In Canterbury, a waiting game is underway. 

The town lowered some of its fuel costs last year to account for actual usage, and those numbers informed this year’s budget calculation. Between heat, oil and propane, Canterbury had proposed $30,000 in its 2025 budget to fuel all town buildings. Now, those costs are expected to surge by as much as 25%.

“I don't think that anyone has a great answer, except I think it’s going to go up,” Selectboard Chair Scott Doherty said at the town’s budget public hearing.

Canterbury’s existing contract with Eastern Propane and Oil means, for the time being, the cost of propane won’t budge, but other fuel expenditures are susceptible to the fallout from impending tariffs on Canadian imports.

Until fuel companies have clearer answers, which Town Administrator Ken Folsom hopes will come before the annual meeting in March, Canterbury may need to sit on its hands. Fuel costs weren’t the only item in flux at the town’s budget public hearing, with Folsom introducing a new warrant article, moving another and amending the budget to reflect the final disability and life insurance costs. Because of the changes, a second budget public hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 18 at 5 p.m. at the Meeting House on Center Road.

Town meeting starts at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 14, at Canterbury Elementary School.

The updated budget will also reflect an additional $6,500 for the reevaluation of utilities related to Eversource’s recent transmission line improvement. Folsom explained that those funds would pay for a reevaluation expert, an investment “we will get back in taxes in more.”

An article proposing the installation of new solar panels and battery storage at the Canterbury Municipal Complex moved up several spots on the warrant to account for the $180,000 bond associated with the purchase. Addressing the same article, Folsom also broached a wording change intended to reflect a new estimate for the installation that increases the cost by $40,000 while excluding the cost of battery storage. The discrepancy will be further discussed at the next budget meeting. 

The new article minted on Monday proposes that Canterbury allocate up to $6,500 to study the “feasibility and suitability” of renovating and expanding the town’s transfer station. The funds would be withdrawn from the town reserve and have no tax impact. 

The tax impact of each warrant article, including the proposed budget, will be included in the finalized budget. The updated subtotal of all department expenses is $3.5 million, an increase of $161,798, or 4.9%, over last year’s budget. 

 

Rebeca Pereira can be reached at  rpereira@cmonitor.com