|Debra Smith|
Many concerns have been raised by residents about cuts to staff positions in the proposed FY21 budget. Monday night, the select board declined to support the proposed restoration of the assistant librarian as proposed by the budget committee. The budget cuts the planner to half time and eliminates the parks & recreation director entirely.
Calculator in hand, I sat down to figure out what it would cost the average New Gloucester household to support library, parks and recreation and planning positions at less than the current levels, but to ensure that important work does not get entirely put on hold.
With 2,406 residential units in town (according to census data), here’s the break down.
| Staffing | Cost above BOS recommendation | Average cost per household (cost /2,406) |
| • Library- restore the assistant librarian position at 24 hours, and reduce director to 36 hours (as recommended by budget committee) | 14,000 | 5.81 |
| • Restore parks & rec director position at half-time | 24,900 | 10.34 |
| • Increase planner from half-time to 80% | 18,000 | 7.48 |
| TOTAL COST | 56,900 | |
| COST PER AVERAGE TAX BILL | 23.63 |
I reran these numbers twice and yes, it would cost a total of $56,900, or $23.64 per tax bill– under $2/ month for each household in New Gloucester.
