Selectmen Consider Fiscal Year-End Budget Items

With the fiscal year soon drawing to a close, the Board of Selectmen last night considered several budget items, including potential shortfalls, approval of bond anticipation notes and a summary of completed and current Department of Public Works projects.

The Finance Department presented a look at outstanding expenses in the fiscal 2010 budget, and how the town can transfer balances from one department to another to settle the budget.

The largest outstanding liability is for the snow and ice budget, which had a deficit of $655,091. A vote at Town Meeting secured $200,000 toward paying it down, and another $300,000 from DPW surplus funds can be applied, leaving the deficit at $155,091. The Finance Department proposed using a transfer from the town's reserve fund to cover that remainder.

Other outstanding balances include $10,000 in police overtime payments,  $315,000 for contractual settlements with the firefighter's union, $60,000 in unanticipated repairs to fire station equipment and $73,000 to purchase a simulcast transmitter. Transfers from the salary account, employee benefits account and money from the reserve fund could cover these expenses, according to members of the Finance Department.

Finally, an outstanding $13,000 shortfall in the budget is due to vacation time buybacks from the Town Manager's Office and the Finance Department, and those expenses could be covered with the salary transfer account, members of the Finance Department said. 

Still up for additional review are the Town Manager's Office expenses and workers-compensation expenses.

Selectman Norman Cohen said he was impressed with the way the Finance Department was able to fund the town's budget, with the only oustanding costs able to be covered by other areas of the budget.

"Not every community can say that," he said.

The Finance Department will submit the final numbers to the Appropriations Committee on June 30, and the Board of Selectmen will vote on the fiscal 2010 budget at its next meeting on July 12.

The board did vote on the issuance of bond anticipation, or BAN, notes. Eastern Bank was the lowest bidder out of four, with a proposed interest rate of .644 percent. The selectmen unanimously approved the proposal.

The DPW presented a list of its fiscal 2010 completed and current public works projects, including maintenance projects. Seventeen projects, with a price tag of $6.2 million, were completed or are scheduled to be completed by the end of the fiscal year, said Bill Hadley, DPW director.

Most of the completed DPW work was related to assessing, repairing and replacing drainage systems to eliminate water problems, including at the center play fields, the School Street sewer, the Lake Street drain, Ross Road and Ivan Street drainage, and installing a new water main on Bird Will, Moon Hill, Rockville Avenue and Moreland Avenue

Hadley said he was especially proud of the work done on the Lake Street drain, since there had previously been a lot of problems and numerous calls to the department from that area.

"The town supported fixing the drain and there were no calls for that area during recent storms, so it's a nice little success story for the town," he said.

However, the amount of ongoing projects outpace completed projects 2-1, with some scheduled to be completed in 2011 and some anticipated to finish before the end of the year. The funds slated for those projects total $9.7 million.

One important timeline for ongoing paving projects, Hadley said, is that all projects should be completed by the time school starts in September to allow for an easier commute. The DPW hopes also to improve communication about the ongoing construction to the public.

"We'll be using an email list to send out information, and using electric board signs," Hadley said. "We also hope to put up an update about the current projects on the website, including putting a map up to say 'Stay away from here.'"

The selectmen next meet on July 12 at 7:30 p.m., and also have a goal-setting meeting scheduled for Tuesday, June 29 at 8 a.m. in the meeting room at the Hadley Public Services Building on Bedford Street.