T O W N O F M IL T O N

• New growth is added to the levy limit increase to obtain the total amountraised from the property tax. Residential increases are generally not a significantfactor. In many cities and towns, commercial development is theprimary source of new growth. In Milton, where we have little new commercialdevelopment, this is not a significant amount. We are estimatingnew growth at $300,000 for FY2012 which is in line with that of FY2011.• State aid is determined by the legislature. At the time of writing, House1, the Governor’s budget, had proposed the sum of $8,808,548 or about2% below last year’s amount; however, this is felt by the Warrant Committeeto be optimistic at best. As a result we used as our benchmark a7.5% cut in the FY2011 allocation for a total of $8,291,081 or some$694,038 less than last year (assuming passage of article 42 relating to theQuinn Bill). The House Ways and Means budget is due out after the Warrantgoes to press but indications from the State House are that we can expecta cut in local aid higher than the Governor’s 2%. Our consensusestimate is a likely 5% cut but we remain conservative in outlook and,until a clearer picture emerges, will hold the 7.5% cut.• Local Receipts can be categorized into two parts: Water & Sewer revenuesand everything else. We estimate that non-water & sewer local receiptswill decline by about $139,471 from FY2011 to FY2012. This decline isdue to an estimated $199,471 drop in income from Motor Vehicle excisetax which is not fully offset by the introduction of the local meals taxadopted under Article 3 of the October 19, 2009 Special Town Meeting.We have not completed a full year of receipts from the local meals taxand are holding an estimate of $60,000 for FY2012 knowing that it is lowbut consistent with the Department of Revenue estimate. Through the firsttwo quarters of FY2011 we have received $53,123 from this tax.• Water & Sewer revenues are raised through the rates. While this increasedby about $445,230, most of that is offset by the direct cost ofproviding water and sewer services to the Town. About $231,707 of theincrease is attributable to the indirect cost of providing services, includingemployee benefits and administrative costs provided by other towndepartments largely due to changes made to the allocation calculationsperformed in the accounting department. As part of the budget process forFY2012, the new Town Accountant and the DPW Director undertook toreview in detail all indirect allocations to Water and Sewer to ensure thatthe appropriate amounts were calculated. The outcome was a more appropriateand consistent allocation of indirect costs in the budgets for theCentral Business Office, Audit, Employee Benefits and the PersonnelBoard.239