Adams Finalizing FY27 Budget Amid Staffing Uncertainty
ADAMS, Mass. — Officials continue to finalize fiscal year 2027's budget ahead of the annual town meeting, navigating numerous unknowns stemming from staff vacancies.
During a joint Finance Committee and Select Board meeting on Thursday, a budget of $21,458,601 was presented.
More than half of the budget, not including schools, is for personnel, amounting to $8,721,572, while the remaining $4,075,600.19 is for operational costs.
Education accounts for more than a third of the budget, making up 38.16 percent of the total spending plan at $8,018,218 — a 4.27 percent, or $328,341, increase from FY26.
Of that, the Hoosac Valley Regional School District's assessments is $6,814,144 and McCann Technical School is $1,204,074.
The budget can be broken out into several categories, with Finance and Technology, and Public Safety being the second-and-third largest.
Finance and Technology accounts for 15.78 percent of the total budget, allocating to $3,205,469, an increase of 9.32 percent or $273,186. While Public Safety makes up 12.11 percent, amounting to $2,494,514, an increase of 5.23 percent or $124,034.
Other categories include
- Public Works: 10.58 percent of the budget amounting to $2,162,201, and increase of $63,523 or 3.03 percent,
- Waste Water: 7.16 percent of the budget amounting to $1,529,329, an increase of $137,601 or 9.89 percent,
- Public Services: 3.91 percent of the budget, amounting to $850,054, an increase of $59,878 or 7.58 percent,
- General Government: 2.96 percent of the budget, amounting to $639,452, an increase of $64,339 or 11.19 percent,
- Community Development: 2.47 percent of the budget, amounting to $517,693, an increase of $3,175 or 0.62,
- Buildings: 1.88 percent of the budget, amounting to 398,975, a decrease of $58,001 or -12.69 percent,
- Executive: 1.68 percent of the budget, amounting to $351,679, an increase of $27,441 or 8.46 percent
- Debt: 1.61 percent of the budget, amounting to $339,500, a decrease of $42,175 or -11.05 percent,
- Inspection: 1.33 percent of the budget, amounting to $280,174, an increase of $5,743 or 2.09 percent,
- Assessments: 0.28 percent of the budget, amounting to $58,312, an increase of $1,456 or 2.56 percent,
- Public Health: 0.08 percent of the budget, amounting to $16,576, an increase of $2,776 or 20.12 percent.
The town took a conservative approach in building the budget because of several vacant positions, which have created uncertainty around costs related to health insurance, union contract negotiations, and the budget needs of incoming department heads based on how they choose to operate their departments.
Open positions include finance director/accountant, building inspector, police chief, assistant treasurer/tax collector, community development director, and an anticipated retirement in the Department of Public Works in the operational supervisor position.
The positions have been conservatively budgeted at previous rates, maintaining each staff member's prior step or grade, as if the roles were filled full time.
"We're knee deep in interviews advertising for all these positions," Town Administrator Nicholas Caccamo said.
Health insurance for these roles have been budgeted assuming the new personnel picks the family plan, ensuring the funds are available.
However, some committee members wonder if more pencil sharpening on that amount can be done to reflect historical spending.
"It appears as though there's boiler plated input every year and some line items, we show history that there's no spend on it. So the decision was to try and look at cutting it in half. They're not spending it. It shouldn't affect how they operate," one committee member said.
The department's committee members eyed for cuts included Community Development, for a proposed $10,000 reduction, Visitor Center for a proposed $5,000 reduction, Police Department, for "boilerplate" requests, and Greylock Glen, reductions to several line items including marketing, building maintenance, and an outdated BFAIR item.
Community Development and Police are the two worst places to make cuts because they are very boiler plate as the budgets are carried over from the previous department head, Caccamo said.
"We don't have a community development person and a police chief… and I guess as long as we all understand that when we do get those positions filled, that those needs might then come back to these boards, and they might be asking for an increase in these areas," one committee member said.
Caccamo said the town can earnestly look at having a special town meeting sometime in October when the positions have been filled and they have a better idea on figures.
Having a special town meeting isn't a problem as long as it is done before the town sets the tax rate, he said.
Tags: adams_budget, fiscal 2027,
