Adams Finance Committee Splits on School Budget Change
 The Finance Committee approved by one vote to recommend the school budget compromise hammered out with the town. |
ADAMS, Mass. – The Finance Committee narrowly accepted the transfer of $92,000 from the municipal budget to help fund the Adams-Cheshire Regional School District with a 5-4 vote.
The committee voted to recommend the budget Wednesday night after the Selectmen and School Committee reopened the budget.
Originally, the Finance Committee voted down the Selectmen's budget, feeling the school district needed more than the 4 percent increase the town offered.
That budget would have eliminate 28 positions in the district.
However after negotiations, the town and district were able to compromise and lower the district's recommended $19.4 million budget, that would require an override, to $19,106,529, which is under the town's levy capacity. This compromise means 12 lost positions and is a 6 percent increase over this year.
"We have come up with a number that I feel works for the town and that the superintendent thought worked for the School Committee," Town Administrator Tony Mazzucco said.
The town will eliminate the code enforcement officer, and two other full-time positions in the assessor's office and the Council on Aging will be replaced by two part-time employees each.
Finance Committee newcomer Jeffrey Lefebvre asked if the town will be able to function without the enforcement officer.
"In the past, it was really bad around here, and we have a high population of transients," Lefebvre said. "I usually go to Board of Health meetings and they have quite the list every month.”
Mazzucco said the Board of Health always has a member on call and any project too large can be contracted out if they can receive help from the state. He said the building inspector can handle apartment inspections and restaurant inspections can be contracted out. Town counsel is being underutilized, he said, and can be used in Housing Court and other Board of Health legal issues.
The town can review in a year to see if needs are being met and look into regionalization.
Assessor George Haddad was concerned cutting services could negatively affect the town and the district.
"Those multiple family housing units we are not on top of, and those absentee landlords, if we don't keep on top of that the impact on the school system is eventually going to be a far greater of a problem than they got today," Haddad said.
He added that having two part-time workers in the assessor's office could also be detrimental to the town because their work flow may not match up.
Mazzucco said these cuts would have happened in the future because the work force will be cut across the board.
"Nobody is happy losing staff ... but our finances are rather limited,"he said. "I don't want anyone to think there is such things as a good cut or a good lay off.”
Town Moderator Edward Driscoll said he was worried that the town was sacrificing services for "failed policies" in the district.
"You are taking these sacrifices in the town and you are simply endorsing the failed policies that have taken us to where we are now," Driscoll said.
He added that he and Mazzucco would like the Finance Committee to be more involved, help set financial policy, go to training, and meet more frequently.
"We are hoping to get some people on the board ... and get them more involved in the day to day so ... you guys will have to be involved in the concept and in the macro part of it to really be effective in doing the micro part of it," Driscoll said,
There are three vacant position on the Finance Committee the moderator must appoint.
Tags: board of health, code enforcement, Finance Committee, fiscal 2016, school budget,
