BRATTLEBORO-The budget passed by the Brattleboro Selectboard that will be voted on at Representative Town Meeting on Tuesday, May 27 includes reducing the position of the sustainability coordinator from full-time to part-time (25 hours per week without benefits), which is projected to save the town about $37,000.
As a member of the town's Energy Committee who works with the sustainability coordinator, I believe this very shortsighted decision will end up not saving the town money after all and instead make our budget crisis worse.
Not only will the town be unlikely to find a qualified candidate who would be willing to work part-time without benefits, but because of the grant revenue and savings in efficiency that this position has already brought since it was created in 2020 and will continue to bring, the return on investment of keeping this position full-time far outweighs the savings.
A memo sent by the sustainability coordinator on April 25 shows that since the position was created he has obtained $191,000 in grants for town sustainability and efficiency projects, has saved the town $72,000 annually from the impact of projects (with another $41,000 per year in planned projects), and $20,000 to $30,000 in efficiency incentives that had previously been missed.
Additionally, the sustainability coordinator has identified and been working towards securing tax credits for upcoming town projects that would potentially save the town between $300,000 and $370,000 in the coming years.
Those savings include $60,000 to $80,000 for installing solar panels on the Brooks Memorial Library, which has already been approved as part of its planned renovation. (The solar panels would save the town an estimated $11k/year in electricity costs.)
We would likely miss out on these savings if we do not have a full-time person in this position next year.
These savings from the library solar panel tax credits alone would likely cover the equivalent of the sustainability coordinator's $68,000 full-time salary next year. And the budget the Selectboard passed already includes reductions in sustainability funding - $140,000 from the Global Warming Solutions Fund and $10,000 in funds for efficiency associated with this position - so going further and reducing this position could completely devastate our town's sustainability efforts.
Some Town Meeting representatives are planning to ask to return to funding this position full-time. Please encourage your Town Meeting representatives to support this effort. Not only does it make financial sense to keep it full-time, but it is necessary if our town wants to continue on a path toward environmental sustainability.
Keane Southard
Brattleboro
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