Approach & Strategy
- Key Budget Pillars Pledge Template (linked under "Documents" in the side menu above)
Budget Timeline & Budget Cycle
- FY28 General Fund Budget Timeline Template (linked)
- Budget Cycle Process Chart (linked)
VLCT Resource: VLCT’s Municipal Calendar
Analyze Last Year’s Budget Results and Year-to-Date Reports
VLCT Tip: Look at budget trends to be sure you are budgeting enough to cover actual expenses:
- Review last fiscal year end’s preliminary budget results for fiscal year ending June 30 budgets and audited budget results (if available) for calendar year budgets.
- Review year-to-date budget results.
Major Budget Drivers
- Major Drivers Budget Worksheet Template
Major Drivers
- Census Region : Northeast Information Office : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Vermont Municipal Employees Retirement System (VMERS,) increase in Employer Contributions:
- Health Insurance, based on May 11, 2026 Rate Filings:
- BCBSVT (Individual Market): +5.2%
- BCBSVT (Small Group Market): +3.1%
- MVP (Individual Market): 7.8%
- MVP (Small Group Market): 9.15%
- It is anticipated that the filed rates, which are subject to review and approval by the Green Mountain Care Board, will be slightly lower than the filed rates. Look for rate updates in late August.
Electricity, on January 16, 2026, Green Mountain Power filed its request for a 7.5% rate increase for the period starting October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027, which the Vermont Public Utility Commission is slated to act on by the end of September.
Other Tips
- New Position? Adjust hire date to help phase in the budgetary impact.
- Minimum Wage for 2027 will be announced in early October on the Vermont Dept of Labor website. The minimum wage for 2026 is $14.42/hour. An increase in the Minimum Wage may impact pay rates for other hourly workers as well.
- Budget for Compliance with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) Interim Final Rule that extends the compliance deadline of its website accessibility rule for state and local governments by one year. The rule extension allows local leaders important additional time to plan, budget, and implement required updates to their websites and mobile apps.
- State and local governments with a total population of 50,000 or more, which faced a deadline of April 24, 2026, now have until April 26, 2027.
- Smaller public entities and special district governments (population <50,000), which had until April 26, 2027, now have until April 26, 2028.
- Use the Agency of Transportation’s Town Highway Grant Program database to project State Highway Aid for FY28.
- Always double-check budget spreadsheets before publishing in Town Report.
Helpful Resources:
- VLCT's Calculators:
- Tax Rate Calculator Municipal Tax Rate Calculators (Basic and newly added -Veterans Exemption and CHIP Increment!)
- Debt Capacity Calculator Debt Capacity Calculator
- Debt Service Impact on Tax Rate Spreadsheet (08/25/2025)
- VLCT's Model Policies:
- Model Fund Balance Policy + Guidance (revised in 2026!)
- Model Capital Improvement Plan & Capital Budget Policy + Guidance (revised in 2026!)
- Model Accounting Auditing and Reporting Policy + Guidance
- Model Reserve Fund Policy + Guidance
- Model Balanced Budget Policy + Guidance
- Model Social Services Appropriation Policy
- Road to Resilience: Town Highway Disaster Reserve Benchmarks | VT Bond Bank (newly added in 2026!)
- The Vermont Bond Bank (VBB) has released its first-ever Town Highway Disaster Reserve Benchmarks — a financial planning tool and online database designed to help municipalities estimate how much to set aside annually to cover the cost of extreme weather damage to local roads and bridges.
- VLCT's:
Having a tough time getting started?
VLCT’s Municipal Support Team is here to help! Government Finance Specialist Marguerite Ladd, mladd@vlct.org, and Municipal Operations Specialist Kathleen Ramsay, kramsay@vlct.org.
*VLCT Tools are to be used for informational and general guidance purposes only. It is your responsibility to verify the results, adapt the tool(s) to your specific circumstances, and ensure that any data entered is accurate and appropriate for your intended use. By using VLCT Tools, you acknowledge and agree that any reliance you place on their functionality or outputs is strictly at your own risk. Use at your own discretion.
Disclaimer: This resource was created by Municipal Operations Support (MOS) staff of non-legal professionals with expertise of the subject matter. It is only intended to provide information and does NOT constitute legal advice. Readers with legal questions are encouraged to contact an attorney. The use or downloading of this resource does NOT create an attorney-client relationship and will not be treated in a confidential manner. Non-legal questions about this resource can be directed to MOS staff at mos@vlct.org.