By Scott MacKeen
Staff Writer
10/8/09
The issue of town finances will be front and center when the town gathers in the high school auditorium for a Special Town Meeting on Monday, Oct. 19, at 7:30 p.m.
But even as town leaders are poised to recommend budget cuts at that meeting, they are already talking about having to come back for another round of cuts before the end of the fiscal year.
One silver lining is the recent news that the school system will benefit from $1.1 million in federal stimulus money. Still, town officials agree that for the current and upcoming fiscal years, the overall news is “grim,” with no end in sight for state cuts that will impact communities.
“The September numbers that we have gotten from the state are lower than anticipated in terms of revenue, which means unless things change dramatically, we’re looking at more cuts,” Selectman Kathy Fagan told the Times in a phone interview.
“It’s an overwhelming challenge,” Selectmen Chairman John Shields acknowledged. “I can tell you right now, the overall news is pretty grim. And next year looks worse.”
Shields said that the purpose of the Oct. 19 meeting is to execute “midyear [budget] adjustments that we had talked about at Annual Town Meeting back in May.”
One warrant article for the meeting will address a current town cash shortfall of $330,000, reflecting state cuts to general aid, Chapter 70 school funds and Quinn Bill payments to police officers who hold academic degrees.
The Warrant Committee has recommended that the deficit be reconciled through shared department cuts. Under the recommendation, the Police Department would absorb the Quinn Bill cut – a total of $155,000 – and the remainder would be shared across all departments.
However, Fagan said a second round of cuts from the state, which could come as soon as January, is likely to leave the town in a much bigger financial hole than the current one.
“It could be up to 3 percent of our budget … and if it’s 3 percent, that’s $1 million. That would be a worst-case scenario,” she said.
Fagan said the Selectmen are closely watching federal and state budget projections to keep the town informed of what could be coming.
“It just shows that we’re on top of things,” added Shields.
Meanwhile, the feeling among some department heads is mixed in terms of absorbing current and future cuts.
“I [am] becoming concerned because … we were forced to absorb pay raises in our current budget – we have always had a ‘set-aside’ for pay raises – and we are now losing the gains we made through the override,” Police Chief Richard Wells Jr. said.
Fire Chief Jack Grant said his department factored in the cuts early on in the summer when putting together the year’s budget.
“I was told early in the summer that we would see a budget cut during the October Special Town Meeting. We accounted for it at that time. Our budget will be able to absorb this cut without affecting our day-to-day operations,” Grant wrote in an e-mail to the Times.
School Committee Vice Chairman Glenn Pavlicek said the schools will likely be able to absorb the October Town Meeting cuts with federal stimulus money without impacting staffing.
“We were informed last week we would be getting $1.1 million in stimulus money. We think we can take $100,000 or so out of that to plug the gap rather than take that money out of professional development, which was our original plan,” he said in a phone interview.
But he said he’s concerned about the impact future cuts could have on the schools.
“The Warrant Committee is already talking about another possible $900,000 cut. We would probably take half a million of that,” he said.
School Superintendent Mary Gormley could not be reached for comment.
Fagan said Selectmen also urge departments to cut back on any discretionary spending this year. “The last thing we want to do is lay people off. That’s when it starts having a real impact on what the town can provide. But we’ll see,” she said.
Fagan hopes departments can save by holding off on hiring to replace retirees or unfilled positions. Departments are also urged to spend conservatively on things like training and equipment maintenance, she said.
“Those are the big-hit savings. Those are the cost savings we can achieve quickly,” said Fagan, who added, “We’re also going to be looking hard at things like overtime costs.”
If approved by Town Meeting, the cuts proposed in the Oct. 19 warrant would amount to $110,000 to schools, $175,000 to the Police Department, $15,000 to the Fire Department, $13,000 to public works and $16,000 to other controllable budgets such as the library and information technology.
Other Warrant Articles
In addition to the budget article, there will be two articles at the Oct. 19 Town Meeting.
One proposes imposing the “local option” for a 0.75 percent excise to the meals tax, a state initiative tapped to give cities and towns a possible avenue for revenue relief. According to estimates, Milton could receive up to $60,000 annually from the new tax.
Because of the town’s current cash problems, Shields said the Selectmen will likely “err on the side of imposing the tax.” But he said the town continues to “look for more information” and observe how other communities are approaching the tax hike.
Fagan added, “Obviously, if we choose to impose the tax while our neighbors don’t, it’s going to put our businesses at a disadvantage.”
The third article on the warrant seeks the borrowing of additional funds for medical care for firefighter Antonio Pickens, who suffered grave injuries in 2007 when he was struck by a car while on duty.
Based upon previous legislation, the town can borrow up to $850,000 per year for Pickens’ care. Annual Town Meeting in May tapped $400,000 for treatments for Pickens but, according to Town Administrator Kevin Mearn, the injured firefighter will need additional medical procedures this year in excess of that amount.
In addition to the three articles, Town Meeting will include an update on the Temple Shalom redevelopment discussions. The Planning Board currently plans to have an article ready for a Town Meeting in February.