Adams Officials Recommend $16.9M FY2023 Budget

ADAMS, Mass. — Both the Finance Committee and Board of Selectmen have unanimously approved a town budget amount of $16,986,973 for fiscal year 2023 after a month of budget workshop meetings to discuss individual costs and line items. 

The two boards approved the final number on Thursday after reviewing minor adjustments with Town Accountant Crystal Wojcik and Town Administrator Jay Green. The budget is a 4.68 percent increase over the previous fiscal year's budget. 

"We've spent several weeks reviewing. I thank Crystal [Wojcik] and Jay [Green] and all the department heads and anyone else who has provided input to this budget," said Board of Selectmen Chair John Duval. 

The town's most significant expense is personnel services at $6,847,119, making up 39.77 percent of total expenditures, a 5.5 percent budget increase from the this fiscal year. Operating expenses account for 14.57 percent of the town expenditures at $2,508,619, a 2.78 percent increase from last year. 

Assessments for the Hoosac Valley Regional School District are the town's second-largest expense at $5,637,361, a 3.05 percent increase from this year and accounting for 32.74 percent of town expenditures. Assessments for McCann Technical School decreased by 10.17 percent compared to last year, for a total of $948,049. Both assessments are largely based on enrollment.

Finance Committee member Charles Foster said he was concerned about how an ongoing lawsuit with the Fire District regarding its fees could impact Adams' budget. Duval said the town plans to work with the Fire District to determine the next steps once legal proceedings conclude. 

"We have not been provided with any outcome or direction to move forward," he said. "We will be meeting with those officials over the next week or so ... If it's after we approve the warrants, we will bring it up at town meeting. So your vote for the budget this evening is the correct process and path because we do not know what the direction will be." 

Green said what happens with the Fire District should not affect this budget. 

"What they do is completely independent of the town of Adams," he said. "So when you get a tax bill this year, we're not sure what it's going to look like. But no matter what happens, your real estate taxes is your real estate tax based on this document, not on the Fire District." 

Green shared plans for Adams' estimated $1 million in free cash at the first budget workshop on March 31. The town will use $250,000 to offset the tax rate and $250,000 to fund several small projects, including $100,000 for public building improvements, $50,000 to fund furniture costs at the Greylock Glen Outdoor Center, $30,000 for Department of Public Works equipment and $20,000 for a new facilities management vehicle.

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