There have been significant discussions about the $2,250,000 operational override for Hadley that will be voted on Sept. 29. Hadley is facing extreme financial pressure from the effects of high inflation on wages and expenses, last minute increases of more than $850,000 in health insurance costs (72 other municipalities are dealing with this same issue) and the cost to move from a part-time Fire Department with a call force to 24/7 professional Fire Department and second call ambulance service.
People that have been advocating to vote the override down have not performed the necessary financial analysis to determine how we can continue to operate without the override. I want everyone to know that there are no new hires, programs, or buildings that are being funded with this override. Hadley is only maintaining the same staffing and operations levels it has had for the last two years.
Without the override, not only will residents pay more for less town services, the decline in services will be greater than the savings they provide. In addition to a reduction in services, we also will see increased overtime costs, call-outs due to people being overworked, and low morale.
Some might lead you to believe that the town has overspent and tell us that we must vote the override down as a form of punishment to the governance of the town. Even the head of capital planning, who must approve these purchases, is now saying the town overspent. The decision to build new buildings and purchase equipment were vetted by multiple committees and then voted for by the residents. The town is obligated to make the debt payments for these assets and since they are so specialized, they cannot be sold off without taking significant losses.
Some say Hadley must lay people off and cut spending. Hadley cannot cut its way to balance the budget. The net savings of laying off people will only be a small fraction of what we are paying in salaries because the town is responsible for the cost of the unemployment payments for those employees. The town will need to cut many programs that most people agree are beneficial. Every town department will be affected by these cuts; none will be spared.
The Public Safety Department of our town is responsible for the safety of tens of thousands of people that live, work, and pass-through Hadley and over $1.3 billion of residential and commercial real estate and personal property, $1 billion of which is that of the residents of Hadley. The true market value of all the real estate and personal property in Hadley is likely greater than $ 2 billion. How can we afford to have a part-time Fire Department and reduce police personnel when so much of residents’ value is on the line? Response times will triple for overnight calls when the department will operate with a part-time call force. In situations where seconds count, it will take 10 to 15 minutes longer to respond.
The financial impact of this override is going to make things difficult for some households. It is hard to ask people to pay more without receiving greater value. But this is the result of the inflationary environment we live in, not governance.
I fully respect whichever way anyone votes on Sept. 29. I will be voting “YES” because I vote for preserving our community and keeping Hadley strong.
Shardool Parmar is a member of the Hadley Finance Committee and president of the Pioneer Valley Hotel Group.