The Board of Finance got its first look at items that could affect the town’s 2026-2027 budget when it met Tuesday night.
Botelle Superintendent Kevin Case reported that it will cost $58,000 to repair the school’s elevator, of which $45,000 will be drawn from the school’s non-lapsing fund. School districts can put up to 2 percent of the the prior fiscal year’s total education budget into such funds for future educational uses.
He said the school board is committed to finding the additional $13,000 within this year’s operating budget, then added that the town will probably receive $32,000 in state District Repair and Improvement Program funding. “If we do, we would use some of that,” he said.
Case also reported on his continuing effort to reverse a state Board of Education finding that Norfolk Is not compliant with the state’s Minimum Budget Requirement. Under it a town cannot budget less for education than it did the previous year. The current budget is about $150,000 less than the previous year’s because the town serves fewer special education students.
The budget reduction is “easily defendable,” said Case, “but the state says, no, it doesn’t qualify. It doesn’t make sense, and I will fight it.”
The state threatens to withhold Education Cost Sharing funds if the situation is not resolved but some members of the Board of Finance scoffed. The town only receives about $55,000 a year in ECS funds, while the budget was reduced by $150,000.
When attention turned to municipal finances, First Selectman Henry Tirrell said he hopes to hear next month about $750,000 in insurance claims that former First Selectman Matt Riiska submitted to cover remediation costs stemming from the 2023 gas spill.
Tirrell is concerned about the condition of some Public Works trucks, noting that a new truck has not been purchased in recent years. “I want to come up with a plan for future purchases, to take out the old truck that is soaking up a lot of money through repairs.”
He further reported that he is working on financing for the Mountain Road bridge scheduled for replacement this spring at a cost of $2.2 million. Although it will be paid for with state and federal funds, the town must pay for it up front and wait for reimbursement.