Blandford Finance Committee sets May 1 budget deadline, approves reserve transfers

BLANDFORD — April 14, 2023 — Blandford Finance Committee advances FY24 salary recommendations and schedules May 1 joint meeting with the Select Board. The committee, guided by a 2021 Collins Center wage study, agreed to raise Library Director Nicole's pay to $24 per hour at 28 hours per week, bringing her annual salary to roughly $34,944, while holding library technician hours to 24 per week at the director-requested $15.34 per hour. Highway Superintendent Dave would move from $65,000 to $67,000, in line with the Collins Center market average. The Treasurer-Collector office budget is projected to drop from $205,000 to roughly $160,000 as the town ends its current consulting arrangement and promotes new hire Lynn Cain to Treasurer-Collector on July 1. The committee also approved two reserve fund transfers — roughly $2,000 for a Hilltown Community Ambulance state trust fund assessment and a smaller amount for mid-year IT upgrades — and flagged a projected jump in vocational education costs from under $200,000 to $250,000 for FY24.