The Hudson Board of Selectmen spent part of its most recent meeting reviewing proposed changes to the upcoming FY 2028 budget season, after Town Administrator Roy Sorenson outlined a plan to begin the process earlier than in previous years. The shift comes in response to concerns raised by the Budget Committee last year about the compressed schedule and heavy meeting load late in the season.
Sorenson explained that the Budget Committee had expressed frustration with how budget deliberations “trickled into December,” creating a crowded calendar of back-to-back meetings for both the Town and School District. With the budget legally required to be finalized by the end of December, the Committee urged a return to the earlier timelines used in past years.
“One of the things the Budget Committee mentioned last year was they didn’t like how we got to the month of November, trickled into December, and there was just a lot of jumbling of meetings between the town and the school,” Sorenson said.
To address those concerns, Sorenson told Selectmen he is prepared to move the entire process up by roughly a month. Under the proposed schedule, budget books would be delivered to the Selectmen by Sept. 4, significantly earlier than usual.
“I’m willing to entertain that this year,” Sorenson said. “Setting the schedule, pushing it up a month… means that the budget books will be to the Selectmen by September 4th.”
A packed September ahead, the earlier start means September will be filled with budget review meetings. Sorenson said the Board’s Sept. 8 meeting would serve as the first night of formal budget review, with additional sessions scheduled throughout the month.
“That means the whole month of September we’re going to be in meetings, and we’re going to be talking about the budget,” he said. “We have a regular meeting on the 8th, the first night of BOS budget review, and this could be subject to change.”
As in past years, individual departments will present their budget profiles on different nights. However, Sorenson emphasized that the Board will need to make decisions immediately rather than revisiting items weeks later.
“I would say during these meetings, I will do a general intro at the first meeting, but I think the Board needs to dig into the details that night,” Sorenson said. “We need to look at the budgets and make decisions that night, which means cuts, adds, or whatever you want to do.”
Last year, he noted, the Board reviewed budgets but postponed decisions, which ultimately slowed the process. “We kind of looked at them, and then we came back and we lost some time,” he said.
Sorenson also reminded Selectmen that, due to recent default budget responsibility shifts, changes in state law, the Budget Committee is now responsible for calculating the Default Budget.
“As you know, the law has changed, so the Budget Committee will be responsible for the Default Budget,” he said.
The shift adds another layer of coordination between the Town and the Committee as both groups adjust to the new timeline and responsibilities.
The next Hudson Board of Selectmen meeting is scheduled for Aug. 11 at 7 p.m.
