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Merrimack Town Council tackles budgets

By Staff | Jan 12, 2017

MERRIMACK – The Merrimack Town Council began the process on Monday of finalizing the municipal budget for the upcoming fiscal year.

The council heard budget presentations from the Police Department, the clerk/tax collector’s office, the media department, the communications department and the welfare department, and a presentation of the town’s general budget from Town Manager Eileen Cabanel.

The meeting was the first of four public budget meetings that the Town Council is scheduled to hold. The next one is scheduled for 6 p.m. Jan. 19.

Budgets proposed by departments that presented Monday did not significantly deviate from the budgets for this fiscal year.

One significant cost the council addressed was about $559,000 for a revamp of the police communications system. Cabanel said the town has been putting money away for this expenditure since 2014, and that it would be paid for with the town’s capital reserve fund.

Excluding the money reserved for the communications revamp, the proposed communications budget increased by 3.5 percent.

“We’re really starting to bolster our expenditures in (communications) training,” Police Chief Mark Doyle said.

A significant expenditure increase in the town general budget – $50,000 – is the result of promoting the town’s technology assistant from part time to full time.

Merrimack will also be required to pay significantly more money into employee pensions, the result of measures taken by the state Legislature to fully fund future benefits.

During the next meeting, the council will review the Department of Public Works, including the highway department, wastewater treatment, solid waste disposal and community development, town Finance Director Paul Micali said.

Then on Jan. 23, the town will go over the proposed budgets from the public library, Fire Department, code enforcement, assessing, proposed issuance of debt and revenues.

On Jan. 30, the Town Council will finalize the budget and propose warrant articles. Townspeople will the be able to vote on those articles during a public hearing at a date to be determined in February.

Derek Edry can be reached at 594-1243, dedry@nashuatelegraph.com or @Telegraph_Derek.

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