Mayor begins budget process

Date: 3/20/2012

March 21, 2012

By Debbie Gardner

debbieg@thereminder.com

WEST SPRINGFIELD — Fiscal prudence was the focus of Mayor Gregory Neffinger's weekly press conference last Tuesday.

"Our overall goal [with the fiscal year 2013 (FY13) budget] is to reduce the tax rate. That's what I ran on, and that's what I was elected for," Neffinger said. "The only way to reduce taxes is to reduce spending."

Neffinger said he has already requested that all town departments submit FY13 projections to the town's Chief Financial Officer and Accountant Sharon Wilcox that represent a hypothetical 10 percent cut from their FY12 budgets. He said, to date, all town departments have complied.

"For some it was a dusting off of last year's [budget projections]," Neffinger said, noting that his predecessor, Edward Gibson, traditionally asked town departments to provide budgets reflecting 5- and 10-percent reductions in spending, as well as a level funding scenario.

Neffinger said for FY12, West Springfield has an operating budget of approximately $88 million, of which 25 percent — or $23.34 million — is state aid. The rest of the budget is funded annually through residential and business or commercial property tax revenues, and the town's free cash reserves.

The mayor said state aid for FY13 is projected to be $23.71 million, a figure, he noted, that still needs approval from both houses of the Legislature and Gov. Deval Patrick.

So far, Wilcox has met with the heads of several departments, including police and fire, the School Department, the Department of Public Works and several other town services in "round one" of budget discussions.

"We are looking at all their numbers and determining what is best for the town," Wilcox said.

Neffinger said that by asking department heads to submit 10 percent reduction budgets, he was basically bringing their spending down to what businesses call a "zero base," and then rebuilding from there to meet each department's actual needs.

He praised the department heads Wilcox has interviewed so far for "coming up with very good and creative ways to [cut spending]."

He said right now most departments are looking at non- personnel ways to cut spending. If the budget remains at a 10 percent reduction scenario, there would most likely be layoffs, he added.

Wilcox said the mayor's final draft of the proposed FY13 budget is due to the City Council by May 1.

Wilcox added that though the City Council's recent rejection of sections 21 to 23 of Chapter 32B of the state's municipal health act would have no effect on aid this budget cycle, she was concerned it might hurt West Springfield when the state determines aid figures for FY14.

At a recent Massachusetts Government Finance Officer's Association conference she attended, Wilcox said the state's Secretary of Administration and Finance, Jay Gonzalez, suggested that, in his opinion, cities and towns that were not adopting 21 to 23 would not see an increase in state aid in the future. According to his remarks, Wilcox said Gonzalez seems to believe "before cities and towns come to the state for help, they should first help themselves [by using] the tools that they have been offered."

Neffinger reiterated that the council's rejection of that section, which would have allowed the town to pursue health insurance contracts with additional providers besides Blue Cross Blue Shield in an effort to control premium costs, "could have saved the town $500,000 [in insurance costs] this year."

He said he plans to reintroduce a measure asking the council to accept sections 21 to 23 next fall.