Town Meeting Approves Fiscal 2011 Budget

The 2010 Town Meeting approved the fiscal year 2011 budget with relative ease Wednesday night, May 27, completing the second and final evening in a little over two hours.

As Town Meeting representatives discussed and voted on the separate items in Article 4 that addressed the budget, they were able to see what each would cost in a needs-based budget as well as the price tag if the June 14 override passes with an additional $2 million for town.

"This year, we realized the amount of available revenue (Belmont has for fiscal year 2011) was not going to be enough," said Philip Curtis, chairman of the Warrant Committee.

"What we are showing is the available revenue budget and contingent budget if the override passes," he said.

That information allowed Town Meeting representatives to know exactly what would be added back into various aspects of the town and school sides of the budget with an override vote.

The town departments certainly need additional revenue, said Board of Selectmen Chairman Ralph Jones.

"The budgets for general government departments are small because they've been cutting their staff for decades," he said.

"They've been asked to do more with less for the last 30 years and we're at a point where we can't cut anymore," said Jones.

The schools have also been asked to do more with less, said School Committee member Dan Scharfman who spoke to the meeting outlining the School Department budget.

Public school teachers are not overpaid; the school department is not hiring staff faster than students enroll, Scharfman said. In fact, he pointed out, enrollment has grown by 11 percent whereas the number of teachers has grown by 6.6 percent.

The challenge facing the school system, Scharfman said, is No Child Left Behind that requires equal achievement for all students regardless of their ability. Teaching is a noble profession, he said, but an expensive one.

Town Meeting members listened to the committee and board members and then approved the following amounts of money to be raised by general tax:

• To appropriate $3,393,767 to general government;

• To appropriate $1,819,593 to employee/retirement benefits and an additional $50,000 should the override pass;

• To appropriate $11,294,518 to public safety and an additional $255,548 should the override pass;

• To appropriate $39,702,570 to the schools and an additional $1 million should the override pass;

• To appropriate $751,311 to Minuteman Regional and Vocational School;

• To appropriate $8,574,006 to public services) which includes the Department of Public Works, building services and community development) and an additional $82,455 should the override pass;

• To appropriate $776,270 to Human Services that includes the Health Department, Council on Aging, Veterans' Services and Animal Control;

• To appropriate $2,438,677 to culture and recreation that includes the library and recreation department and an additional $14,800 should the override pass;

• To appropriate $6,137,009 for debt and interest on debt which includes the fire stations, athletic fields, senior center and Wellington School.

The meeting itself was extremely efficient, said Town Moderator Michael Widmer as the Chenery Middle School auditorium emptied just before 10 p.m.

"I appreciated the courteousness of Town Meeting members and the thoughtfulness of their questions," he said. "Good decorum prevailed the entire evening."

Widmer believes the reason the questions asked were so focused and the process streamlined was due to the number of Town Meeting representatives who attended one of the two budget forums held on May 13 and May 20 with representatives from the School Committee, Board of Selectmen and Warrant Committee to discuss the town's resources, proposed budget and the upcoming Proposition 2 1/2 override vote.

"I hope {the forums} become a regular feature of the budget process because a lot of good information comes out in informal sessions such as those," he said.

That renewed focus was evident as Town Meeting reviewed and voted on nine separate items for the budget.

Town Meeting members asked town officials to elaborate on issues such as why the town has not looked into seeking additional revenue through parking meters, whether the school committee has looked into the merits of e-learning, if teachers' health insurance could be changed to the state plan and whether or not that would save the town money and if the town and school departments are actively looking to mitigate costs through regionalization for various services.

"Over the years, Town Meeting has become frustrated when so much time is spent on information-seeking questions. The whole body appreciates a focus on broader issues," said Widmer.