SOUTH HADLEY — Voters rejected both the $9 million and the $11 million Proposition 2½ overrides at the polls on Tuesday, leaving South Hadley without a way to fill a $3 million gap in its fiscal year 2027 budget.
According to unofficial election results, 58% of 6,151 voters cast “no” votes, or 3,568, on the $9 million override, and 65%, or 3,998, rejected the $11 million override. The total does not include hand-counted ballots or ballots received before 8 a.m.
Town Administrator Lisa Wong told the Gazette by email before the polls closed that if the override failed, the town would move forward with the approved deficit budget without funding for school sports and extracurriculars, library accreditation, full hours at the Senior Center, and current staffing levels. Town Meeting will vote on this budget on May 13.
The stakes of the tax increase motivated many of South Hadley’s 13,365 registered voters to cast their ballots in person. Town Clerk Sarah Gmeiner watched a steady stream of people file into South Hadley High School throughout the day, leading to a turnout of about 46%. Even before the election, Gmeiner said the clerk’s office received 1,600 mail-in ballots, shattering last year’s voter turnout of about 6%.
For voters who recently turned 18, this election marked their first time casting a ballot and receiving an “I voted” sticker.
Jackon Erali, a senior and member of the wrestling team at South Hadley High School, found the process organized and straightforward. He stopped by school on his day off to vote in favor of the override.
“I want to see sports continue at the high school,” Erali said. “I want to see the high school continue because with all the cuts I wouldn’t be surprised if they had to regionalize. I thought it was the right choice.”
The overrides aimed to level-fund the town budget for the next four to five years, which would have prevented major cuts to school employees, student activities, public safety staff and library funding. The $9 million and $11 million figures came from the Budget Task Force report, which consulted town and school departments on expense drivers and flat revenues.
However, the large amount and duration of the override divided the town between those who feared what the deficit budget would do to the town if the override failed and those concerned about what such a large property tax increase would do to their personal budgets if it passed.
Voters share thoughts
Resident Trisha LaRose, who bought a home five years ago after a lifetime of saving, said at the polls Tuesday that the proposed Proposition 2½ overrides would make living in South Hadley unsustainable. She said her single income is already stretched by basic expenses and home renovations, and a 50% tax increase over five years would push it beyond reach.
“People on a limited budget, no kids, single income I don’t think were represented as much as seniors and households on a dual income,” LaRose said.
The whispers of an override surfaced about a year ago as the Select Board and Wong began to look at the budget’s financial viability. The vote gained prevalence when an unexpected 20% increase in health insurance hit the town two weeks into the fiscal year last summer. Faced with a structural deficit driven by fixed costs, special education expenses and net school choice losses, the Select Board created a Budget Task Force that analyzed the town’s financial situation and developed strategies to increase revenue while tempering expenses.
The override was not the only recommendation in the committee’s final report, and many people who voted against the tax increase said they wanted the town to pursue other strategies like a payment in leu of taxes program, creation of an economic development plan and reversal of school choice before coming to the taxpayers to cover the shortfall.
“They keep taking money out of the taxpayer’s pocket,” Michael Hathaway said. “I hate to see cuts, but that’s what I do in my own budget when things get tight.”
For Hathaway and his wife Myra, property taxes have increased over $4,000 since they moved to South Hadley 14 years ago. With trash and sewer fees also going up incrementally when the town adopted a new trash system and to maintain the wastewater treatment plant, the couple feels property owners are being penalized for the town’s mistakes.
On the other hand, Danielle Barone understands that no one wants to pay more taxes, but she wishes “as a society we could think more collectively” and fund town services supporting residents. The thought of losing “all these places that mean so much to so many people,” Barone said through tears, is devastating.
The override is personal to Barone and her family. Her two sons are heavily involved in school and youth sports, from basketball and baseball to soccer and lacrosse, and her daughter focuses on academics.
For David and Cindy Morrell, the services personal to them are the South Hadley Public Library and Senior Center. Cindy, a lifelong resident, regularly takes RSVP Healthy Bones and Balance classes to boost her health in her old age. As chair of the Board of Library Trustees and a regular volunteer at the Senior Center, David wants to see South Hadley “getting out of the hole.”
But the decision is not as simple for Victor Weinblatt. He bought an antique farmhouse with his husband in 1987 that he is determined to only move out of “boots first.”
On one hand, his friend is a library employee who could see their hours cut. On the other hand, Weinblatt and his husband, at 79 and 81, live on a limited income, and few accommodations and exemptions exist for seniors, people on Social Security and those who upkeep a historical home.
“It’s a matter of surviving, or not,” he said.
