Charlton Finance Committee Ranks Seven New Positions Against $250,000 Budget Gap

CHARLTON — March 12, 2025 — Charlton Finance Committee ranks seven proposed new positions against a $250,000 projected budget gap. Meeting March 12 for budget hearings, the five-member committee worked through department presentations from DPW, Cemetery and Facilities Director James Burlingame, and Council on Aging Director Michelle Drum before turning to an informal ranking of positions that collectively exceed anticipated revenue. Finance staff, identified as Ashley, told the committee that all seven positions cannot fit in a balanced budget as submitted. The committee settled on this order: building department part-time-to-full-time conversion first, a new police dispatcher second, a fire EMS officer third, a part-time deputy Emergency Management Director fourth, a Council on Aging administrative assistant capped at 19 hours fifth, a police administrative sergeant sixth, and a library teen services position last. One member called the library position an inappropriate backstop for school budget cuts, saying the regional school district had eliminated librarians and was now "busing books over from the public library" to hold sessions at the middle school. The COA position's viability may hinge on a pending meal-provider decision: shifting from the $65,000 Overlook contract back to no-cost Tri-Valley Elder Services could free up enough funding to cover the slot. A draft balanced budget is expected at the committee's next meeting, March 26, at 6:30 p.m.