-> Town Manager's Message - January 2025 - Budget Overview
Greetings Williston Community – Earlier this week the Williston Selectboard finalized the articles for consideration at Town Meeting in March. Leading up to Town Meeting Day there will be several opportunities to review and discuss the Town budget proposal and other articles on the ballot for Town Meeting. I will highlight some items from the budget proposal in today’s message. The proposed fiscal year 2026 budget (article 5) invests in Williston’s future, maintains services, enhances safety, and keeps municipal property taxes low. Williston’s FY26 proposed Town Budget is $15.94 million and will fund all of Williston’s municipal services. The municipal budget directly supports core services that make Williston a great place to live: from roads and public safety to parks and recreation. The budget includes investments to our police department, 24 full-time career firefighters/EMT’s, our road crew, paving improvement projects, our library, regional services including transportation and more. The FY26 baseline budget is a 4.6 percent increase from FY25 to meet current service needs, and the overall budget is just under a 6 percent increase after including new critical investments in public safety. The estimated tax rate increase to fund the budget amounts to $8.60 per month for the median assessed home ($300,000 assessment). The town’s budget only accounts for about 15% of your property tax bill. The remaining 85% is allocated to state education taxes. The Budget makes Key Investments in our 24-hour Staffed Public Safety Services
Balanced Approach to Financial Responsibility
Want to learn more and discuss the budget proposal? Visit the town website at town.williston.vt.us/townmeeting for the complete budget document that includes a detailed overview and a line-by-line accounting of the spending proposal. I will have other short messages highlighting different items for Town Meeting over the next month as well. I will be holding community chats leading up to Town Meeting to discuss the budget and answer any questions you have. You can meet up with me at the following times and locations:
I’m also happy to come and chat at any group gathering in Town about Town Meeting items. You can also send me an email at ewells@willistonvt.org or give me a call at 802-876-1168. Please reach out with any questions you have about the budget. See you around Town Sincerely, -Erik Wells |