HADLEY — Weeks after residents at annual Town Meeting overwhelmingly approved a fiscal year 2027 spending plan contingent on a Proposition 2½ tax-cap override to preserve existing school and town services, while bringing back three lost firefighter positions, the fate of the override will be decided Tuesday.
Polls will be open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Hadley Senior Center, where voters will be presented with both an $850,000 override and a $1.5 million override that would supplement the base $22.37 million operating budget.
Both override amounts were supported by wide margins at the Town Meeting, but the ballot vote is the required next step for final approval.
The Select Board and Finance Committee are both endorsing the smaller amount, which would have $210,000 go to the fire department, $50,000 to the police and $590,000 to the schools.
“The Finance Committee believes this approach balances service restoration with tax impact considerations and represents the most practical course of action at this time,” according to its statement of support.
Should this lower amount not pass, the schools would have to eliminate 10.6 full-time equivalents, reduce extracurriculars and athletics and diminish preschool and special
education.
The Select Board is alone in recommending an additional $650,000, or $1.5 million override, needed to keep intact all current town and school services. Calling it a two-tiered approach, the second and larger override of $1.5 million would provide another $75,000 to hire a firefighter and purchase firefighting gear and supplies, getting the department back to two firefighters per shift, ensure the public schools have level services and keep various town positions whole.
“This will increase taxes by 9%, still below a double-digit increase while allowing the town to provide better services to the town and retaining staff levels,” according to the Select Board’s statement of support.
A failed larger override would mean Town Hall staff working reduced hours and would affect operations at the Hadley Library and the Senior Center., with 7.5 full-time equivalents lost. That supplemental money puts another $130,000 toward schools and an additional $75,000 for a third Fire Department position, as well as $125,000 for the Highway Department.
The lead up to the vote has been somewhat more muted than the $2.25 million override proposal last September, at least based on the number of lawn signs. Voters rejected that spending both at Town Meeting and the following ballot vote, and led to the loss of firefighters and the shuttering of the human resources department.
There are four different signs promoting the override, with some reading “Keep Hadley Strong” and others showing scissors and the possible impacts. There are also signs reading “Yes” for the override and others showing three check marks, though voters who support the larger amount will actually only need to check two boxes.
Voting for both amounts doesn’t mean the figures will be added together; the larger amount that passes will prevail.
Those opposed to the override have displayed orange signs with a simple message to “vote no” on the override and the additional spending.
There has been some door-to-door campaigning by the pro side to inform residents and former Select Board member Jane Nevinsmith wrote a letter that sums up why she is voting yes, “to maintain the current level of services we have, we must pass the $1.5 million override.”
Hadley Firefighters Local 5486 has put out information that the $1.5 million moves the department in the right directionm, with the full amount bringing it back to spring 2025 staffing levels, a second ambulance and lower overtime costs. The department has been operating with just one full-time firefighter on each shift.
For an average home, assessed at $475,929, the current property tax bill is $5,454. The lower override would raise this by $290.32 a year, with the higher override raising this by $514.
By comparison, last year property tax bills went up by $170, from $5,279 to $5,449, though that was a much smaller increase than the $272 jump the previous year.
