DALTON, Mass. — The Finance Committee will join the Select Board at its meeting on Monday at 6:30 p.m. to discuss the school budget for fiscal 2024. 

 

"It's primarily as Joe Diver explained in the email is that we want to present a relatively united front, so to speak, when it comes to talking with the school district and also the seven-town Advisory Committee as to what we think where we're gonna land," Finance Committee Chair William A. Drosehn said at last week's meeting.

 

"What he's trying to do is not have us say no and them saying yes kind of thing. Again, we're trying to avoid that. He's trying to avoid that at this point."

 

Based on past experiences, the Finance Committee is anticipating a 2 percent bump in the budget but can not guarantee the changes at this point. 

 

Although, he can not speak for other towns, the amount the school budget increases varies year to year creating a "yo-yo effect" that is difficult for Dalton to plan for, Drosehn said 

 

"We always like to talk to the school for a little bit or you get an idea of where to get a handle on where the school district is coming from with the numbers that they have. I just want to make it clear to everyone plus the audience out there that the Finance Committee in the town of Dalton is not against the school. It's not us against them," he said.

 

"We just are trying to make sure that everything is falling within the fiscal constraints that have been put on us by law and in the state of Massachusetts."

 

Property values in Dalton rose about 15 percent, which is driving down the tax rate considerably, however, it's not going to stop tax bills from rising. 

 

The total value of properties in the town is 784 million.

 

"Whenever there's more spending the taxes go up regardless of the tax rate. That's something always to keep in mind," Town Manager Tom Hutcheson said.

 

"People often use tax rate as a shorthand for the tax bill, but it's not. So I just wanted to make that clear. The valuations were very high."

 

The town is spending $1.1 million under its Proposition 2 1/2 excess levy capacity. 

 

The tax bill is based on the amount of money town meeting votes to spend and the total property value of the town. People buying up housing in rural areas during COVID-19 is driving the changes in the levy limit and tax rate, Hutcheson said.