HADLEY — Two Proposition 2½ tax-cap override amounts, set at $850,000 and $1.5 million, will be presented to voters at annual Town Meeting on May 7 and then a special election, likely to be held in early June.
While the Select Board Wednesday, at a joint meeting with the Finance Committee, unanimously voted to have both options brought forward, members of the finance panel said, at this time, they are only supporting the smaller amount.
Select Board member Amy Parsons, in advocating for the two numbers, said the town is in a better position to push for an override now than last September, when voters rejected a $2.25 million override. That’s because the town has lost two full-time firefighters, closed down the human resources department and has had to make other reductions in staffing and services.
“We’ve proven that we’ve made cuts, we’ve made changes, people are feeling it, people are seeing it,” Parsons said.
The $850,000 override, supported by the Finance Committee, brings back two firefighters and keeps the schools whole, and adds money to the snow and ice account. But Parsons said that is barebones and doesn’t account for raises for town and school employees.
The proposed $22.37 million budget for fiscal year 2027 is $1.5 million below maintaining level services across municipal and school departments.
The $1.5 million figure, which will be fine-tuned to show how all aspects of the money will be spent, gives the town a cushion to ensure operations continue uninterrupted. “I think we do get one chance, one shot do it right,” Parsons said.
Select Board member David J. Fill II agreed officials need to give residents a choice, and $1.5 million would allow for things like the Department of Public Works going beyond the four highway employees that is diminishing capacity to take care of infrastructure.
“I’m concerned where we’re going to leave ourselves in a spot where we’re never going to see another override, and were going to constantly be, ‘where can we cut from, where can we cut from?'” Fill said.
Both boards agreed they want to get firefighters back, but the $850,000 override would be leaving things on the table.
Finance Director Linda Sanderson said the hope in the budget would be to replenish support staff in Town Hall, at the police department and have sufficient money for snow and ice.
“We need to figure out what the town needs to get to a place where it can function properly,” Chairman Randy Izer said.
Board member Jane Nevinsmith said $1.5 million is needed to preserve what already exists. “We’re asking so we can level fund the town from last year,” Nevinsmith said.
Board member Molly Keegan worries that $850,000 would be problematic because it is insufficient.
“We are highly likely going to find ourselves right back where we started,” Keegan said.
Keegan said she is also concerned that the Finance Committee is saying $850,000 is good enough, when it’s not.
“It’s fiscally not responsible to proceed with the town’s budget in this manner,” Keegan said.
The Finance Committee, though, is supporting a smaller override in part due to wanting to get the fire department staffing back up, with $160,000 needed for that, and $640,000 for the schools.
“There’s no way to get there without the override,” Chairwoman Amy Fyden said.
It will not be full staffing for the fire department, but will be an improvement. “All we’re trying to do is get somewhere,” Fyden said.
The Finance Committee has projected that the tax rate would go up from $11.46 per $1,000 valuation to $12.07 per $1,000 valuation with an $850,000 override, and for the house assessed at $550,000 a $335.50 increase in the annual bill.
Finance Committee member Pam Hague said the committee’s reasoning for the smaller override is out of concern that asking for too much will lead to defeat.
“We don’t feel like anything higher than that is going to pass,” Hague said. “Across the board, none of us think $1 million is going to work.”
Izer pushed back on the idea that the override amount should be determined by anything other than the town’s needs.
“I have trouble with coming up with a number because we think it will pass at Town Meeting,” Izer said.
He called it “inappropriate” to try to determine the right number based on what taxpayers might be able to afford.
Fyden said there was discussion of going over $1 million, but this could jeopardize the chances of any success. “We all felt we’d rather have something than nothing,” Fyden said.
The Select Board, along with the town’s finance team, will provide residents more information prior to Town Meeting.
The date for the override ballot vote will be set at a meeting on April 21, with either May 27 or June 3, but preference for the later due to being the week after Memorial Day.
