Claremont City Council Budget Meeting - May 5, 2026
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Claremont City Council Budget Meeting – May 5, 2026
The City Council met on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, to review the Fiscal Year 2027 budget. City Manager Bates presented the preliminary budget, followed by line‑by‑line discussions on general fund revenues, several departmental budgets, and the TIFF district. The council tentatively approved most budget items, with some deferred for follow‑up.
Discussion Items
- FY27 Budget Overview: City Manager Bates presented a modest increase to fund a third police officer position, parking lot maintenance, grant consultant services (Merchant McIntyre), a new city website, procurement/contract tracking software, and union negotiations/merit system changes.
- General Fund Revenues: Questions addressed motor vehicle fees (on track), rooms and meals (up despite expectations), railroad tax, sweetwater hydro PILOT (declining due to output), tax‑deeded property status (letters sent, list forthcoming), and cable franchise fees (moved to expense line 418).
- TIFF District Downtown: The district expires in 2028; staff recommended transferring $50,000 into a capital reserve for the downtown parking garage. Discussion included lease agreements, beautification funding ($15,000), and revenue projections based on current valuation. Vote deferred to a future TIFF board meeting.
- Debt Service: No new bonding; adjustments were made to SRF loan schedules identified in the prior audit. Tentatively approved.
- Elections: Standard two‑election year budget with maintenance on poll pads. School reimbursements not received in recent years. Tentatively approved.
- Administrative Budgets (411 & 417): Department 411 (Executive/HR) included health insurance offset from Fund 12 (health care stabilization), training underspending, and a new Luminose high‑deductible plan. Department 417 (General Services) combined legal retainer and general services lines, reflecting settled PSNH case. Both tentatively approved.
- Assessing Budget (414): Tabled due to questions about a 22% pay increase (later clarified as 4% plus error correction), mileage/site fieldwork misclassification, and a large jump in Vision software licensing fees. Council requested follow‑up.
- Welfare Budget (432): Director Carr reported minimal increases; homelessness/evictions now comprise ~70% of contacts. Discussion covered state mandates, motel costs, rental inspection program, and responsibility for out‑of‑town residents. Budget tentatively approved.
- Library Budget (450): New Director Sanborn presented; part‑time pay increased 20% due to union contracts and additional weekend hours. Questions on books line (all formats), room rentals (not currently allowed), and trash removal. Roof repair not in this budget (to be separate capital item). Tentatively approved.
Key Outcomes
- General Fund Revenue Motion: Approved (9‑0) at $5,516,046.
- Debt Service Motion: Approved (9‑0) at $856,111.
- Elections Budget Motion: Approved (9‑0) at $21,280.
- Department 411 Budget Motion: Approved (9‑0) at $639,647.
- Department 417 Budget Motion: Approved (9‑0) at $809,500.
- Welfare Budget Motion: Approved (9‑0) with revenues $15,000, expenses $578,048, net $563,048.
- Library Budget Motion: Approved (9‑0) with revenues $2,000, appropriations $444,240, net $442,240.
- Assessing Budget: Deferred for further information on pay, software fees, and mileage/site fieldwork.
- TIFF District Budget: Deferred to future TIFF board meeting.
- Next budget meeting scheduled for Saturday, May 9, 2026.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening. Welcome to Clarmo City Council meeting for Tuesday, May 5th, 2026. Councilor Kaloski, would you want to leave us in the pledge, please? I pledge allegiance to the United States of America. And to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under the justice for all. Thank you. Ms. Bizarre, when you have a moment, can we get a roll call, please? Present. Council Cloxwell. Here. Counselor Greenrose. Assistant Mayor Mattown here. Counselor Kaloske. Here. Councillor Lemosh? Here. Counselor Hemingway. Counselor Irish? Here. Mayor Gerard. Here. Thank you very much. Next up is new business. Before we um go to Miss Bates here in just a moment. Just wanted to from the council standpoint. Do we want to do our TA after each budget like we've done the last few years? Just make a motion for that. Is everybody good with that? Yes. Okay. So moving right along. We're gonna start with uh item A, preliminary budget discussion. Ms. Bates. Thank you, Mayor. So I'm pleased to present you with the FY27 budget for the City of Claremont. Um FY26 was challenging, as was FY uh 25, but I think we managed to not just uh endure, but we actually move the city forward in several areas. Um really proud to work alongside of uh all of my directors and staff and with the city council to accomplish uh what we've accomplished this year. Uh I've tried to keep the increase in the budget modest as modest as I could uh while still incorporating some items that I think are are needed within the city. And uh so funding for the third uh previously unfunded police officer position, uh funding for the municipal parking lot maintenance program, which we are implementing this year based on council feedback, uh funding uh for increased services from our um grant consultants, merchant McIntyre. We have two large grant awards that are coming up that we just don't have the internal capacity to manage, and then funding for design and implementation of a new city website, and funding for the procurement and contract tracking program. Also part of that increase are two union negotiations and uh changes to the merit system, which will be coming before you uh on the 27th of May. Does anybody have any questions on what's just been presented to us? No. Moving right along, we'll go to item B, general fund revenues. So do you want to go line by line or how do you want to proceed? What page will be on last week? We're on page 22.
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