Saugus selectmen approve $80M proposed budget

SAUGUS – Town Manager Scott Crabtree is calling for a 2 percent raise for all town employees in the next town budget.?It?s time to put aside a modest sum for the hard work and dedication of all municipal employees,” said Crabtree during Tuesday night?s selectmen meeting “We must make sure in 2014 no Saugus employee is left behind.”Crabtree, who was on vacation and speaking via Skype on one of the Town Hall?s new Sharp flatscreen TVs, said town employees have “performed above expectations and have done more with less.”According to the proposed budget, $295,000 has been set aside for this, and Town Treasurer/Collector Wendy Hatch said it includes all town employees, union and non-union, except for at the library.Crabtree said the increase will prevent cuts to the budget when union contracts are settled.Selectmen went through each page of Crabtree?s recommended $80 million budget, as Crabtree said Saugus won?t need an override.?This is something I don?t think the public has an appetite for,” he said.The budget also anticipates state aid increasing from $7.7 million to $8.3 million next year, which includes a $400,000 increase in Ch. 70 education funding.Hatch called this a “very conservative” estimate.Crabtree said the budget is a “work in progress,” noting some areas of the budget are “likely to evolve and change,” including local aid, state assessments, snow and ice removal and trash removal.Some increases from last year include $117,900 for the Town Manager?s salary, $80,000 for a new town accountant, $75,000 for a new human resources manager, $83,000 for a new IT manager, $95,000 for a new Department of Public Works Director and $125,000 total in accrued sick leave for retiring employees.Crabtree?s budget also calls for $700,000 for police overtime, $500,000 for firefighter overtime, $5.5 million for the water enterprise account, $3.8 million for the sewer enterprise account and $508,000 for the library. The health insurance budget also increases from $9.8 million to $10.2 million.Selectmen voted unanimously to accept the budget, which will move on to the Finance Committee.Matt Tempesta can be reached at [email protected].