Warrant Committee Balks At Schools Bailout

The Warrant Committee unanimously voted Wednesday, June 17, to transfer $90,300 from its reserve fund to the Department of Public Works for the professional tree service crews that worked 12-hour days for over a week and related expenses following the June 6 thunderstorm.

But the town's financial watch dog balked at the Belmont School Department's request for $67,000 to cover an end-of-year deficit.

When the School Department's Director of Finance and Administration, Dr. Gerry Missal, explained the reason for the transfer request, he and members of the committee maintained civil tones of voice but there was underlying tension in their discussion.

The principal of the Warrant Committee's reserve fund is for unexpected expenses, such as the damage from the recent microburst, and not for covering budget gaps, said Chairman Philip Curtis.

Missal, however, said the school department did run into unexpected costs such as slightly more than $10,000 for the Wellington Elementary School move to modular classrooms in mid-year that were not charged back to the Building Committee as well as special education transportation costs.

"The $177,000 deficit in special education costs was unforeseen," he said. "We're only asking for $67,000."

Moreover, Missal and School Committee Chairwoman Ann Rittenburg maintained that for fiscal year 2010, the school department attempted a one-time experiment of deducting $300,000 from the bottom line of the salary budget based upon speculative savings from teacher transitions.

The Warrant Committee's School Advisory subcommittee advised the schools a year ago that its officials could come back to recoup a deficit for unpredictable costs from the reserve fund.

"We have acted in good faith based on our assurances from the Warrant Committee," Missal said.

"I feel like the rules are changing right in front of us," said Rittenburg.

Committee members said they did not state the schools should come back to ask for money from the reserve funds for budget predictions that turned out to be incorrect. The reserve fund, they said, is not slated to "bail out" a department with a budget deficit.

The Warrant Committee's School Subcommittee advised against approving the transfer with the majority of members voting to accept that recommendation. Rittenburg voted against supporting the subcommittee's recommendation and Kimberly Becker abstained from voting.