Finance Committee cuts $806,800 from Marlborough's proposed FY23 budget

MARLBOROUGH — May 4, 2022 — Marlborough Finance Committee trims $806,800 from Mayor Vigeant's FY23 budget. The three-member committee voted 3-0 to report out reductions including $300,000 from a citywide capital line labeled "city hall equipment," $200,000 from a reserve for salaries tied to 12 expected retirements, and $100,000 each from electricity lines in city and school maintenance after a roughly $1 million spike Public Facilities Commissioner Sean Divoll attributed to 24/7 HVAC operation, a $350,000 National Grid billing error and a $230,000 "structural imbalance." Council President Michael Ossing said the cuts would lower the projected average tax increase from $262 to about $227. Two of his recommended $50,000 cuts to police court overtime and fire overtime failed 1-2 after Chair Laura Irish opposed them. Mayor Arthur Vigeant pushed back: "You can micromanage all you want … but don't start telling me how to run the city."