Town Administrator Discusses Financial Strategies for Adams

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
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Town Administrator Tony Mazzucco addresses the Maple Grove Civic Club on Sunday. The club meets the third Sunday of the month through the winter.

ADAMS, Mass. —The town administrator has some ideas for overcoming the growing structural deficit in the annual budget.   

Tony Mazzucco met with the Maple Grove Civic Club on Sunday afternoon to explain some strategies and the direction he wants the town to go in. 

The town has been unable to match growth with expenses, he said, and has been relying on declining reserves.

"We have to look at where we have been, where we want to go, and how are we going to get there," Mazzucco said. "Every year when you have to cut your budget just to get out of the gate means you aren't in great fiscal condition."

Mazzucco said the deficit has done damage to the stabilization account over the years, which he anticipates will be down $170,000 by the end of the year. In the past the account would gain interest, but with low interest rates now, any time the town has used it to balance the budget it did not replenish, he said.

Mazzucco said he could empty the account and balance the budget, which would mean no lay off or service cuts, but this would only make things worse next year.

"We are just going to be in a bigger hole next year," he said. "At what point do we stop borrowing from Peter to pay Paul and take money out of the bank to pay for bills every year? We have to get our bills to match the money we have."

He is looking at a few things that may help close the deficit. He said one of the main plans is to create an economic development committee that will specifically work on bringing jobs to town.  

"If we had a lot of people in the area it would be different but in order to get people to live here we need jobs, decent jobs," Mazzucco said.

He envisions the committee focusing on small manufacturing companies to complement manufacturing that already exists in the industrial park.  

"They aren't very big but they tend to attract other employers of that kind," Mazzucco said. "We have to convince them this is where you want to go."

He said the town should still move toward a partial tourism economy but that the committee will purely focus on bringing in the jobs that will create a stronger base for the Adams economy.

"We have plenty of committees in Adams that come up with great ideas but we need more than just ideas," he said. "We need a committee that can go out there and make things happen."

Mazzucco said he would like to have this committee ready to go after town meeting.

He also think the town should be more aggressive with tax title takings. The more than $1 million in delinquent taxes have become a burden.

"It is not fair to all the other residents and businesses who do pay their taxes," he said. "Some do struggle to pay their taxes and others don't even go down that road."

Mazzucco said it has been a concern in the past about taking possibly contaminated areas but the town has access to environmental grants that could help with any cleanup.

"You take the property and you do what you can do," he said. "You find a way to get them cleaned up, you try to sell them, and redevelop them. If you can't do that, you put some grass down and call it a park."

Mazzucco would like to focus on selling land or property the town has no use for so it can be put back on the tax rolls. He said there are near 20 parcels of land on Thompson Drive alone that does not benefit the town to keep.

He also is interested in seeing if changing the waste-water treatment plant from an included service in the taxes to a user fee would be beneficial to the town.

Right now it accounts for $2 on the tax bill but by switching to a user-fee, everyone would see a property tax reduction although some users may see a substantial increase with a separate sewer bill.

Civic Club Vice President Jeffrey Lefebvre was concerned that implementing the fee would drive up costs too much because the cost of the operation of the plant would not be spread throughout the entire town.

"You still need X number of dollars to turn around and run the plant," Lefebvre said. "If there are going to be 140 homeowners out there now not paying, others are going to have to pick up those 140 homes outside of the district."

Mazzucco said he was aware of that issue and if the fee was too much it would not be beneficial for residents. He said another issue that arises is the fee's impact on larger businesses who use a lot of sewer. He said additional costs could slow down operations.

"Sewer is a big, big deal for commercial and industrial operations," he said. "The more expensive we make it for them the more difficult it ends up being for businesses who want to come here and businesses who want to stay here."

Mazzucco said Adams faces many issues, however, it is in better shape than a lot of communities in the commonwealth and will continue to afford many services others can't.

"The world is not going to end in Adams," he said. "We can pay our bills without any problems, we don't have cash flow problems, and we have a decent bond rating … we have to be cautious about where we are going."


Tags: #adamsbudget,   fiscal 2016,   Maple Grove Civic Club,   sewer rates,   

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Adams Sees No Races So Far

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
ADAMS, Mass. — With less than a week left before nomination papers are due, there are currently no contested seats.
 
Only selectman incumbent John Duval has returned papers. Selectman Howard Rosenberg has decided not to seek re-election. 
 
Rosenberg, who was elected in 2021, said he has chosen not to run again to make room for younger candidates.
 
"I feel strongly, we need younger people running for public office,  as the future of our town lies within the younger  generation. The world is so fundamentally different today and rapidly changing to become even more so. I believe we need people who are less interested in trying to bring back the past, then in paving the way for a promising future. The younger generation can know that they can stay here and have a voice without having to leave for opportunities elsewhere," he said.
 
The only person to return papers so far is former member the board Donald Sommer. Sommer served as a selectman from 2007 to 2010 and before that was a member of the School Committee and the Redevelopment Authority. He ran unsuccessfully for selectman in 2019 and again in 2021 but dropped out of before the election.
 
Incumbent Moderator Myra Wilk and Town Clerk Haley Meczywor have returned papers for their respective positions.
 
Assessor Paula Wheeler has returned papers and incumbents James Loughman and Eugene Michalenko have returned papers for library trustees.
 
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