At Town Meeting next month, Warren taxpayers will be asked to pass a 2026 budget of $5,002,369, up 10.52% from last year’s budget of $4,4476,216. That budget reflects total town gross expenditures of $5,411,053. That total sum is offset by revenue (excluding property taxes) of $411,106.
Warren’s town budget includes employee wages of $1,086,919 an increase of 9.64% over last year’s $982,108. The town’s contribution to employees’ HRAs is $43,500. Employee benefits and taxes come to $134,000.
Select board chair Devin Klein Corrigan said that while the budget projects a 10.52% increase she thought it might be possible to reduce that increase somewhat during Town Meeting.
The proposed budgets increase decreases town clerk office costs by 2.57%, increase town administration costs by 7.03% and decreases the cost of the town treasurer by 29% before bank interest is added to town treasurer costs, resulting in a decrease of $17,575.
Zoning office costs are up 4.95% but planning commission costs are down 35.40%, primarily from moving the cost of the Short-Term Rental Registry software from the planning commission budget and into the newly created Short Term Rental administrator budget.
That new budget details software costs of $30,307, which with the cost of a part-time administrator comes to $48,633. That cost will be offset by projected registry fees of $70,000, yielding a final cost decrease of $21,367.
Fire department costs were relatively stable this year, increasing 1.45% to $192,600 over last year’s $189,800. Library costs are down 6.13%, from $217,373 to $204,820.
Under the town’s recreation budget, the board is proposing to increase its Fourth of July expenditures from $20,000 to $30,000 this year and park maintenance from $20,500 to $25,000. Before factoring in Fourth of July income – projected at $11,800 – Warren’s recreation budget was up 12.83%.
Road department costs are down 6.52%, from $1,777,100 to $1,688, 351.
Under the “Other Expenses” category, Warren shows retiring bond debt for the fire pond, which was $15,058. That category shows annual payments for the town’s solar array of $31,256 running through November 15, 2034. The category also shows the start of Warren paying back its bond for the town garage (approved by voters last November) with $367,638 to be paid back in 2026.
In 2026 Warren is putting away $1,433,000 in its capital budget, up over the 2025 capital budget allocations of $1,236,500.
