By Charlene Lovett
By Charlene Lovett
Each year, the city manager is required by charter to present a proposed budget to the council “not later than 60 days prior to the end of the current fiscal year.”
On April 30, City Manager Ed Morris completed that task, marking the beginning of the Council’s review period of his budget proposal. The council has until June 30 to make any changes and vote upon the proposed budget. New this year, due to the passage of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), is the consideration of how ARPA funds will be allocated in the proposed budget.
The city manager’s proposed budget is for FY22 which begins this July 1 and ends the following year on June 30. It reflects the priorities established by the council earlier in the year of level funding the municipal tax rate of $15.17, reducing blight and investing in infrastructure. Level funding the tax rate while simultaneously investing in the community is a challenging task at best, especially when dealing with several revenue unknowns.
At the same time the council is considering the city manager’s proposed budget, the New Hampshire Legislature is also working its way through the proposed state budget for FY22/23. Until that process is finalized, we will not know the amount in revenue sharing or grant payments that the city will receive from the state. In most years, the state’s budgetary process is completed in June. However, it can take longer if the Legislature and Governor are unable to agree on changes made during the budgetary process.
Also unknown at this time is the exact amount of ARPA funds that Claremont will receive from the federal government. While the amount of ARPA funds to cities with populations of 50,000 or more has already been calculated, this is not true for smaller cities. What we do know is that 50% of the city’s allocation will be distributed in the current FY and the remaining 50% approximately 12 months later. One of the eligible uses for these funds is to offset lost revenue either from state or local entities due to COVID-19, and this is the use that the city manager proposes for these funds. Based on the most recent guidance from the US Department of the Treasury, the city should have the exact figure within the next few weeks.
The city council will hold a special meeting on June 5 for the sole purpose of discussing the proposed budget. The meeting is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and will be held in Council Chambers and via Zoom. During this session, the council will hear from each department director and ask questions, potentially making changes to the city manager’s proposed budget. At the conclusion of this meeting, the council may opt to schedule additional meetings and/or continue its deliberations at the next regularly scheduled meeting on June 9.
The public hearing for the proposed budget is scheduled for June 23. Hopefully, by that time we will have more concrete information on revenue allocations from both the state and federal government. In the meantime, members of the public are encouraged to contact your council representatives with budget concerns. Given the importance to Claremont and municipalities in general, please consider also contacting your state senator and representatives regarding the restoration of state revenue.
Charlene Lovett is the mayor of Claremont and a 22-year Army veteran. She welcomes your feedback. Please email questions, comments or concerns to her at [email protected].
As your daily newspaper, we are committed to providing you with important local news coverage for Sullivan County and the surrounding areas.