Jon Zagrodzky state of the town 912-12-16

State of the Town Addresses for 2016: Part 2, Finance Board Chairman Jon Zagrodzky’s

Download PDF

Here’s the full text (as prepared) of Board of Finance Chairman Jon Zagrodzky’s State of the Town Address to the Representative Town Meeting on Monday night:

Good evening. My name is Jon Zagrodzky, and I’m chairman of the Board of Finance. This is my second time to address you, and I appreciate the opportunity to offer some perspectives. First, I’ll begin with some budget comments. If you look at the total operating budget on the Town side of the ledger, recent numbers have been pretty favorable.

2016-2017 Selectmens Budget

Selectmen Propose Budget with 4.49% Lower Spending Than This Year

Download PDF

The Board of Selectmen on Wednesday unanimously approved a 2016-2017 budget for town departments, capital projects and debt service that would lower next year’s overall spending (except for school spending) by 4.49 percent. The selectmen’s spending plan — a total of $47 million — does not include the Board of Education budget, which is about two-thirds of all town spending. That budget, just passed Tuesday night, proposes an increase of 3.44 percent in education spending. The education and selectmen budgets now go before the Board of Finance and the Representative Town Meeting for final approval. Those bodies will consider the 1 percent rise in the town tax base that will be used to calculate the rates for town property taxes and other local taxes.