Salisbury Board of Finance accepts budget proposals

SALISBURY — The Board of Finance accepted budget proposals from the Board of Selectmen, the Board of Education and Region One at its meeting Thursday, March 13.

First Selectman Curtis Rand and Comptroller Joe Cleaveland discussed the 2025-26 municipal budget proposal, which has a bottom line of $9,205,120, which represents an increase of $585,530 — 6.7%.

Rand and Cleaveland stressed that the proposal only details expenses and does not include revenue. Rand said he will have a clearer idea of revenue projections when the finance board addresses the budget proposals next month.

The finance board members were not taken aback by the 6.7% increase, which is larger than usual.

Joe Woodard even wondered if the town was allocating enough funds for battling hydrilla at East Twin Lake.

For Salisbury Central School, the total proposed is $6,901,041, an increase of $365,102 — 5.59%.

SCS Principal Stephanie Magyar said the bulk of the increase comes from scheduled salary hikes, and school board chair David Valcin said the teachers’ contract is in the second and most expensive year of a three-year deal with a cumulative 13% increase.

Region One Business Manager Sam Herrick gave a detailed explanation of the Region One assessment, currently $4,794,310, an increase of $386,297 — 8.76%. He said Salisbury will be sending a larger class to Housatonic Valley Regional High School than in previous years, and the overall HVRHS enrollment is projected to go down, thus making Salisbury’s share of the total larger.

Total proposed education spending for Salisbury for 2025-26 is $11,695,351, an increase of $751,399 — 6.87%.

The public hearing on the Region One budget is on Thursday, April 10, at 6:30 p.m. at HVRHS and online.