At its January 25 meeting, the Warren Select Board approved a budget of $3,977,724 to be warned before voters for Town Meeting Day on March 1, 2022. The budget is a 21% increase over last year’s town budget, though last year’s budget was significantly decreased due to COVID relief funds. It’s a 2.3% increase over what was spent in 2019, the most recent year not impacted by the pandemic.

 

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Town salaries and benefits have increased slightly, as have election costs. The cost of town mapping has nearly doubled (from $2,500 actually spent in 2021 to $5,000) for web support and technology updates for GIS mapping found on the town’s website.Planning commission and development review board funds have increased by 5.1%.

Conservation commission costs have gone up 12.82%. Despite having $14,700 earmarked in last year’s budget for blueberry bush maintenance at Blueberry Lake, the town actually spent only $5,058 on the project last year and has budgeted $16,585 for this year. It spent $6,090 on knotweed management last year and has budgeted $13,498 for knotweed management this year. A new line item is a $2,000 wildlife corridor enhancement project.

Fire department costs have gone up 34.2% from last year, including an increase in contracted services, training and a new $7,500 line item for the fire department’s 75th anniversary celebration.

Library salaries and benefits have gone up 39.82% due to a request for additional staffing. The recreation budget has increased 44.12%, with $5,000 newly allocated for the Mad River Valley stewardship program and a $10,000 increase (from $30,000 to $40,000) for the Mad River Valley Recreation District.

An additional 74.34% has been added for bridge and major culvert projects, increasing the total highway and bridges budget by 39.75%.

The select board passed the $3,977,724 town budget unanimously.

 

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