SOUTH HADLEY — For the second time this year, voters will again be asked to approve a Proposition 2½ override — this time a scaled-back $3.5 million question headed to a special election Sept. 1.
The Select Board voted 3-2 to hold the special election on the state’s primary day, and in a separate 4-1 vote, sent the $3.5 million question to the ballot during a meeting Tuesday night. The funds would replenish $1.7 million of reserves used to prop up the current year’s budget and would support town services, particularly the school and library departments, for the next three budget cycles.
South Hadley voters rejected multiyear $9 million and $11 million overrides in April.
During the same meeting this week, the Appropriations Committee and Select Board discussed two proposed changes to the structure of the town government’s finance team: switching to a Finance Committee, which some officials believe could bolster public trust over the budget, and turning the town accountant into a financial director, which would open opportunity for position consolidation.
“I’m of the opinion that we needed a finance department yesterday,” Appropriations Committee member Len Finkowski said.
The override begins in the current fiscal year, so if it passes, residents would see its impact on the next two property tax bills. According to the Division of Local Services Property Tax Impact calculator, the average single-family home valued at $417,106 will pay an additional $559 in taxes each year. The permanent tax increase is in addition to the 2.5% tax levy adjustment allowed each year.
“I’m hopeful that the ‘no’ voters from the last time are really taking a hard look at this to realize the need and to vote ‘yes’ this time,” Select Board Chair Jeff Cyr said. “They’re [the next fiscal years] going to be really tough without some kind of dollars added to our budgets.”
Select Board vote
Select Board members Renee Sweeney and Carol Constant joined Cyr in supporting placing the override on the Sept. 1 ballot. Sweeney and Constant agreed the override request had been carved down to support services and lessen the effect on residents. Cyr said the override is for three years, unlike other communities that passed an override for a single budget.
“I think it is a band-aid that will kick the can down a little farther,” Sweeney said. “And maybe, between a combination of other efforts and just overall changes in larger world forces, we’ll be in a different set of circumstances by the time the can comes up again.”
Board member Priscilla Marion voted against placing the override question on the ballot. While she concurred with the request of $3.5 million, she thought September was too soon to return to the voters.
“I don’t want to have to keep going back to a community every few months to put this back in front of them,” she said.
Board member Kevin Hennessey also voted against placing the request on the ballot, saying he disagreed with all aspects of the override. He preferred to derive an override amount based on the results of an audit by the Division of Local Services this summer. That audit will explore ways to adjust financial personnel across the town, school district and fire districts to boost efficiency and cost savings.
Even though Town Meeting this spring allocated $1.7 million in reserve funds to level-fund the school department and maintain library certification in the current fiscal year, residents are already noticing the impacts of other cuts to this year’s budget since the new fiscal year began on July 1.
Town Hall is closed on Fridays, and staffing levels are a third lower than their peak of 30 full-time equivalents. Comments on social media have been disabled. The town spray parks were kept open with fundraising efforts and the remaining $7,000 of one-time American Rescue Plan Act money.
“When people say cut the fat, I think we’ve cut into the bone, we’ve cut into the muscle and we’re continuing to do more, all in good faith to show folks that you know we’re just going to try to live within our means,” Town Administrator Lisa Wong said.
Changing finances
In the same vein, Wong has begun to look at ways to reduce financial administration, including her own position. Town Accountant William Sutton, who has 30 years of institutional expertise, is expected to retire in three months. Wong predicts the treasurer/collector and assessor’s office could see other retirements in the next five years.
“[These are] important positions where we are going to have trouble filling them,” Wong said. “So we are already looking at attrition where it might not be possible to just hire somebody to fill that role.”
When Sutton leaves, Wong is proposing creating a finance director position to absorb the accounting duties and oversee all town finances. That expanded role would come with a higher salary in the range of $20,000 to $30,000 more a year. If needed, a finance director could also manage treasurer and assessor duties, as well as 25% of Wong’s duties if her position is eliminated. Her current contract ends next fiscal year.
Appropriations Committee members, however, were not convinced of a finance director’s efficacy.
“We have a 60-some million-dollar budget. You can’t do it with one or two accountants, and expect one of those accountants to perform finance director activities,” Finkowski said. “If it could be done, there’s not a lot of people like that walking around.”
Marion questioned whether this conversation was premature with the DLS audit coming up, but Wong clarified the audit would look at financial positions across town, school and district governments. The government structure of the finance departments is not included.
“Both have the same goal to improve the way that we operate our finance and operations,” Wong said.
Town Meeting could also consider a bylaw change to convert the Appropriations Committee to a Finance Committee. Assistant Town Administrator Chuck Romboletti said that finance committees differ across the commonwealth, but they all have more influence over the final budget.
Jim Everett, an Appropriations Committee member who chaired a finance committee in a different town, said the position is far more “robust” than the current volunteer duties. As a finance committee member, Everett analyzed the town administrator’s budget, met with department heads in public meetings and finalized a document for Town Meeting.
“We would start our budget discussions in January when the town administrator put out an initial budget, and we would meet twice a week until town meeting in April,” he said. “That’s how much time we spent looking at the budgets, every line item, every detail.”
Appropriations Committee member Joel Prough questioned whether the change was necessary if the main charge is consistent with both governing bodies. Wong said the Finance Committee would bring the conversations she has with department heads to a public meeting and give final say over the budget to town residents.
“I think those are two really important things that I’m feeling when I have a lot of very confused or angry or upset or scared people that are trying to wrap their heads around this very complicated budget that we have,” Wong said.
