WESTHAMPTON — A Proposition 2½ override vote looms as town officials explore ways to close a $200,000 shortfall in next year’s level-services budget.
The Select Board discussed putting an override in front of residents at its Feb. 9 meeting, though Select Board and Finance Committee member Jennifer Milikowsky said the Finance Committee has been floating the idea for months.
Milikowsky said it is ultimately up to the residents if they want to pass an override, but if it doesn’t happen, there are going to be significant cuts if fiscal 2027, which begins July 1.
“I think our residents deserve the an opportunity to vote for level services or at least vote for not making the cuts we would have to have with zero override,” Milikowsky said at the meeting. “I preface this conversation by saying that I think we need, I think our duty is to put an override of some kind before the voters.”
Select Board members arrived at the meeting right after attending a Hampshire Regional School Committee meeting, where a preliminary budget was approved that would result in significant cuts to the school’s services. The town would have to contribute about $40,000 more to Hampshire Regional High School than it did last year, based on the preliminary budget.
In an interview with the Gazette, Finance Committee Chair Tad Weiss, who attended the Feb. 9 Select Board meeting, explained that if an override does not happen there is going to be a bit hit to the town.
“It comes down to two choices,” Weiss said. “Either the town is going to support an override or there’s going to be some fairly draconian cuts to the budget.”
Westhampton’s current budget sits at approximately $7.6 million. Weiss said to start this budget season, the town asked departments to assess all of their “known costs” to create an “austerity budget,” which attempts to stay within the budget without seeking an override.
The current austerity budget is approximately $7.7 million, while the level-services budget comes in at just more than $7.9 million, an approximately $200,000 deficit to maintain current services.
The estimated dates discussed to present an override to residents would be at a special Town Meeting on March 31, where residents would decide whether to place such a request on the ballot for a special election that would take place on April 11. Weiss said the town will hold informational sessions in March to help residents understand why the town is considering an override.
Weiss said the main driver for looking at an override before annual Town Meeting in May is that it would be more beneficial to know how much money the town is working with sooner rather than later.
Town Administrator Douglas Finn said that for the upcoming budget, the town has a pretty good idea of what the projected costs are, such as employee contracts. Though some unknown costs remain, and it is too early to tell if an override would cover the gap to level services.
“A lot would depend on the amount an override is approved for and that number is not yet determined and a lot depends on the elementary school budget,” Finn said.
While no cuts are definite, Weiss said when it’s important to examine where the most money is being spent when weighing potential cuts.
“When I think about where the money is spent, it’s spent in highways, public safety, libraries, general town administration and the elementary school,” Weiss said. “After that it gets really small.”
The Finance Committee will be reviewing if an override would cover level services in its coming meetings.
“It’s not definite but I think it’s probably certain we’re going do it [present an override] I don’t think we have a choice to be honest,” Weiss said. “We’re just out of money.”
Weiss said there are basic services required to keep the town open. “We also need to keep the town running. We need an accountant, a treasurer, someone to plow the roads, police — there’s a basic minimal structure you need to run a town.”
Weiss said the financial strains, that are mainly driven by health insurance and inflation, is something every town is dealing with. For a town like Westhampton that relies heavily on its property tax base for new growth, it is difficult to generate revenue from other locations.