LONDONDERRY — The Town Council moved the 2013 budget public hearing along last Friday, finishing up just before 1 a.m.
The $26,741,721 operating budget and warrant articles will now be put to the voters at the deliberative session Feb. 6.
Since there will be a deliberative session for the first time this year, voters can decide that night how much to add or subtract from the budget before the March vote.
The proposed budget means a 4.9 percent increase in taxes, Town Manager Dave Caron said. The rate for 2012 is $4.74 per $1,000 of valuation. The new rate for 2013 would be $4.98 if approved. That's for the town portion of the tax rate only.
"We reduced the library budget by $100,000," Caron said.
During an earlier budget hearing, Budget Committee Chairman Todd Joncas said he compared Londonderry's library to several surrounding towns and found Londonderry was getting fewer services per hour than Salem and Derry.
"I looked at surrounding libraries, and of all of those, we are among the top three for budgets, with Concord the highest," Joncas said. "I think we need to increase hours at the library."
Caron said the library cuts will likely mean jobs lost.
Added in to the budget was $5,000 for a new voting machine for the town clerk's office, $25,000 for additional overtime in the Department of Public Works; $55,000 in overtime for the police department; and $15,000 for a capital lease for the fire department to obtain a new command vehicle.
The council agreed safety is a top priority. Four additional firefighters and overtime pay at a cost of $403,665 is a separate warrant article.
Money was not put back into the cable department's budget, which means the staffing will go from three employees to two. Cable director Dottie Grover is expected to retire this year.
Three former town councilors were present for the hearing Thursday night — Mike Brown, Paul DiMarco and Brian Farmer.
Residents are encouraged to come to the deliberative session on Feb. 6 at 7 p.m. in the Londonderry High School cafeteria. Any amendments to the budget and warrant articles can be voted on at that time.
The budget will then move on to Town Meeting March 13, when voters will elect town officials and vote on the budget and warrant articles by ballot.
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