With agreement reached on contracts for town employees, what appeared two weeks ago to be a budget with a deficit of more than $150,000 has now been officially declared as balanced, bringing to an end the search for more budget cuts from town departments. That process has been a painful one.

This week a letter-writer questioned whether the Finance Committee has overstepped its role in this process, and we think that question bears a closer look. As the writer points out, state laws limit FinCom’s role to “making reports or recommendations to the town”; it has no actual authority. Yet in practice, the committee has directed approaches and financial outcomes to town boards, potentially intruding on the responsibilities of elected officials.

We think the FinCom needs to find a way to pursue its quest for budget efficiencies without crossing the line into areas that are the responsibility of others, and to the degree that they do cross that line, we think board members need to push back.