The Londonderry Town Council reviewed a list of potential cuts to the proposed FY2027 operating budget during its most recent meeting.
Currently, the Default Budget would result in an estimated tax rate impact of 11 cents, while the proposed operating budget would increase the tax rate by 25 cents.
In response to a directive from the Town Council, staff identified $400,000 in potential cuts, which would reduce the estimated impact to 17 cents.
The proposed FY2027 operating budget totals $48,474,900, a 7.2 percent increase ($3,263,511) over the FY2026 budget of $45,211,389.
The Default Budget for FY2027 would be $47,571,480.
Proposed Cuts and Their Impact
The list of cuts spans multiple departments, including reductions in police and fire overtime for Old Home Day, elimination of the part-time animal control officer, and a number of other adjustments.
Town Manager Shaun Mulholland explained the stakes if voters reject the proposed operating budget and vote for the default:
“It would be $906,000 in budget cuts that would have to occur,” Mulholland said.
Council Chair Ron Dunn said the goal of identifying cuts was to make the operating budget more appealing to voters.
Vice Chair Shawn Faber noted that the $400,000 figure was roughly halfway between the Default Budget and the proposed operating budget.
“We’re looking at severe cuts to the proposed budget, but if the voters vote for the Default Budget, then we’re looking at about $900,000 in cuts,” Dunn added.
Councilor member Ted Combes expressed concern about the impact, saying, “I see the proposed list of cuts as drastically affecting services being provided by the Town,” Combes added. “I don’t think this was really done in earnest to find the areas that could’ve been saved.”
Mulholland emphasized that staff tried to minimize service disruptions when identifying cuts.
Challenges in Finding Savings
Controller Sarah Jardim-Lee explained the difficulty of meeting the directive:
“To find this $400,000 was not easy,” she said. “It took a lot of time from a lot of staff members to find it. So I don’t want anything to seem like it’s easy to cut.”
She noted that contractual salary increases and health insurance costs make up a large portion of the budget, limiting flexibility.
One proposed cut depends on a warrant article expected on the March ballot.
Finance Director Justin Campo said the article would ask voters to approve benefits for the Town Clerk position. Instead of budgeting for full benefits, he suggested planning for a health insurance buyout — but acknowledged the risk.
“Should we be wrong, we have to find the overage somewhere else,” Campo said.