Finance Board talks cuts with department heads
Published on February 25th, 2004
STONEHAM, MA - In a unanimous vote of dissent, the town's Finance and Advisory Board agreed last Monday night to send a letter to the Board of Selectmen contesting virtually every aspect of the FY05 budget process to date.
Arguing that the Selectmen's Feb. 11 vote for a $2.7 million override came prematurely, that the town administrator's estimated $3.9 million FY05 deficit needed adjustments to show a shortfall closer to $6 million, and that projected revenues and total budget costs ignored fiscal policy guidelines adopted in 1999, finance board members agreed that they will not support any of the recent actions taken by town officials.
"The Finance and Advisory Board expects an override budget, as entertained by the Selectmen on Feb. 11, to satisfy the normal and recurring operations of the town. An override budget will be in full compliance with the Fiscal Policy Guidelines adopted in 1999," the letter read.
"Without a better understanding of why a $3.9 million budget deficit was used for the base of an override, we are unable to support the action of the Selectmen on Feb. 11," continued the correspondence, which was prepared by Finance and Advisory Board Chairman John Warren immediately after last Monday's meeting adjourned.
Remarking that the Selectmen's inability to submit a finalized budget to the Finance Board on Feb. 11, as called for by Stoneham's town code, impedes his board's ability to properly analyze the budget, Warren characterized the process thus far as a morale killer for town employees whose job security remains uncertain.
"It keeps us vague and conceptual and it's a huge obstacle. So it affects morale and the worst part of this whole process is the insecurity of not knowing," said Warren, whose board has tried to stay on task by meeting with department heads for the past month.
Meeting with MIS/GIS Director Brian Clapp, Recreation Program Coordinator Christine DelRossi, Stoneham Arena Director June Scarpa, and Unicorn Recreation Director Richard Arzillo, the Finance Board encountered tangible signs of that eroding morale as the department heads lamented that the fiscal uncertainty hindered their ability to move forward with necessary preparations for summer activities.
"Everybody wants to know yesterday if we're going to be here in July. I don't know whether I should pack up and close up shop. I'm in a really tough spot right now," commented DelRossi, who needs to hire part-time employees as soon as possible if the summer parks program is to continue next year.
"It's really tough because most of us don't know if we'll be here. There's just so many things. They have us hanging in limbo," added Scarpa, whose job was eliminated under the town administrator's budget.
While board members already seemed poised to challenge the Selectmen's decision to work off Town Administrator David Berry's budget, which zero-funds the capital, reserve and stabilization accounts, the Finance Board took several informational cues provided by department heads to bolster their opposition to the budget calculations.
Questioning Arzillo about the prudence of counting on golf fee increases to augment anticipated revenues for FY05, the Unicorn Recreation Director warned that the additional receipts might not materialize, as prior attempts to increase the non-resident senior golf fees resulted in customers turning to other golf courses.
"The golf business is kind of on a down swing right now. The Tiger Woods era has hit its peak and has kind of dropped," said Arzillo. "Basically, what he's trying to do is make the senior resident rate and non-resident rate equitable. But with that said, Mr. Nutting did this in 1998 and we found that seniors went elsewhere...As far as I know, by raising rates for three years in a row, if that's what [Berry's] trying to do, we might lose customers."
While Arzillo's comments validated the board's skepticism with the proposed revenue increases, Clapp's statements about the status of the town's computer hardware and infrastructure underscored the Finance Board's conclusion that the town needed to include funding in the FY05 budget for capital repairs.
"I have PCs that were the first 10 computers that I bought in this town and they're still online...If you go through my operating budget, there's two software maintenance costs that we have to pay for. That leaves me $5700 to keep the rest of the computer inventory running. I'm using bubble gum and paper clips to patch them up," complained Clapp, adding that he's responsible for the 150 computers in Town Hall.
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