Sandwich Selectmen Presented with Level Service Budget

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SANDWICH – Town Manager Bud Dunham recently presented a proposed $79.6 million budget to the Sandwich Board of Selectmen.

“Following your budget instructions, I went with a purely level service budget and that came out at 2.5 percent for the general government,” Dunham said.

The proposed budget also includes a 2.5 percent increase for the school district’s budget.

“That means no new positions. No new funding initiatives,” Dunham said. “Just purely the same amount of staff that we have. Not a single hour for any part-time people. It just keeps what we have today.”

It also calls for $1 million in capital improvements.

“We’re still in deficit so we may very well need to adjust that moving forward,” Dunham said.

If selectmen want to continue funding eight firefighter positions covered with grant funding over the last two years, the budget would be increased by 3.7 percent, or $250,000.

The budget will go before Town Meeting voters in the spring for final approval.