Marlborough Finance Committee cuts $940,100 from FY24 budget

MARLBOROUGH — May 16, 2023 — Marlborough cuts $940,100 from $188.75M FY24 budget over two-night Finance review. The City Council Finance Committee voted 5-0 to recommend a $187,810,924 spending plan, trimming $300,000 from a City Hall equipment capital line, $300,000 from reserve-for-salaries, $100,000 each from electricity and natural gas, $86,000 from solid waste, $50,000 from fire department gross overtime, and $4,100 from a split-funded assistant facilities commissioner account after Mayor Arthur Vigeant disclosed the position's actual salary at $111,307.94. The committee separately voted 5-0 to demand a supplemental budget from Vigeant restoring a part-time elections clerk ($17,600), funding an assistant city clerk salary ordinance ($4,590), and filing salary ordinances for two new library positions. Council President Michael Ossing argued the cuts simply restore council oversight: "Any reductions you make lowers the tax rate. It's literally that simple." A proposed $50,000 cut to police overtime court time failed 2-3; a $90,545 cut to the MWRA water line failed 2-3 after Vigeant explained the figure included $76,545 for corrosion-control chemicals.