Windham town finances are on course through the first half of the year. But while most line items are where they should be, Assistant Town Administrator and Finance Director Dana Call said she’s keeping a watchful eye on some areas, including elections and police overtime.

The elections ballot line item is over expended by $4,459, mainly due to the cost of printing March ballots that were longer than expected, Call said. Review of the elections budget was done pending submission of hours for some supervisors of the checklist, Call said.

The Election and Registration budget is 76.6 percent expended with a primary scheduled this fall and a general election in November.

The police overtime budget line is $30,861 over budget due to retirements and several officers being out on injury and disability. Some offsetting savings are reflected in the regular salary line item, Call said. Police Chief Gerald Lewis and the Board of Selectmen are watching the overtime budget.

Union-related legal expenses may also end up costing more than projected to cover the law firm and arbitrator costs associated with settling outstanding grievances, according to Call’s report.

The town will save about $15,000 due to the repeal of the “spiking assessments” legislation that was expected to take effect this year. The money had been budgeted to cover the anticipated surcharge for a retired town employee.

An additional $32,672 in budgetary insurance savings was realized through the workers’ compensation premium holiday, Call said.

Revenue items were in line with expectations, Call said.

“Generally things seem to be on track where we expect them to be,” Call said.
Revenue items will be watched over the next couple of months to determine if budgeted amounts remain reasonable.

Call ended her report with an “item of note” concerning the Earned Time Trust Account. About $77,500 has been paid out of the regular salary portion of the budget to three long-standing employees who retired. The operating budget may not be able to absorb the payouts, requiring some withdrawal from the Earned Time Trust Account. The situation will be analyzed and presented to the board.

Budget item reviews are presented for preliminary consideration of setting the tax rate, which is due by Sept.1.