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Date: 4/11/2023
LUDLOW — State Sen. Jake Oliveira (D-Ludlow) and state Rep. Aaron Saunders (D-Belchertown) visited the Board of Selectmen at its April 4 meeting to give legislative updates and hear concerns.
Oliveira said Town Administrator Marc Strange had been a big help in making sure the town is able to secure money from the state government.
“Bonded funding is not direct guaranteed money but we have been able to put in place markers in various different bond bills that we have authorized at the state level for things like HVAC for [Town Hall], looking at intersections that can be dangerous like the Fuller, Chapin area, looking at other road projects or reworkings them. Marc has always been someone that I can rely on to find the needs of Ludlow,” Oliveira said.
The Board of Selectmen discussed a facilities condition assessment at its March 21 meeting that revealed major issues with HVAC system include Town Hall, the community center pool, the golf course, and the Public Safety Complex.
Local aid, Chapter 70 and Chapter 90 funds were the main discussion points because they are the biggest funds when it comes to assisting the municipal government’s needs.
Oliveira said the Western Massachusetts delegation is working on reworking the current funding formulas for Chapter 90 that is based on number of employees, population, roadways and low densely populated communities.
Oliveira added, “[Ludlow] can be considered that because we have a lot of roads. We on the Senate side put in a pot of funds, $25 million above and beyond the $200 million for low densely populated communities. That’s going to be divided up into communities based on miles of roadways which would benefit Ludlow greatly.”
There is also additional money for small bridge repairs and culvert repairs, according to Oliveira.
With budget season being in full swing, the Board of Selectmen and School Committee have hosted a few meetings to discuss the schools request and how much the town is willing to fund.
Strange said, “It is still a fluid situation. We have factored in the treasurer/collector combination, we factored in the DPW changes and there were some small changes in the assessors apartment. As we sit here, we are $517,000 under capacity which would give the school department 3%.”
Oliveira added that communities like Ludlow have not had the benefit of the Student Opportunity Act but announce changes may be coming.
Oliveira said, “The benefit of reworking the funding formula a few years ago is that we are not waiting another 25 or 30 years before we crack open that funding formula. We are on year three or year four of funding of that round of that seven-year process of fully funding of what was decided by commission. My goal is when we rework that formula in the next years, that communities like Ludlow get preference and greater funding to accommodate for rising costs.”
Special education costs including out-of-district placements are going up by 14.5% which is outpacing inflation and what districts can afford according to Oliveira.
The state created a pot of funds called circuit breaker funding for the costs that go above the average per person spending for the district. The state made a commitment to reimburse 75% of that sepnding but Oliveira has filed a bill to increases that to 90%.
School Committee Chair Jeff Laing said, “This is an issue because as our population grows and special education have more requirements. We are at the point now where we are mandated to provide those services to those students, understandably so. I’m afraid we may be at the point that we are now reducing other staff in other areas and losing electives for our students in our general education.”
Currently 19% of students at Ludlow schools require special education assistance and the preliminary funding needed for fiscal year 2024 is approximately $4.1 million.
Selectman Bill Rosenblum added that the Board of Selectmen cannot give the schools what they need based on the rising costs that they can’t keep up with.
The school budget takes up 44% of the overall town budget.
“Seeing an increase that they have been getting from the state at a 0.03% or something crazy like that. Costs of goods, living and everything else is going up, it is unsustainable to give them what they need.”
The Ludlow Mills were also discussed during the meeting about how important they are to the development of the town and model to the rest of the state.
Saunders said, “Less than a week into the office officially, [Gov. Maura Healey] was at the Ludlow Mills. She could of went to any of the 351 cities and towns but she went there. It is a model. Not just for Western Massachusetts but across the state as we take on housing challenges.”
Rosenblum added that the Ludlow Mills project and Chapter 70 funds are two areas that Ludlow coud use help in.
Besides the funding the state provides for schools and roads, Selectman Manny Silva would like to see senior citizens receive more help.
He said, “Love all these projects, great, we are getting money but that’s not helping elderly. People that are struggling day in and day out. We were doing projects that are absolutely needed but where is the help for the people that are struggling. I saw some of these incomes from residents and I am astonished of how they are living and how they can afford it.”
Saunders said, “The house is going to be taking up broad based tax reform and it is going to focused on the people who are struggling the most to meet the day-to-day cost of living. We are going to be taking that up this year.”
Both Saunders and Oliveira have ties to Ludlow and said they are familiar with the problems in Ludlow and said that they are willing to help in any way they can.
Both Oliveira and Saunders have connections to Ludlow. Oliveira served on its School Committee for 12 years and Saunders was a former Ludlow selectman.