Town Meeting ready for May5
Published on April 30th, 2003
STONEHAM, MA - When all is said and done, Stoneham Town Officials will be presenting a $55.1 million budget for FY2004 at the annual Town Meeting at Stoneham Town Hall next Monday, May 5 at 7:30 p.m. The budget, Article 18 on your scorecards at home, will be the centerpiece of 29 article Warrant that town officials hope to wrap up in one evening.
"This year, due to the economy and drop in State Aid, it has been a difficult accomplishment (to construct a budget)," wrote Finance and Advisory Board Chairman Richard Gregorio in the recently printed Annual Town Meeting Warrant and Town Meeting Book.
Three hundred copies of the 52 page document are available at the Stoneham Independent, Stoneham Post office, and Stoneham Town Hall among other local locations.
"It was a difficult job trying to pare down operating budgets and attempting to save town positions wherever we could," said Town Administrator Dave Berry. "There were some tough decisions though, that's for sure."
In addition to the arduous fiscal decisions, Berry and other town officials know that the budget numbers may change. Depending on whom to talk to, the recently released House of Representatives FY04 budget (approximately $7 million in local aid) is $400,000 less than Governor Mitt Romney's proposed FY04 budget ($7.4 million).
"There's normally a pattern where the Governor releases a budget, then the House releases a budget that's a little bit less," said Finance and Advisory Board member John Warren. "Then the Senate comes in with a budget that provides more local aid than the Governor's budget...But who knows this year."
With all that in mind, the town of Stoneham is asking for approximately $900,000 more than the FY2003 budget, and will be utilizing over $1 million from the Stabilization Fund.
While the fiscal picture is not as dire as some first thought it to be for FY2004, many think that an eventual override is a certainty. The raiding of the stabilization fund, as well as the one time only utilization of $1.1 million in revenue from the Water and Sewer surplus fund, will keep the town of Stoneham afloat next year. The Stoneham Police will not fill a pair of vacant positions, the Stoneham school department will raise fees and eliminate nine positions including aides and reading teachers, and seemingly every department took a hit in the operating budget.
"Departments will have to cut back on supplies, taking any kind of job-improvement workshops, and fees will be raised as a result of the drop in state aid," said Berry. "We just have to tighten our belt, and hope that this thing turns around in the next few years."
With overrides either up for approval or already voted in for Melrose, Reading and Winchester, it seems like it's only a matter of time before Stoneham meets a similar fiscal fork in the road.
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