PAXTON — Meeting fast and furious, the Select Board and Finance Committee last week crunched numbers, debated options and finally settled on a number for the proposed town override: $1.44 million.
Deciding warrant articles consumed much of the board’s April 1 meeting, and the Finance Committee mulled options in its meeting. On April 4, the Select Board concluded an override of $1.44 million was the figure to present to voters.
“We have to remember we’re all in this together,” Select Board Chair Julia Pingitore said, noting the cooperation in meetings and sharing opinions.
Annual town meeting voters on May 6 will have three primary budget decisions on the warrant, in addition to a smaller Bay Path Regional Vocational Technical School budget. Officials plan multiple information sessions, in person and through Zoom, plus a recorded session, to explain the budgets and what could be lost if the override fails.
The first budget is the Wachusett Regional School District budget, which would be voted on as presented by the district.
“The big message is (that) we anticipate the school budget will pass in the other four towns,” Pingitore said.
Two towns would have to vote the school budget down to send it back to the School Committee for reconsideration. A single town voting against it would be locked into the assessment if the other four vote for it under provisions of the regional agreement.
Thus, the override impacts will be felt entirely in town-side spending.
The second budget, for town operations, would be for funding contingent on the override passing.
The third budget, for town operations, would not be contingent on the override, but would be a reduced services budget reflecting the impact of fewer funds available.
“Unfortunately, the town budget is so razor thin now it means cutting people and losing services,” Pingitore said.
“By supporting the town (with the override), you are also supporting the schools,” Pingitore said of the interconnected nature of the budgets.
As the board debated articles and options, Select Board member Kirk Huehls noted that “We’ve gone back to every one of our departments” as the town tries to ensure a lean budget. “We have not had the opportunity to do that with Wachusett, so we’re kind of giving them a free pass.”
“I do think its going to be a hard sell,” member Carol Riches said. “If we’re going to do it, make sure we’re not back next year or the year after.”
The estimated impact for taxpayers based on this year’s assessment would be $1.84 per thousand dollars of valuation, according to Division of Local Services calculations provided by Town Administrator Heather Munroe. That would raise the current $16.07 rate to $17.91, a figure that, multiplied by the assessed value of a home in thousands, yields the tax bill.
For the average home, valued at $459,020, the current tax bill of $7,376 would rise by $844.60, a roughly 11.5% increase for the override. However, the override would go into effect in fiscal 2025, so some of the base numbers will change.
Calculating the override amount was based on key numbers: the deficit of $840,000; $500,000 in “free cash” that otherwise could not be used for things such as capital items; and rolling back the ambulance receipts used by $100,000 to reflect historic averages for that account.
The budget and revenues are always subject to change, including from state budget decisions affecting aid to communities for schools, highways and smaller programs as the state balances its budget.
Costs also have been rising, and costs higher than projected can further strain a budget during the course of the year.
Riches stressed getting information out in planned sessions “and hope(s) everybody educates themselves enough to want to support the town.”
The Select Board and Finance Committee were scheduled to meet April 8 to make recommendations on the budget articles after a departmental presentation on the override budget for fiscal 2025. The presentation is slated to be recorded for rebroadcast.
The town meeting vote May 6 to make the appropriations will be followed up by the May 13 town election, where passage is needed to allow the actual override.
Upcoming budget information sessions:
• Tuesday, April 16, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at Richards Memorial Library;
• Thursday, April 18, at noon, a virtual session via Zoom;
• Wednesday, April 24, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in the cafetorium at Paxton Center School;
• Friday, April 26, at 10 a.m., a virtual session via Zoom;
• Tuesday, April 30, at 6 p.m., a virtual session via Zoom;
• Wednesday, May 1, at 10 a.m. at the COA Cafe, 17 West St.;
• Sunday, May 5, at 2 p.m. in the training room of the Public Safety Building.
