FY2022 Budget Schedule

The budgeting  process for the coming 2022 fiscal year began in December and will end with the Town meeting vote on Saturday May 8, 2021. The following is an outline of the schedule:

December 2020: At the 4-Town meeting, representatives from the Regional School District’s four member towns heard the preliminary budget numbers from the Region’s officials and provided feedback on what the towns feel they can afford. The Finance Committee met and developed the guidelines for the all the Pelham Town departments, boards and commissions to help them develop their budgets.  The representatives also heard about the Region’s Capital requests.  A Finance Committee representative participated as a member of the Capital Planning Committee to determine what changes were needed to the plan and what expenditures they would recommend for funding at the May Town meeting.

January 2021: Early in January there will be the annual Roundtable at which all the Town departments, boards and commissions will gather to discuss the guidelines presented by the Finance Committee and also advise of any special requests for money that they might have.

February 2021: The Finance Committee will hold public budget hearings with all Town departments, boards and commissions that will be requesting additional funding during 2022 except for the schools.

March 2021: During the first full week of March the Finance Committee will hold the budget hearing for the Pelham Elementary and Regional Schools. They also will complete and approve the recommended operating budget (Article 4 in the Town Warrant) and submit it to the Pelham Select Board by the required time. The Finance Committee will review and comment if necessary on all warrants that are finance related.

April 2021: The Finance Committee will meet with the Select Board and review the operating budget and all warrants that relate to finances. They also will attend the meeting with the Town Moderator to prepare for the May Town Meeting.

May 2021: The Finance Committee will attend the May 8, 2021 Annual Town meeting to present the operating budget and answer fiscal questions during the meeting.