Littleton Boards Defer Health Department Budget Vote, Plan Tuesday Follow-Up

LITTLETON — March 6, 2023 — Littleton boards defer health department budget decision, reconvene next week. Meeting jointly with the Finance Committee and Board of Health on March 6, Board of Health Chair Kevin Baker pressed the Select Board to approve a proposed $204,000 FY24 budget for a new Littleton Department of Health, citing an inability to get basic inspection data from the Nashoba Associated Boards of Health and a June 30 departure deadline set by a unanimous 2021 town meeting vote. The projected department budget would be offset by an estimated $242,000 in fee revenue, but Finance Committee members raised doubts about that figure, noting the revenue model drew on 2020 inspection data and that projections ranged from a reliable floor of roughly $36,000 in annual fees to as much as $242,000 including variable development fees. Town Administrator Ryan Insani warned the timeline to hire and onboard a health director before July 1 was "highly doubtful" given steps remaining in the personnel process. The boards voted unanimously to allocate $8,000 for Munis software training and $2,000 for the Sustainability Committee from a $14,191 operating budget surplus, and voted 4-0 to approve a roughly $2.4 million FY24 capital improvement plan, but deferred the health department question to a joint session targeted for the following Tuesday, with a request that town counsel review the Nashoba contract terms and that the Board of Health return with a trimmed budget closer to $150,000 to $175,000.