Clarksburg Officials Looking for Reductions in 2016 Budget
 Town officials are looking for ways to reduce the fiscal 2016 budget. |
CLARKSBURG, Mass. — Town officials are pondering how to address an 11 percent increase in the 2016 budget, a jump of $342,399.
The first place they're looking is the school budget.
Reviewing a very preliminary budget on Monday night, the Finance Committee and Selectmen said they will be looking at ways to reduce the increase without overly relying on the town's recent boost in free cash.
"I know I've said it before ... we shouldn't use free cash as a slush fund," Finance Committee Chairman Mark Denault said.
The town now has about $478,000 in free cash on hand, the result of several years of the state holding funds back because of accounting errors.
According to Gov. Charlie Baker's budget proposal, town is getting about $31,000 more in aid and the school, $37,000.
Those funds, added to new growth and other revenue, would cut about $150,000 off the budget increase, said Town Administrator Carl McKinney.
"I think the school increase is too much ... it's not doable," he said. "The town is such a small portion of the budget and there are significant needs in this community."
Finance Committee member Lori-Anne Aubin calculated school spending at about 72 percent of the total town budget, up from 67 percent a few years ago.
"We really need to look at the school," she said. "Let's say we level fund the town, we'd still have to come up with $200,000 to support the school budget increase."
Superintendent Jonathan Lev in February had projected a 6 percent increase of about $145,000 for fiscal 2016. His budget plan included the reduction of several positions.
Town officials are hoping Lev will find more to shave, asking to meet with him next week.
Town employees had taken it on the chin over several years, said McKinney, noting they had had wage freezes and furloughs in the past.
Any movement in the school budget is "going to make our decisions a little bit different," said Selectman William Schrade. "They're the big piece of the puzzle."
Other departments will also be getting closely examined, as evidenced by the officials' questioning of the cost of toner cartridges and heating fuel with Town Accountant David Fierro Jr. It was suggested the used cartridges be returned for returned for credit and automatic fuel fill ups be stopped.
McKinney also suggested that the town used $65,000 in free cash to fund road work or pay off the debt on the library, since both were capital projects, as a way to reduce the budget increase.
The town's auditor had advised against using more than $100,000 of free cash a year, although the officials differed on what they believed he meant.
"Just taking it from here and putting it there and calling it a capital expense isn't where we want to be," Denault said.
McKinney pointed out it was a decision that would be up to the voters.
Schrade was wary of the idea because voters would likely ask officials for their recommendation, and what would they do the next year?
"We're going to be presenting to the voters that $65,000, then next year we'll be saying we need another $70,000," he said.
McKinney said he would like to begin discussions to "tuck it away" in accounts toward specific items. If put in a stabilization account, it could still be removed in an emergency through a two-thirds town meeting vote, he said.
The boards will meet again on Monday, March 23, at 5 p.m.
Tags: fiscal 2016, municipal budget,
