As Hudson prepares to enter another budget cycle, the Board of Selectmen used its most recent meeting to lay out detailed expectations for how department heads should craft their Fiscal Year 2028 proposals. The discussion, which stretched across several agenda items, underscored the Board’s intent to balance fiscal restraint with operational needs at a time when residents and municipalities alike are navigating continued economic uncertainty.
Town Administrator Roy Sorenson opened the conversation by noting that early guidance is not only appropriate but necessary. Budget season, he said, requires clear direction so departments can begin assembling their requests with a shared understanding of the Town’s financial posture.
Sorenson reminded the Board that last year’s directive limited department budgets to no more than a 2.5% increase, excluding labor and benefits, utilities, and contracted services. Any major initiatives or new programs were required to be submitted separately, either outside the department budget or as warrant articles. That approach, he said, helped maintain predictability while still allowing departments to bring forward significant needs for individual consideration.
For FY28, Sorenson recommended an even more conservative stance: level funded budgets, aside from contractual obligations such as salaries. He explained that a level funded budget means departments should request roughly the same amount as the previous year, making only unavoidable adjustments. Items such as utilities, fuel, contracted services, and insurance would again be excluded from the directive, allowing the Town to focus on core operational costs.
“Economic uncertainty continues to be present,” Sorenson said, noting that inflation, fluctuating energy costs, and broader national trends are affecting both household budgets and municipal operations. “A level funded budget is the most responsible starting point.”
Sorenson also recommended continuing the practice of submitting major items or new initiatives separately as outside budget requests, a system that allows the Board to evaluate significant expenditures individually rather than folding them into operating budgets. To help manage expectations, he proposed capping outside budget requests at $400,000, with the Board narrowing its focus to $250,000. He emphasized that this cap excludes major cost items that should be presented as warrant articles and previewed accordingly.
Board members offered their own perspectives on how department heads should approach the process. Vice Chair Bob Guessferd cautioned against “artificially” limiting departments by discouraging them from expressing their true needs. He said department heads should present everything they believe is necessary to operate effectively, even if some items ultimately fall outside the Board’s budget directive.
“We don’t want to strain them to the point where they feel they can’t ask for what they need,” Guessferd said. “They should bring forward their full needs, and then we can evaluate from there.”
Selectman Xen Vurgaropulos agreed, suggesting that departments submit both essential needs and a separate “wants” list for items that would improve operations but are not strictly required. He said this approach helps the Board distinguish between critical needs and enhancements that may be deferred or considered separately.
The Board’s guidance now sets the stage for months of budget preparation, review, and deliberation. Department heads will begin assembling their FY28 proposals with the directive to maintain level funding, exclusive of labor and benefits, while submitting major items, new initiatives, and warrant articles separately for consideration.
