By Virginia Drye
Eagle Times Staff
Budget season is here, and the town of Plainfield has some big decisions to be made.
The proposed budget of almost $3 million is up 16% overall and includes a possible new staff position, large purchases and an increase in solid waste removal costs.
The budget was discussed during a selectboard meeting held Wednesday, Jan. 3, at the Philp Read Memorial Library.
The warrant articles so far this year include two large purchases: a dump truck and a pickup truck for the Highway Department. A purchase, according to Selectman Eric Brann, is, in his opinion, “at least a year and a half behind where we should be.”
The water department is the newest addition to the budget as the Plainfield Village Water District was absorbed by the town at the beginning of the year, but the actual cost of running the department is unknown. The Meriden Water District remains a private district.
The biggest item in the budget is soiled waste removal. The town has a contract with Casella until the end of the year and the price is going up. One of the reasons for the increase is because of recycling. Last year, solid waste removal was budgeted at $215,000, but this year it is $250,000.
In answer to a question from Selectman Ron Everheart, Town Manager Steve Halleran said the average cost of recycling used to be a fixed deal.
“Now it’s not a fixed deal, it’s whatever Casella feels like they’re being stressed in terms of getting rid of recycling. We know what the pickup costs us, we’re sending Casella essentially 20,000 dollars a month now to do the program that they do and that’s not to say it doesn’t have good value or good to the community and all of that, but 215 [thousand] was too little, [and] we’re kind of banking on recycling prices coming back up this year.”
Plainfield and Enfield are the only towns in the Upper Valley that does both trash and recycling curbside pickup with Casella for the whole communities. To continue the service, there is another article being proposed at the town meeting to contract with Casella for another seven years with a change in the pickup system. Casella is requiring that every house have a specific trash bin at the bottom of their driveway on pick up days so Casella’s vehicles can pick up the trash and recycling.
“There will also be an article on the warrant which asks the voters to approve a seven-year deal, that would probably, over the seven years, cost something close to $2 million,” Said Halleran. “So, if that article passes, we go ahead and negotiate a new contract with Casella, which we’ll have in hand at that point. If the article fails, at some point after town meeting, but probably Jan. 1 of ’25, residents will be required to find their own way to get garbage to the landfill and recycling center in Lebanon. They [Plainfield residents] can do it by hiring Casella, which they’ll be happy to come down and run a route or they can do it by just driving it to Lebanon themselves and sorting it at the recycling center, but that’s if we don’t pass the town provided program that’s been here since 1991, then the only other option is you’re on your own.”
“I don’t think we’ve ever committed to seven years before,” Halleran said. “We’ve committed to three years, five, maybe one, but never seven, but Casella is saying if you want us to spend $130,000 on Toters and bring them to Plainfield, we have to know that they’re going to be used for at least seven years.” Halleran said.
A draft of the warrant for the solid waste contract should be available by next week.
If all of the projects are approved at the town meeting, the projected tax rate impact for the budget is $0.513.
“So, essentially, if we passed everything that was in that budget to the best of our knowledge today, the tax rate — with the town portion of the tax rate, which is currently $15.75 for the whole rate, of which the town makes up $3.46 — would rise $0.50 approximately.” Halleran said in a phone interview.
There are options to decrease the new tax rate, such as not making any capital purchases for the year (which would lower it to $0.25) or using the remaining ARPA money (lowing it to $0.42).
“If you’re a short timer here in Plainfield then you want the cheapest rate you can get today, if you’re here for the long haul, then you want a rate that’s representative of what it really costs to run the town and what it really cost to run the town, including things like a new dump trucks and new pickup,” said Halleran. “So, I think the way the selectman will make their decision is based on the feedback they get at the budget hearing from our finance committee and from their own discussions with constituents.”
The next budget hearing will be held at 7 p.m., Jan. 17, at Meriden Town Hall.
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