Berlin Finance Committee Approves Seven Budget Transfers Totaling Over $67,000

BERLIN -- May 20, 2026, Berlin Finance Committee unanimously approves seven end-of-year line-item transfers exceeding $67,000. The committee, meeting May 20 with three members, chair Scott and members Berry and Heidi, voted 3-0 on each transfer, the largest of which moved $53,030.34 from two accounts to cover the cost of an interim town administrator and assistant after the previous town administrator's departure. Four transfers drew from the town's Chapter 32B health insurance account, described by town staff as carrying a projected surplus of roughly $115,000. A committee member caught a cents-level arithmetic error in the interim administrator motion, correcting the stated total from $53,030.16 to $53,030.34 before the vote. An $8,800 transfer to cover the building inspector salary, necessitated by a retiring building commissioner's accrued vacation payout, was the only item not previously approved at the May 4 town meeting and will next go to the Select Board. An electricity transfer remains pending, with final bills not yet received.