During Rindge’s deliberative session on Saturday, two amendments were approved that would increase the amount of funding for warrant articles coming from the previous year’s unspent funds, rather than new taxation.

In about an hour-and-a-half, the voting body approved a total of 10 articles to move forward to the March ballot.

The proposed operating budget for Rindge is set at $5.35 million. Should the budget fail at the polls, the default budget is set at $5.08 million. Select Board Chair Marybeth Quill spoke briefly on the budget, citing wages and contracted increases as major drivers in the budget. There is approximately $248,525 in increases to wages, including wage adjustments, a cost-of-living increase and the addition of a part-time planning director position and the full salary for a ninth police officer previously approved by the voters.

Other increases include $83,000 for health and dental insurance, $16,000 for Social Security and Medicare, $15,000 in retirement and $15,000 in overtime.

Most other articles on the warrant this year are requesting either the creation of or additions to existing capital reserves, with one exception, Article 11, which requests $55,011 for the fifth and final payment for the town’s current fire rescue truck. The agreement is lease-to-own, and after this year, the town will own the truck if voters approve the payment. If not, it will be returned.

Selectman Karl Pruter said the town is focused this year on capital reserve accounts and saving for future planned purchases, in part in order to move away from leasing vehicles, which he said was “not cost effective, in some respects,” referring to additional interest the town had to pay.

Of the remaining articles discussed Saturday, all had to do with those capital reserve accounts.

Two of those articles were amended to have some of the funds taken from the town’s unreserved fund balance, rather than taxation. Both amendments were put forth by Roberta Oeser, who is a member of the town’s Budget Advisory Committee, but said she was making the amendments from her perspective as a citizen. Oeser’s first proposed amendment was to use $45,000 from the unreserved funds to pay for a proposed addition to the fire department equipment reserve.

Oeser said the town already had a reserve that was healthy, and due to unfilled positions and a light winter last year, there were up to $200,000 in unreserved funds expected from last year’s budget. Selectman Bob Hamilton said he had no objection to using some of that fund for proposed articles, but that the town did want to reserve at least half of that $200,000 to add to the fund balance, in order to shore against any major emergencies the town might face.

The amendment was approved in a 33-10 hand count.

Oeser proposed a similar amendment for an article asking for $100,000 for the Highway Department reserve. Initially, Oeser proposed using unreserved funds for all $100,000, but on a suggestion from Pruter, who cited similar concerns to Hamilton, she withdrew her initial amendment and offered a compromise of using $50,000 in unreserved funds and $50,000 from taxation. The amendment passed in a voice vote.

Prior to the vote on the amendment, resident Judy Unger-Clark spoke about the timing of the discussion, noting that Oeser was a member of the Budget Committee, and asking why these decisions hadn’t been made during the budgeting process.

“It seems questionable at this stage in the game,” Unger-Clark said.

Oeser replied that she hadn’t been aware of what the level of unspent funds for the past year might be until a few days ago, and said she had a right to make motions at the meeting, as did any other citizen.

“When I join a board, I do not check my hat at the door to give up my rights to make a motion,” she said.

Remaining articles asking for additions to reserves passed unchanged, including $55,000 for the revaluation reserve, $50,000 for the building maintenance reserve, $15,000 for the Ingalls Memorial Library reserve and $25,000 for the Recreation Facilities reserve, all of which would be from taxation.

In addition, the town is asking to use $137,534 granted to the town for the purpose of bridge aid to put in the bridge maintenance reserve. The funds have already been accepted by the town and are being held in the unreserved fund balance but require voter approval to use.

The town is also requesting to create a new capital reserve for police equipment and to place $10,000 in it.

The official ballot voting for all issues, including the election of town officers and on zoning amendments, is scheduled for March 12 at 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Rindge Memorial Elementary School gymnasium.

Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172, Ext. 244, or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on X @AshleySaariMLT.