NAHANT — The town preliminary budget for the spending year that begins on July 1 includes a significant increase for public health needs, including COVID-19-related costs.
The $14.22 million spending plan is undergoing Finance Committee review after receiving Board of Selectmen approval. The fiscal year 2022 budget’s final draft for inclusion on the May 15 Town Meeting warrant will be ready by early April.
“I would characterize this budget as a cautious approach to unknown impacts due to the pandemic and prioritizing the health of residents,” said Town Administrator Antonio Barletta.
He said the budget’s final draft will include a substantial increase in public health spending above the $20,000-$23,000 typically spent in past years. COVID-19 imposed a range of expenses, Barletta said, on the town related to testing and other health needs.
The town received $310,000 in federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding appropriated in response to the pandemic and spent the money between March and December 2020.
Barletta said the pandemic imposed an array of “uncommon costs” on the town, including additional staff training expenses, signage and costs related to social distancing protocols, including holding meetings outdoors.
“We do expect additional funds for vaccine and school-related costs,” Barletta said.
Part of the job confronting town budget makers this year is figuring out how the pandemic’s impact on the economy translates into money available to cover town spending.
Barletta said this computation and reckoning exercise took into account potential changes in state aid to the town and factored in the economic burden shouldered by town households and businesses.
“Our biggest concern is the impact of COVID-19. Many people have experienced financial hardship,” he said.
The preliminary budget represents a $176,000 increase over the amount allocated for town expenses for the spending year that began July 1, 2020.
“Typically, we would estimate at least a total increase of revenues around 2.5 percent whereas this year we are estimating 1.6 percent,” Barletta said.
One of the expenses factored into the budget is the initial debt payment for the sewer main project approved last September by Town Meeting.
The main connecting the town to Lynn Water and Sewer Commission’s sewage treatment plant off the Lynnway will be replaced this year at a cost of $6 million to $7 million.
“The main has experienced multiple breaks. This is a critical need,” Barletta said.
