While the 2011-2012 winter has been a mild one with little snow, there has been enough powder and ice in Hanson to plow through the town’s budget for snow removal.

The Board of Selectmen voted unanimously to declare a snow emergency during their meeting Tuesday night at Town Hall. The motion allows the town to deficit spend for future snow removal during the fiscal year.

When asked why the town had already exhausted its budget despite light snowfall, Town Administrator René Read said that there have also been a number of ice events that required work in addition to the two snow events, as well as equipment repairs. Selectmen chairman Steve Amico also added that the Highway Department also needed to restock sand and salt this year, which they did not have to do last year.

Read also said the snow removal budget line is “grossly underfunded” and will be proposing a slight increase in the FY13 budget. Read said he hopes to incrementally increase the budget over time to prevent the town from being forced to dip into free cash every year.“There is a sweet spot where it should be, and we’re still working toward it,” Read said. “I don’t feel [that it’s underfunded]; I know it is.”

Read also informed the board that his first draft of the budget will be ready in time for their next meeting on Feb. 7, and likely by the end of the month. Read said the budget process at Town Hall has continued to improve each year, and thanked the town employees for their work.

“The process has changed by leaps and bounds, and that’s a credit to the people in those offices,” he said.

However, Read said he may consider proposing a bylaw change next year that would push back the date for the preliminary budget, which is currently Jan. 31. Read said that the date seems arbitrary and pushing it back would give the town a clearer picture of both the Whitman-Hanson Regional School District budget as well as the state’s local aid figures.

His suggestion was met with approval from members of the board.

“I don’t want to look at a budget that is going to be off by 10 percent come May,” Dave Soper said. “That is a lot of wasted work and wasted paper on [Read’s] part.”

Read said he plans to look at how other towns approach their budget process before moving forward with any proposals.

Meeting notes:

• The board voted 4-1 to allow ElecComm to use the parking lot at the Botieri baseball complex to store trucks and fiber optic cable overnight. Selectmen Richard Flynn voted against the proposal, saying he could not see the benefit to the town.

• The board congratulated the Whitman-Hanson varsity cheerleaders for winning the state championship and coming in 10th at Nationals in Dallas, Texas.

• The board voted unanimously to add a 2001 Ford Taurus to their surplus list. Read said he expects it to be the last vehicle to be added to the list, and plans to move forward with plans for a surplus auction.

• The board unanimously voted to accept donations to the Senior Center and D.A.R.E programs.

• The board unanimously approved five one-day liquor licenses for Camp Kiwanee as well as their meeting minutes from Jan. 10.

• The board moved their wage and personnel meeting from Feb. 21 at 7 p.m. and their selectmen meeting scheduled for that date to Jan. 28.

• Read informed the board that the Collins Center review of the first floor operations at Town Hall has been completed and will be addressed at their Feb. 7 meeting.

• Read said that he met with the auditors last week and that Hanson’s finances are in good standing.

• Flynn announced the first meeting of the Oldham Pond joint committee with Pembroke will be on Jan. 25.

• Amico announced that the next meeting of the Maquan School Building Committee will be on Feb. 7 at 6 p.m. at Whitman-Hanson high school.

• Soper reminded residents that there will be a school budget meeting on Saturday, Jan. 28 at 8 a.m. at the high school.