By Nate Leskovic
Times Staff
4/3/08
As the warrant for Town Meeting is printed this week, it appears the town will weather another year of tight budgets because officials fear the climate is unsuitable for an override.
Despite an infusion of $517,000 more in state aid into the budget last week, many departments may only be funded the same amount in FY 09 as last year, and others will take hits. A $3.2 million Proposition 2 1/2 override was tentatively proposed by the Warrant Committee to maintain service levels, however Selectmen say this may not be the year to raise taxes but the issue is fluid at this time.
“It’s not appealing to anybody,” says Selectman Kathy Fagan. “It’s a hard sell when [the override] is not going to save some of the programs they want and will only be for a year. I prefer waiting until next year to do an override that would carry us through the next couple years.”
Fagan says department heads tell her they can hold the line for another year without an override. In addition, she says school building project costs kicking in this year are already raising taxes a significant amount.
“Do I think we need an override? Yes,” says Selectman John Shields. “Do I think that one is doable? I think it would be hard to pass one given the grim economic situation. Is that a time to go out and ask people to raise their taxes? I don’t think so.”
Shields says he spoke with a number of school parents recently, people he says are more apt to push for an override and who are cautious about the prospect.
“The indications show there is no will for it,” he says. “I think we have to batten down the hatches and use the revenue that we have.”
New Appropriations
The state Senate and House recently agreed to distribute aid to municipalities equal to the governor’s budgeted amount. The move gives the town $517,000 more than was originally estimated.
The Warrant Committee wants to appropriate $200,000 to the schools; $63,000 to the fire department to help cover salary increases that were absorbed into its budget this year; and $21,000 to the library to ensure it stays certified by the state and retains its construction grants.
Another $50,000 could go to the DPW to restore an engineering position that was cut a few years ago. The position will enable the town to complete plans for the renovation of Central Avenue from Brook Road to Eliot Street, which includes a bike path, qualifying it for a state grant to cover $1.7 million in construction costs. A warrant article had been submitted requesting a one-time allocation of $150,000 to hire a consultant to draft the design.
With the increase in state aid, the Warrant Committee adjusted the $3.2 million override budget. The school department may receive an additional $256,000, and the police department may receive $169,000 to bring the force closer to its 55-officer maximum and purchase another cruiser.
Shields questions whether an override should even be on the warrant. To have a referendum, an override budget must be approved by Town Meeting and then placed on a ballot by Selectmen.
“We’re going to get Town Meeting members who will vote for it,” he says. But in terms of a ballot question he adds, “You only want to go out for an override if you think you can get it.”
A Tough Decision
It could be the School Committee that tips the balance and determines if there will be an override possibility or not.
Before the new money, the school department was facing the elimination of 35 positions, including the art and music program for kindergarten through eighth grade. The teacher reductions could force the transfer of up to 100 elementary students to different schools, and send K–8 students home early two out of three days.
School Committee Chair Beirne Lovely says the additional $200,000 will likely go toward classroom teachers, not into saving art and music. He says elementary school principals agree.
“If they had to make a choice between the potential movement of children between schools and [art and music teachers], they would pick classroom teachers,” he says. “The absolute priority is teachers.”
An override budget would leave the schools about $310,000 short of its original request, instead of the $1.3 million cut it faces.
It is unclear if the School Committee will push for the override.
“Everyone is just waiting with baited breath to what happens with the School Committee,” says Fagan.
Fagan has not decided if she would vote to put an override on a ballot, but if it did go to the residents she would like to see it “phased in.”
“Is it possible to vote this year for an override that would be incremental over the next couple years?” she asks. “Maybe a million this year and a million next year?”
Town counsel is currently researching this possibility, as it could be illegal since there are different members in Town Meeting each year when the budget is approved.
Shields says he would feel obligated to put an override on the ballot if Town Meeting votes for it.