Finance Committee opens FY24 hearings on level-service budget and $745,460 school override

SUDBURY — February 27, 2023 — New Sudbury town manager debuts FY24 budget with override, three hires and a $1M fire truck. Town Manager Andy Sheehan, on day 10, walked the Finance Committee through a level-service municipal budget anchored by a $745,460 Sudbury Public Schools override, a $1 million capital exclusion for a fire pumper truck, and three new positions: an IT web developer/systems analyst at roughly $55,000, a conservation land manager covering 1,200 acres, and the sustainability coordinator town meeting approved last year. Debt service rises 24.15 percent on the Fairbank Community Center, and employee benefits climb 6.08 percent to $15.7 million. Sheehan said his approach is "no gimmicks" with "recurring revenues to support recurring expenditures." Member Henry "Hank" Sorett questioned filling the sustainability post while a police sergeant and fire prevention officer remain unfunded; Select Board member Janie Dratler countered that she was "a little disappointed in this conversation and how it's being minimized."