CLARKSBURG, Mass. — The Finance Committee is recommending that voters dip into the stabilization account to level fund the budget this year. 

 

Normally, town meeting would be asked to use free cash to lower the tax rate but, at the moment, the town has no free cash. Fiscal 2022 has not yet been certified and is not likely to be certified by the state before the annual town meeting on June 1. 

 

Instead, the Finance Committee on Wednesday morning voted to recommend the use of up to $100,000 in stabilization funds with the intent to replace them at a future special town meeting once free cash is certified. 

 

"I understand the importance of having a stabilization fund. I understand that departments need money to operate. I don't see any game playing with this budget for any department," said Chairman James Stakenas. "This is what they need to operate."

 

The draft budget accepted on Wednesday is comprised of town operating budget of $1,814,585 that is up $58,738 or 3.35 percent over this year. The school budget is $2,782,763, up $73,058 or 2.7 percent, with an assessment from McCann Technical School of $313,046, down $34,896 or 10 percent, over this year.

 

The total proposed spending plan is $4,910,394, up $96,899 over this year.

 

"A lot of the departments are level funded. Major changes to the budget are related to collective bargaining, insurance, pensions, things not outside of our control, but things that we can't manipulate," said Stakenas. He said the review would look at some larger issues but not get into smaller items. 

 

"I think that, by and large, we've held the line reasonably well," said Town Administrator Carl McKinney. "And our goal is to hopefully not use any reserves but that may not be possible. I get that. If it would be my belief, that if we're going to use any reserves, it's most likely stabilization."

 

Appropriating from the stabilization fund will require a two-thirds vote of town meeting.

 

McKinney said the largest driver in the budget is a 7.5 percent increase in group health insurance along with retirement costs and wage increases. There are some minor increases, such as for the statewide elections this year and hikes in energy prices.

 

There are no capital requests in this budget. Last year, town meeting authorized $227,000 in free cash for a new backhoe, a police cruiser (expected to arrive this month) and repairs to the town field pavilion, and put another $50,000 in stabilization. It also used $60,000 to lower the tax rate.

 

McKinney said already appropriated funds could be encumbered for some smaller projects, including replacing the town's wooden ballot box with a more modern device.

 

The committee and McKinney also discussed the potential for future increases in the police budget because of the state's police reform bill that requires 200 hours of training for reserve officers. A number of smaller towns have highlighted the expense in training part-time officers, including paying them during the training. It was a issue to keep in mind, they said, but not something they could solve this day.

 

Stakenas noted that department has rarely used all its funding for reserve officers in a given year but this year is asking for an $8,000 increase. 

 

"I just want to make a point that that's a number we could tweak a little bit if you need it," he said. "That's all I'm not proposing any changes right now."

 

School officials also presented their budget and Stakenas completed them on "a marvelous job of keeping within the resources that we have." The school was able to keep below 3 percent, he noted, when Pittsfield was up 7 percent and other schools were up 3 or 4 percent. 

 

Superintendent John Franzoni said increases were mainly from a new bus contract, health insurance, wages and projected utitility costs. The bus contract does not include the prekindergarten program; Franzoni said the cost would be too high because it would have to be a bus with seat belts and monitors. The school is working with parents to make it easier for them to drop off the children.

 

The school will also be expanding the prekindergarten program to separate 3- and 4-year-olds but plans to utilize an existing employee as a 0.5 teacher. Principal Tara Barnes said the preschool, approved by town meeting last year, has been very successful. 

 

"There's 20 students who are 3 and 4 years old this year. We have 24 right now signed up, and we haven't even gone through the summer months," she said. "You've clearly got an influx of young families coming into Clarksburg who are looking for this preK program and my belief is that they want a preK to 8 school because they they like the idea of their child staying in the same space from 3 years old all the way to eighth grade. ...

 

"It's great that this town has supported that early childhood program, you're really filling a need that has has existed and is growing in your town."

 

Stakenas asked how many potential students there are for the program. Barnes said a survey was done last year for ages beginning at one that she could get to him. 

 

"I think we have a sustainable enroll enrollment projection," she said. "And I also think with the houses that you have for sale in town, you know families looking at this as a viable selling point for your town to move into Clarksburg knowing that this program exists." 

 

The school is losing eight school-choice students this year and is holding off for the moment on opening any new slots because of the growth in enrollment and to keep classroom capacity lower in case of a resurgence in COVID-19. 

 

McKinney said the town's added $920,000 worth of growth, not county solar and small projects, and that there are three building permits so far for new homes. He said he was being conservative in anticipating $12,000 in new tax revenue.

 

He said he's working on state revenue numbers off the House budget passed last week but the exact amount the town can count on won't be known until the state budget is passed. The Senate has not voted on its version yet. 

 

The Finance Committee voted to recommend the use of stabilization funds and the budget as presented so far but will hold another meeting to finalize the figures closer to the annual town meeting.