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Barnstable Town Hall.
HYANNIS – Barnstable Town Manager Tom Lynch formally presented a proposed $181 million budget for Fiscal Year 2017 Thursday night to the town council.
The budget includes a number of funding priorities for education, public health and safety, infrastructure and economic development.
The proposed operating budget is balanced and provides for reserves and contains no tax overrides.
Over $139 million of the money in the budget will be used for general fund operations that includes police department, fixed costs and the school department.
More than $11 million will go to the community services department, $24 million for the public works department and $6.1 million for the airport enterprise fund.
The Airport Enterprise Fund is seeing a 23 percent reduction in funding, which is over $1.8 million compared to the FY 2016 budget.
The Water Supply Enterprise received a 20 percent increase in funding compared to the FY 2016 budget, with over $229,000 allocated.
Lynch said the town will also look at a number of issues.
“We’re constantly looking at those major issues whether its wastewater management, dealing with the opioid crisis, dealing with the homelessness issues or some of them fall outside of traditionally funded municipal resources, you still have to be looking at ways that the town could move those issues forward,” said Lynch.
The median residential tax bill increase for FY 2017 is estimated to be around $55.
The proposed FY 2017 budget is more than $125,000 less than the FY 2016 budget, which was $181,489,353.
This is Lynch’s final budget as town manager.
Mark Ells takes over the position at the beginning of July.
“I’m confident that there’s enough flexibility in the budget for Barnstable to continue to grow both towards its capital needs and its operating needs,” said Lynch.
By JUSTIN SAUNDERS, CapeCod.com Newscenter
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