# Public Works: 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 Highway division and what it runs: labour and overtime, general highway maintenance, the town garage, traffic signs, snow removal, and vehicle maintenance for the Highway, Police and Fire fleets. The Park and Cemetery departments and tree removal sit here too.

## The department

| | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 |
|---|---:|---:|---:|
| voted | $2,101,445 | $2,168,288 | $2,225,277 |
| a year | 2.9% |  |  |
| share of the budget | 5.1% |  |  |
| pull on total growth | +0.02 |  |  |

## Its lines, as printed

### FY2023

| line | label | voted |
|---|---|---:|
|  | Department of Public Works | — |
|  | Highway Labor | $556,921 |
| 60 | Highway OT | $10,513 |
| 61 | General Highway Maintenance | $745,500 |
| 61A | Capital - General Highway | — |
| 62 | Town Highway Garage | $1,040 |
| 63 | Traffic Signs & Devices | $28,253 |
| 64 | Vehicle Mtc. - Highway | $73,480 |
| 65 | Vehicle Mtc - Police | $67,000 |
| 66 | Vehicle Mtc - Fire | $42,000 |
|  | Park Department | $97,479 |
| 68 | Cemetery Department | $100,116 |
| 69 | Tree Removal | $29,143 |
| 70 | |Snow Removal Expense | $350,000 |
| | **total** | **$2,101,445** |

The page prints **$2,101,445** for this department. The lines above come to the same.

### FY2024

| line | label | voted |
|---|---|---:|
|  | Sanitation | — |
|  | Department of Public | — |
| 59 | Highway Labor | $587,160 |
| 60 | Highway OT | $12,000 |
| 61 | General Highway Mtc | $863,250 |
| 61A | Capital General | — |
| 62 | Town Highway Garage | $1,100 |
| 63 | | Traffic Signs & Devices | $28,500 |
| 64 | Vehicle Mtc - Highway | $62,750 |
|  | Vehicle Mtc - Police | $67,000 |
| 66 | Vehicle Mtc - Fire | $45,000 |
| 67 | Park Department | — |
| 68 | Cemetery Department | $113,027 |
| 69 | Tree Removal | $33,500 |
| 70 | Snow Removal | $355,000 |
|  | Expense | — |
| | **total** | **$2,168,288** |

The page prints **$2,168,288** for this department. The lines above come to the same.

### FY2025

| line | label | voted |
|---|---|---:|
|  | Department of Public Works | — |
|  | Highway Labor | $609,066 |
| 60 | Highway OT | $12,000 |
|  | General Highway Maintenance | $888,250 |
| 61A | Capital - General Highway | — |
|  | Town Highway Garage | $1,100 |
| 63 | Traffic Signs & Devices | — |
| 5 |  | $28,500 |
|  | Vehicle Mtc. - Highway | $62,750 |
| 65 | Vehicle Mtc - Police | — |
| 5 |  | $67,000 |
| 66 | Vehicle Mitc - Fire | $45,000 |
| 67 | Park Department | — |
| 68 | Cemetery Department | $118,110 |
| 69 | Tree Removal | $38,500 |
| 70 | Snow Removal Expense | $355,000 |
| | **total** | **$2,225,277** |

The page prints **$2,225,277** 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 |
|---|---:|---:|---:|
| General Highway Maintenance | $745,500 | $888,250 | +$142,750 |
| Highway Labor | $556,921 | $609,066 | +$52,146 |
| Cemetery Department | $100,116 | $118,110 | +$17,995 |
| Vehicle Mtc. - Highway | $73,480 | $62,750 | -$10,730 |
| Tree Removal | $29,143 | $38,500 | +$9,357 |
| Snow Removal Expense | $350,000 | $355,000 | +$5,000 |
| Highway OT | $10,513 | $12,000 | +$1,487 |
| Town Highway Garage | $1,040 | $1,100 | +$60 |

## 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.