MIDDLEBORO — Middleboro will add three new positions, a town engineer, election coordinator and land steward, based on the Fiscal Year 24 town budget proposed by Town Manager James McGrail at the Feb. 6 Select Board meeting. 

In his first budget presentation since being hired in November, McGrail said the new jobs would “improve services for the residents of Middleboro’’ which he described as “ultimately what we’re looking to do.’’

McGrail presented an overall budget request of $102,103,039, an increase of 4.38 percent from Fiscal Year 23.

The budget increase was affected by several factors, including an increase in employee health insurance costs and retirement appropriations and rising utility costs, he said. The main challenges were “inflation’’ and “the overall state of the economy,’’ McGrail said. 

He aimed to create the budget using a conservative approach, which he described as “our number one priority’’ when preparing a budget.

“Nothing bad can ever come from being conservative with revenue projections,’’ he said. “It really gives us flexibility.’’

McGrail said he used that same careful approach when estimating state aid, which includes Chapter 70 school assistance and general aid to municipal government . 

Because Governor Maura Healey is new, McGrail said she has more flexibility on when to determine how much state aid should be distributed to communities. While budgets are normally prepared in January, she was given until March 1.

That makes it “really challenging this year,’’ he said, to develop a budget.

Using historical averages and based on growing student enrollment, he estimated a total of $26,165,001 from state aid for Fiscal Year 24, which represents an increase of about $2 million from Fiscal Year 23.

McGrail decided to add the three new positions to the budget after meeting individually with all department heads and hearing their concerns and needs. 

The town engineer, which he described as a “hugely important position in the community,’’ would assist in project management of Department of Public Works projects; maintain regular contact with consulting engineers on projects; and investigate existing and potential roadway, drainage, water, sewer, sewer development and traffic problems, among other tasks.

The town steward job is a position that “Middleboro will grow to love,’’ McGrail predicted. The post will maintain all town conservation properties, which total about 638 acres, including another 100 coming when the Picone property opens. He described the position as “boots on the ground.’’

The election coordinator was proposed to coordinate and administer all federal, state and local elections, McGrail said. Currently, the town clerk “shuts down’’ her other tasks for much of the year to focus on elections, which he said is “not sustainable.’’

Election oversight is “complicated’’ and “important,’’ McGrail said, and “we need someone to focus on it.’’

Select Board members agreed with McGrail to bring in various department heads to discuss their budgets in detail at upcoming meetings.

The Feb. 6 meeting was the first run-through of the budget. The numbers must ultimately be approved by voters at the April 24 Annual Town Meeting.

Read the budget here.