By Scott MacKeen
Staff Writer
8/13/09
The Warrant Committee is unanimously in favor of cutting department budgets to make up the town’s cash shortfall.
In an informal opinion poll at last week’s meeting, every member of the committee agreed that trimming budgets is the way to go to make up a roughly $330,000 difference that reflects funds the state has cut. The other option would be to spend available free cash, but officials feel they are better served saving their reserves for later, as they expect the state could once again hit the town with midyear cuts similar to the ones made last year.
“We had three separate 9C cuts last year,” said committee Chairman Tom Hurley, referring to a provision in state laws giving the governor authority to make unilateral cuts that can amount to local-aid reductions to cities and towns. “We can absolutely expect more of the same again this year.”
The meeting, which included town and school officials, was meant to build consensus on how the town should face the current cash shortfall, Hurley said. Twice last year, Special Town Meetings dealt with midyear revenue shortfalls. The town expended its free-cash reserves but still had to absorb a portion of its snow-and-ice deficit into the current budget.
Already this fiscal year, which is just over a month old, the town is $331,629 short because of cuts the state has made, roughly half of which was to pay police stipends through the Quinn Bill Program. Another $84,000 was cut from Chapter 70 school funds and the remaining $91,000 from general state aid.
Officials are uncertain how they will allocate the cuts and what the impact will be.
“The problem is, we don’t have an article in front of us right now. It’s all up in the air. This is really a straw opinion poll at this point,” said Hurley.
Based on various scenarios presented at the meeting, the School and Police departments could absorb their own cuts separately, while other departments split the bill on the local-aid reduction, or, an opposing option, the town could choose to allocate the cuts equally, as “one big pool of money.”
“That’s traditionally the way we’ve done it. We’ve treated it all as one big pot of money,” School Committee Vice Chairman Glenn Pavlicek said at the Warrant Committee meeting.
Although some argued the schools may be more “flexible” insofar as absorbing budget cuts due to the possibility of it gaining some federal stimulus relief, Pavlicek said there is still vast uncertainty whether that money will even be there. Indications are that if the stimulus money comes, at least half of it will be required to fund “systemic changes” in school curriculum and won’t help quell the current problem.
Pavlicek said, “I wouldn’t be surprised to see all [the stimulus money] gone before we even see it.”
And though it may be that several departments have to share the Chapter 70 hit, the Warrant Committee said the Quinn Bill cut should be regarded separately as a line item the police will have to absorb.
There is debate over whether the town should pick up the tab on the Quinn Bill cut. Under collective bargaining, the town is only obligated to fund half the amount for police bonuses under the Quinn Bill Program. Some towns are bound by contract to pay the full amount.
The case could be headed to litigation if the town sticks with its current plan to not fund the state share, according to both police unions. The money is paid through stipends to officers who earn certain academic degrees.
The Warrant Committee will meet again Aug. 19 to discuss the revenue shortfall, which is likely to be put on the warrant for an October Special Town Meeting.