Press Release: Dudley settles $26.7 million FY24 budget at Fall Town Meeting

Dudley settles $26.7 million FY24 budget at Fall Town Meeting

The following offers highlights from the Town of Dudley Fall Town Meeting held on October 16:

Voters approved a balanced, final $26,707,255 FY24 operating budget that replaced the budget approved at the special town meeting in July.

Voters approved a request by the Agricultural Commission to appropriate $1,500 for fundraising activities and events.

The Board of Selectmen’s request to establish a special purpose stabilization fund titled, “Opioid Settlement Stabilization Fund” was approved. This account will hold funds received from opioid litigation settlements and used to disperse funds for purposes allowed by law. Transferred to this account at town meeting were $1,376 from Med Project Account and $6,555 from free cash.

Other free cash transfers included $406,217 into the Stabilization Account and $799,458.92 into the Capital Improvement Stabilization Account. These transfers were made possible by a one-time reimbursement of Chapter 90 funds sought in FY22 but received in FY23, an unanticipated increase in vehicle excise tax revenue and a slow down in departmental spending from April to August brought about by two failed attempts to override Proposition 2 ½.

Town Administrator Jonathan Ruda said this, “The upside of free cash is that we were able to replace some of the money that was required to be spent from stabilization over the years. This is particularly important as we have some big bills coming up in FY25, not the least of which are the capital improvement projects that the voters approved for Dudley schools in FY22. Unfortunately, the outlying circumstances of the higher-than-average free cash numbers are not something that we can count on going forward.”

The Water-Sewer Commission request to transfer $80,000 from retained earnings to the Sewer Operating Expense to pay for service by the Webster Sewer Department was approved. The commission also received approval to transfer $250,000 from retained earnings to the Sewer Engineering Account for the design and bidding services to install a Potash Brook Interceptor.