Boscawen’s modest 1.7% proposed budget increase is good news for taxpayers, but town leaders cautioned that the seeming stability belies what could be around the corner.

“It is the calm before the storm,” Select Board Chair Lorrie Carey said in an interview following the town’s hearing on Wednesday. “…We look good today, but we’re not going to look good tomorrow and we need to plan for that.”

Facing Boscawen are a number of capital projects, including an addition to the Public Works Building, which will cost roughly $800,000, the closure of the landfill, and the purchase of a new firetruck, which will cost roughly $1.1 million.

Those impending costs come on top of projected declining revenue from the state and federal government and amid the unknown impact of threatened Trump administration tariffs on construction materials. 

“We have to anticipate those reduced revenues and we have to retain enough so we can maintain a stable tax rate,” Carey said.

The estimated tax rate for 2025 if all warrant articles pass is actually projected to go down slightly from 2024, from $10.68 per $1,000 in value to $10.63 per $1,000 in value. The change would save a homeowner $20 on property valued at $400,000.

As town leaders consider how to plan for the future, much of the discussion Wednesday centered around how to handle the money earned from the $135,000 sale of the 1913 library, which was finalized last week after a draft budget for 2025 had already been set.

The town’s three selectmen each offered different proposals. Selectman Bill Bevans’ plan – which involved setting the money aside temporarily in an interest-earning savings account – ultimately won out.

One of the warrant articles on this year’s ballot will ask voters to appropriate $365,000 for the public works addition. The rest of the money for the project is already in the reserve fund, according to Carey.

Boscawen’s proposed operating budget is $5 million, which would be just an $85,000 increase over last year’s. Voters at town meeting on March 15 will also have more than a dozen other warrant articles to vote on, including on the establishment of a tax increment financing district for the revitalization of Commercial Street.

Jeremy Margolis can be contacted at jmargolis@cmonitor.com.