# General Government: what the town votes for it

One of twelve departments in the omnibus budget Town Meeting votes each spring. [All twelve together](/analysis/town-budgets).

## What it is

The town’s own administration: the Select Board, the Town Manager, the Town Accountant, the Treasurer, the Tax Collector, the Assessors, the Town Clerk, elections and registration, Information Technology, legal expenses, and the Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals and Conservation Commission.

## The department

| | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 |
|---|---:|---:|---:|
| voted | $1,792,492 | $1,974,322 | $2,177,964 |
| a year | 10.2% |  |  |
| share of the budget | 4.9% |  |  |
| pull on total growth | +0.38 |  |  |

## Its lines, as printed

### FY2023

| line | label | voted |
|---|---|---:|
| 16 | Finance Committee Expense | $800 |
| 17 | Annual Town Audit | $42,100 |
| 18 | Charter Review Committee | — |
| 19 | Selectmen's Administration | $142,472 |
| 21 | Town Manager Salary | $157,232 |
| 22 | Town Manager Expense | $6,000 |
| 23 | Town Accountant | $242,693 |
| 24 | Treasurer's Administration | $93,126 |
| 25 | Banking Charges | $1,000 |
| 26 | Tax Collector's Admin | $108,853 |
| 28 | Assessor's Administration | $192,247 |
| 29 | Information Technology | $316,023 |
| 30 | Legal Expenses | $110,000 |
| 31 | Town Clerk Salary | $54,561 |
| 32 | Town Clerk's Administration | $51,545 |
| 33 | Elections | $16,353 |
| 34 | Registration & Census | $24,450 |
| 35 | Planning Board | $157,817 |
| 36 | Zoning Board of Appeals | $3,900 |
| 37 | Conservation Commission | $71,319 |
| | **total** | **$1,792,492** |

The page prints **$1,792,492** for this department. The lines above come to $1,792,492, a difference of +0.80.

### FY2024

| line | label | voted |
|---|---|---:|
|  | General Govemment | — |
| 16 | Finance Committee | $1,300 |
|  | Expense | — |
| 17 | Annual Town Audit | $44,100 |
| 18 | Charter Review Comm | — |
|  | Select Board Admin | $152,899 |
|  | Town Manager Salary | $165,044 |
|  | Town Manager Expense | $16,000 |
|  | Town Accountant | $242,081 |
| 24 | Treasurer's Admin | $105,996 |
|  | Banking Charges | $1,000 |
|  | Tax Collector's Admin | $116,730 |
| 28 | Assessor's Admin | $231,056 |
| 29 | Information Technology | $400,033 |
|  | Legal Expenses | $110,000 |
| 31 | Town Clerk Salary | $57,501 |
| 32 | Town Clerk's Admin | $54,526 |
| 33 | Elections | $16,735 |
|  | Registration & Census | $24,450 |
| 35 | Planning Board | $161,871 |
| 35A | APDC Expenses | $5,000 |
|  | Zoning Board of | $3,900 |
|  | Appeals | — |
| 37 | Conservation Comm | $64,100 |
| | **total** | **$1,974,323** |

The page prints **$1,974,322** for this department. The lines above come to $1,974,323, a difference of +0.80.

### FY2025

| line | label | voted |
|---|---|---:|
| 16 | Finance Committee Expense | $1,800 |
|  | Annual Town Audit | $44,100 |
|  | Charter Review Comm | — |
|  | Selectmen's Adminstration | $152,793 |
| 21 | Town Manager Salary | $165,044 |
| 22 | Town Manager Expense | $16,200 |
|  | Town Accountant | $260,802 |
| 24 | Treasurer's Administration | $115,794 |
|  | Banking Charges | $1,000 |
| 26 | Tax Collector's Admin | $126,599 |
|  | Assessor's Administration | $289,822 |
| 29 | Information Technology Dept. | $402,222 |
|  | Legal Expenses | $110,000 |
| 31 | Town Clerk Salary | $79,438 |
| 32 | | Town Clerk's Administration | $60,960 |
| 33 | Elections | $18,525 |
| 34 | Registration & Census | $25,950 |
| 35 | Planning Board | $162,677 |
| 35A | APDC Expenses | $5,000 |
| 35B | Grant Writing | $50,000 |
| 36 | Zoning Board of Appeals | $4,500 |
| 37 | Conservation Commission | $84,738 |
| | **total** | **$2,177,964** |

The page prints **$2,177,964** for this department. The lines above come to the same.

## What moved

Lines that appear in FY2023 and FY2025 under the same printed label, biggest move first.

| line | FY2023 | FY2025 | change |
|---|---:|---:|---:|
| Assessor's Administration | $192,247 | $289,822 | +$97,575 |
| Town Clerk Salary | $54,561 | $79,438 | +$24,877 |
| Treasurer's Administration | $93,126 | $115,794 | +$22,668 |
| Town Accountant | $242,693 | $260,802 | +$18,109 |
| Tax Collector's Admin | $108,853 | $126,599 | +$17,746 |
| Conservation Commission | $71,319 | $84,738 | +$13,419 |
| Town Manager Expense | $6,000 | $16,200 | +$10,200 |
| | Town Clerk's Administration | $51,545 | $60,960 | +$9,415 |
| Town Manager Salary | $157,232 | $165,044 | +$7,811 |
| Planning Board | $157,817 | $162,677 | +$4,860 |
| Elections | $16,353 | $18,525 | +$2,172 |
| Annual Town Audit | $42,100 | $44,100 | +$2,000 |

## What this cannot show

- What any department ASKED for. The omnibus is what Town Meeting voted, which is already balanced — the difference between a request and a vote is where a cut lives, and the annual report prints only the second.
- What was actually spent. Voted and spent are different quantities and rule 1 forbids mixing them in one calculation.
- Whether any department reduced SERVICE. A department can hold its dollars and cut its hours, and a dollar figure will not say so.
- Why any line moved. The omnibus states an amount and gives no reason for it, so every explanation of a movement here would be a hypothesis.
- Anything about FY2026 below the total. The FY2025 annual report prints no department figures at all.
- That growing faster than the levy cap is a problem. Proposition 2½ limits the LEVY, not the budget: the budget is the levy plus state aid, local receipts and transfers, and new growth raises the levy limit on top of the 2.5%. The cap is used here as a common reference point every board in town already uses — it is not a ceiling anybody breached.