Wayland eNews

The Finance Committee held a public hearing on February 16 on their draft recommended budget. A large audience was present. They heard public comment, all of which was in favor of adding more to the Finance Committee's budget and/or in support of the Finance Committee's work. Afterwards, they discussed the comments and voted to recommend an FY07 operating budget of $50,803,581 to be funded with an override of $2.1 million. The vote was 5 in favor, 1 opposed (the member who was opposed thought the amount should be higher). Their budget and override amount along with a long range plan for FY08-10 will be presented to the Board of Selectmen on Feb 27 at 8 pm (the meeting starts at 7pm with other agenda items first).

Points of discussion on the operating budget:

Last October, the town was faced with a $3.3 million shortfall.
Based on the work of the ad hoc budget advisory committee, FinCom and all departments, that gap has been narrowed significantly.
The costs of medical insurance, pension and utilities (all of which the town has little control over) rose $1.7 million from this fiscal year to next.
The budget includes adding $325k back to reserves to shore up our AAA bond rating from Moody's to keep our debt costs low.
With some cuts spread across the school and town budgets, the gap is down to $2.1 million.
FinCom examined the impact of cutting further on all departments and functions (Council on Aging, Conservation, Building permits, crossing guards at schools, highway resurfacing, youth services counselors, library, park and recreation, schools - to name a few) and felt that it was in the best interest of the town to recommend a budget of $50,803,581 million with an override of $2.1 million to keep our services within a reasonable proximity of level services.
The school budget allocation of this override would be $100k under the School Committee's previously submitted "recommended budget" (which includes a decrease from the current level of service: 2 music, 2 PE, 2 library, 2 art teachers would each cover 3 elementary schools, rather than having one of each of the specialists at each of the elementary schools); 1.1 fewer teachers at the Middle School; increases in fees at all levels, plus another $100k in cuts, which may simply be taken from the "Utilities" line item (where FinCom felt the School Committee's projections were too pessimistic)
The town side of the budget will reflect cuts of approx $77k from a level service budget.
The Finance Committee received over 40 letters regarding the override; all but one supported level services
There was discussion of increasing the override amount to either put back some services or put more money in reserves. It was pointed out that this is a very lean, tight budget.

Other Issues Discussed by Finance Committee

The town faces a $400k property tax abatement to the owners of the former Raytheon site. Because the property is vacant, a court deemed that the property tax levied was too high. The town plans to sell land to recoup money to pay this abatement. This is a one-time revenue to pay for a one-time expense. If the sale of the land doesn't cover the cost, the rest will have to come from free cash.
Debt Exclusion Vote at the polls - there are several big ticket items that must be addressed: roof of library and half of the roof of Happy Hollow school (both buildings have water leaking into walls and are in desperate need of repair); roof of town building repairs and the purchase of a fire truck. The total amount is $1.665 million. Unlike a Prop 2 1/2 override, the tax increases for these are not permanent, and extend just over the specific period of the loan to cover the payments. When the loan is paid off, the tax would come off our bill. This will amount to a relatively small amount (it appears to be $10s of dollars per household, and the town is retiring a debt of the exact same amount). Therefore, the net effect on property taxes is zero..
Bond rating - Moody's suggests 5-8% in reserves for a AAA rating, but the Town is currently at about 2%. The Town plans to add back $325,000 this year. This is "minimally" adding back to maintain rating, and will continue to add more in the coming years.

Forms of Overrides Discussed by Finance Committee

Single override question - a single amount is put on the ballot requiring a "YES" or "NO" vote. 50% plus 1 vote is needed to win. This is the override format recommended by the Finance Committee and used historically in our town and by peer towns.
Menu override - this is where voters at the polls can vote YES or NO on several overrides specific to multiple departments. Each vote needs a 50% plus 1 vote to win. Finance Committee members characterized this as ill-conceived. Finance Committee members spend hours going over budgets and the business of the town and are the best informed to make recommendations, while it is difficult for individual town residents to become as well-informed. This form of override is also the most divisive and would pit departments against each other. This was rejected in a vote of the Finance Committee.
Pyramid override - this is where there are up to 3 amounts on the ballot. Voters must vote on each amount. The highest amount receiving a 50% plus 1 vote wins. For example, if a $100 override gets 75% yes votes and a $150 override gets 51% yes votes and a $200 override gets 30% yes votes, the $150 override wins. The Finance Committee discussed using a pyramid and putting in a higher level to either bring services up to current levels or to replenish reserves. But in the end, the Finance Committee agreed that they had already brought the number down from $3.3 million and that they are recommending a budget of $2.1. A pyramid goes against their recommendation. Further it divides the community.

In summary: The Finance Committee opted to support a single override option, and to recommend their $2.1 million override. They voted against putting a higher override on the ballot which would restore services to current levels and/or replenish reserves, and against a menu override, which they felt would be divisive.

Submitted by Lisa Valone

© 2008 WaylandeNews. All rights reserved. Last updated: Saturday May 03, 2008 12:38 PM.
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