SALEM - Town Manager Keith Hickey presented a proposed $37 million operating budget for 2013 designed to reduce the town portion of the property tax by 1 percent.

The document meets selectmen's goals that the budget include a $4.65 million roads programs and reduces the town portion of the tax rate by 1 percent, Hickey said.

If the proposed budget passed as presented, the town tax rate would be $6.99 per $1,000. The current town rate is $7.06 per $1,000.

The proposed budget contains about $9.2 million in capital items including the roads program, bridges, police cruiser and ambulance leases, and a public works replacement vehicle. The town will also be submitting a grant application to help fund the purchase of two replacement trucks with sander bodies and plows, Hickey said. Windham, Londonderry, and Derry have already received funding through the grant program.

The budget contained personnel changes to reduce costs. Hickey proposed replacing the chief building inspector position with a part-time plumbing inspector and restoring the community development clerk to a full-time position. The engineering department would be reassigned as part of Public Works and take responsibility for the roads program. One craftsman position would be eliminated and the employee moved to an open equipment operator position.

Hickey also proposed moving Human Services from the Foss School Building to the Town Hall or the Salem District Court building, which would save about $24,000 a year, he said.

About $48,000 for the CART Transportation program and $16,000 for Independence Day fireworks were eliminated, but selectmen voted to return the Fourth of July fireworks funding to the budget.

New to the budget process was the creation of a default budget as the town switches to an SB2 form of government. Using a formula dictated by state government, Hickey's proposed default budget was roughly $474,000 more than the proposed budget.

“It just doesn't make any sense to me that the default budget can be bigger than what we're asking for,” said Selectman Stephen Campbell.

Campbell was equally concerned by a proposed 5.96 percent increase in personnel costs.
“If you're going to make some savings, it has to be in personnel because it's such a significant part of the budget,” Campbell said.

Selectmen will make revisions to the budget through September. Budget Committee review begins in October.