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Date: 11/30/2022
LONGMEADOW – Longmeadow Interim Finance Director Paul Pasterczyk gave a presentation on the town’s preliminary budget assumptions to the Select Board on Nov. 21.
First, he addressed the tax levy for fiscal year 2024 (FY24). A fiscal year’s tax levy is calculated based on the previous year’s levy plus overrides, exclusion and growth. Under state law, a municipality can add up to 2.5 percent of the previous fiscal year’s tax levy when calculating the new year’s tax levy.
In recent years, the town has endeavored to limit the amount added to the levy limit to 1.7 percent, but this year, the Finance Committee recommended 2.44 percent be added, as it is “a carry forward that we did not use in prior years,” Pasterczyk said.
The FY23 tax levy was $79.28 million, and 2.44 percent of that is $1.93 million. The town’s new growth in 2021, the latest year for which there is data, was $200,000. State aid is estimated to be $308,481, while local receipts, such as those that go into the water and sewer retained earnings funds, total $141,241. Altogether, the town’s FY24 tax levy limit is approximately $81.85 million with $2.46 million in new resources.
However, the town also has new expenses. Salaries for the school department and other non-wage positions have risen by $1.25 million, or 3 percent. Pasterczyk pointed out that two-thirds of the town’s annual budget goes to salaries. Employee health insurance is up $267,000 and other employee benefits are up $1.01 million. Retirement benefits are up by $321,600.
The town’s contribution to other post-employment benefits (OPEB), which covers retiree benefits such as health insurance, is up by $306,927. Pasterczyk described this as a “catch-up” from FY23, when only half of the required funds came out of the operating budget.
The town has $200,000 in debt service due to the middle school feasibility study and $86,400 increase in the capital contribution.
In total, required new spending comes to $2.65 million. Despite the $190,000 difference, Pasterczyk said, “It is almost a balanced budget.”
Pasterczyk went on to address the town’s looming “fiscal cliff,” when providing services to the town will require the tax rate to hit $25, the ceiling under state law. He said his “sources” say property valuation for FY23 will be up by between 12 and 20 percent. This will impact the tax rate formula and lower the tax rate, Pasterczyk said. So, while residents’ property tax bills will increase because home values have increased, the difference in the tax levy limit and the tax ceiling will double, from $6 million to $12 million.
Select Board Vice Chair Mark Gold asked how much property values would need to decline to reach a point at which Longmeadow could not “meet our obligations?” Pasterczyk said home values would have to go down 20 percent and said he had never seen a one-year decline that large.
Select Board member Thomas Lachiusa opined that the town should see increased property values in the future because people working from home “will want to live in town.” Finance Committee member Maury Garrett Jr., who was present at the meeting, agreed and said those people would want to improve their home because they would be spending more time there.
Select Board member Dan Zwirko suggested the future fees charged to residents should be adjusted because they have remained steady for about a decade. Pasterczyk noted that some fees are set by the state, but the town has flexibility in setting others. However, he cautioned that fees are meant to cover the cost of town department work. For example, a building permit covers the cost of the building inspector examining the site as well as the office work that goes into filing permits.
The Select Board will set the tax classification at a public hearing on Dec. 5. Pasterczyk summed up his presentation, saying, “I don’t think anyone can be crazy with their bottom line. There has to be some fiscal constraints.”
Special education hike
While discussing finances, Longmeadow School Committee Chair Nicole Choiniere addressed a 14 percent hike in out-of-district placements for students with high needs. The tuition prices for private special education programs are set by the state’s Operational Services Division. “This is a significant increase,” estimated at $340,000 in additional costs, Choiniere said.
Longmeadow Public Schools Superintendent M. Martin O’Shea said, “It’s really an inflationary thing.” Even so, he pointed out, increases tied to inflation are usually in the 1.5 to 2.25 percent range.
When asked if the spike will result in a state aid increase, Choiniere explained that if it does, the district will not see the extra funding until FY25. She added that she had sent letters to the state delegation requesting they address this issue.
Garrett asked if the district was able to choose where to send high needs students. O’Shea explained that a student’s placement is largely a function of their needs and that the district is required to provide them with “a free and appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment.”
Special election
A petition to conduct a special election was submitted to the town clerk with more than 200 certified signatures. This requires that the town call an election for the remainder of former board member Steve Marantz’s term on the Select Board. The board had chosen not to conduct an election when Marantz vacated his seat due to the cost to the town and the limited time left in the term, which expires June 30, 2023.
When setting the date of the election, the board considered that the law calls for 92 days between a certified petition for an election and the date of voting. Lachiusa commented that it is “unfair” to women to have the campaign for the seat coincide with holidays. “Are there people that have a primary responsibility to their families to prepare for the holidays and shop, and would they be at a disadvantage running at this time of year? Specifically, women, but in general,” he asked.
Select Board Chair Joshua Levine commented that he received his signatures to run for the Select Board while at a holiday party, but Lachiusa countered, “But if you had to be in the kitchen cooking you might not have had those done.”
Levine noted that it could not be scheduled much later in the year, because it would conflict with the legally required 100-day buffer ahead of the Annual Town Election. In the end, the election was set for March 7 with a preliminary election on Feb. 7, if more than two people run.
Pipeline
Resident Gary Levine addressed the board regarding the state Energy Facility Siting Board (EFSB)’s virtual public hearing on Dec. 14 at 6 p.m. to discuss the Eversource Reliability Project, which plans to locate a metering station and pipeline in Longmeadow. He said a single hearing in a virtual format was unacceptable for such an important topic, as was the Jan. 2, 2023, deadline for written comments, as the window conflicts with the holidays. He urged the board to petition for a change in the hearing date and format.
Board Chair Levine said that he would write a letter to the EFSB on behalf of the board.
Other topics
Town Manager Lyn Simmons updated the board on various items. Surplus town equipment, including plows, crane equipment and furniture was sold at auction for $82,000, she said. Simmons also reported that Longmeadow Police Department’s Amanda Van Buskirk, whose duties have included being the town’s dog officer, was promoted to sergeant.
A liquor license was approved for Fletcher’s BBQ Shop and Steakhouse, which plans to be open in March. The restaurant will be located at 408 Longmeadow St.
There is a vacancy on the Finance Committee. The person appointed to the seat will serve until June 30, 2023. Applications are available at https://www.longmeadowma.gov and must be submitted by 12 p.m. on Dec. 2.
The town manager noted that after attending a conference with her counterparts from other municipalities, she recognized the value of having a good relationship with the Select Board. “We’re very lucky to have that here,” Simmons said, noting that not all cities and towns do.