development in the next year.

After Coyle had read through the entire budget, Benson proposed taking over $152,000 the town didn't use in this year's budget and putting it into the Route 28 tax increment financing district. This move still keeps the town under the tax cap and gives councilors more money to use for economic development, he said.

But Coyle said he didn't like changing the budget at the last minute and couldn't ever remember doing so.

"I don't think this is necessary," Coyle said.

Instead of waiting until the last minute, Coyle said the move should have come during the budget workshops held in the month leading up to the vote.

Still, the amendment passed and Coyle called a charter objection which postponed the vote until next week.

In the course of their deliberations, councilors had trimmed more than $150,000 from the proposed budget originally presented by Town Administrator Gary Stenhouse.

The proposed $35 million budget represents a $7.80 per $1,000 valuation property tax rate, which is 16 cents higher than last year, according to Chief Financial Officer Frank Childs.