Cheshire Will Need Override To Fund School Budget

Town officials are preparing for a Proposition 2 1/2 override should the school budget pass.

CHESHIRE, Mass. — The Advisory Board says the Cheshire budget will be just under levy capacity and a Proposition 2 1/2 will be needed to pass the certified Adams-Cheshire Regional School budget.

For the past two Tuesdays, the Selectmen have met with the Advisory Board to finalize a budget and focus on correcting any historical inequalities in the budget process and structure.

Advisory Board Chairman William Craig said the approximately $170,000 in free cash will be used to balance the budget. This brings the town's free cash amount down to near $66,000.

"I don't think any of us are pleased that we are making our safety net look like something you go to PetCo and scoop goldfish out of the water with, but that's what we have to do to make things work," Craig said.

The Advisory Board said that even though the budget will contain the certified school committee budget, the board has not yet decided if they will recommend it.

The School Committee on April 1 passed a $19.4 million with a total assessment to Cheshire of $2,680,449, including a transportation budget of $136,339 and a capital budget of $249,168. On Wednesday, Adams and the school district tentatively agreed on a compromise that would cut the town's assessment by $268,000; it was not clear how that change would impact Cheshire — or if the full School Committee would approve the reduction.

In any case, the assessment could still trigger a Proposition 2 1/2 override.

Craig said it becomes more complicated because the additional funds the school is looking for only maintain the services it has this year.

"We did not get in this position overnight, and this is not going to make things better, but just maintain," he said. "If we are kicking a can down the road we are just going to make the can bigger every time we kick it."

Selectwoman Carol Francesconi said she felt the decision should be up to town meeting.

"I think this is the year we set aside the school budget at annual town meeting because every year for the past 10 years at least no one sets aside the school budget," Francesconi said. "It just passes and they all walk out the door."

Craig agreed, saying the town needs to figure out what direction it wants to go with the school district and not just pass it through town meeting.

"This is something that everyone in the town needs to vote on," he said. "We need to ask people to speak up and have some discussion on the floor about long term impact. We just can't hand waive 55 percent of the budget."

Craig said the Advisory Board was disappointed about the regional school district budget process, the lack of information and the "piecemeal" data that changed from presentation to presentation. He said board has yet to receive a copy of the fiscal 2015 and 2016 budget as requested as well.

"We were very disappointed. We started out with a presentation here on one page that had absolutely no granularity to it," Craig said. "The meetings got a little more granular as we went through it, but every one of them said the sky is falling."

Even with difficulties with the school budget, Craig said not funding the school to keep it level to this year's budget will be bad for the town.

"The problem is not going to get better it's just going to keep getting worse, and I am concerned," he said. "If we go to Level 4 school (as state rated) what's it going to do to the rest of the town and the economy? ... People aren't going to want to live here."

Craig also said he would like to focus this year on correcting the structure of the budget and making it more consistent.

"It's the principle of having a uniform structure across the board," he said. "We need to at least get consistency in our process and document this stuff correctly for legacies going forward."

Craig believed it would help if salary increases were consistent across the board at 1.75 percent. The Selectmen's budget had several different increases and decreases.

For example the Selectmen and Conservation Commission took a 0 percent increase to be able to bump the salary of the selectmen's secretary up 3 percent.

Craig said this is not a good practice and that town should aim for consistency. He said the individual who received the raise often comes back next year looking for more.

"We have had experiences with that before and we don't really want to step into that pool again," Craig said. "It's the principle of it."

The Selectmen and Advisory Board compromised and decided to enter a default 2 percent increase across the board to those who asked for one. Those who submitted 0 will receive 0.

This was the case for most salaries except for the treasurer, who historically has been paid a lower amount by request of a past treasurer. The boards agreed to increase the treasurer's budget 15 percent, and gradually more over the years until it matches a fair level.

Craig said expenses need to be more clearly documented for better bookkeeping. He said he often receives expense sheets that are drawn with pencil and paper; he said this would not hold up in audit.

"When I see a penciled piece of paper that say 'you owe me five bucks' ... that's not going to stand up to audit," he said. "That's why we need the proper documentation for expenses, and we need to account for them in the proper place."

Craig also brought up concern about the town's budget itself, which has been ignoring infrastructure projects for years. He said because of the school's needs many of the town's infrastructure projects have been put off.

"Every year we cut that out, and we don't do this and we don't do that," he said. "We have to do something to keep our town from into turning into all dirt roads."

Town meeting will be June 8. If town meeting accepts the school's budget, there will be a Proposition 2 1/2 election June 15. The town shot down an override in 2011.

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