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Date: 1/31/2023
SOUTH HADLEY — A joint meeting took place on Jan. 24 between the Selectboard, School Committee and Appropriations Committee. The three bodies discussed budget preparation and making motions to approve putting together a Statement of Interest about the Mosier School building possibilities and the creation of a facilities department.
The meeting served as an opportunity for the three boards to come to an understanding to coordinate the annual budget process, capital needs and policy issues. Town Administrator Lisa Wong noted during the meeting that due to the change of administration in the governor’s office, the governor’s budget would be taking a few more weeks to come out.
Wong said she expects the budget to be released by March and that then South Hadley can have official budget numbers as opposed to estimates.
“All the budget projections are highly subject to change, but we anticipate a tight budget year that is dependent on the governor’s budget that should be out by March 1,” Wong said.
The strategy for the three boards during the meeting was to prepare for the possibilities that can come from the governor’s official budget being released and to prioritize the most important areas in need of town funding.
Using the numbers from fiscal year 2023 (FY23) as a baseline, Wong presented the projections as of the meeting date for revenue and expenses for the next fiscal year. The overall budget was just over $51 million for FY23, but no total projected number was shared during the meeting. The biggest item under expenses is for the schools. The projected increase in the school district is currently estimated from $950,000 to $1.15 million, which is projecting similar to last year’s increase of $1.15 million.
“These are just estimates, do we don’t know the gap, but we want to plan out worse case scenario if there is that gap,” Wong explained.
Other areas seeing a projected increase are seen in town contracts, $500,000, health insurance for town employees, a $282,000 increase and retirement, which is a $325,000 increase. Veterans Services will see a $75,000 increase in the budget as the town approved the creation of a Veterans Council and a full time Veterans Service agent.
The town is also projecting $1.27-$1.8 million gained in revenue from taxes, new growth, local receipts, chapter 70 aid and general aid.
One discussion topic of note was focused on future plans for Mosier School. The Selectboard and School Committee would both end up motioning to approve the putting together of a Statement of Interest regarding the Mosier School building to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA).
The district will need to write a statement of interest and approve it in town before sending to the MSBA, where the next determination is made by the state body. They determine the level of need of the Mosier School building project compared to other schools across the state. Later on, if the MSBA determines that their prerequisites are met, they would begin to work with the town on options for the school building.
Wong noted early that even if approved, a new or renovated building is still five to six years away.
Selectboard Chair Jeff Cyr said he was in favor of pursuing options for the school building. He noted Mosier is the only school building in town with no fire sprinklers and that the roof has continued to age even with past renovation projects.
Joel Prough of the Appropriations Committee called pursuing this “incredibly important.” Assistant Superintendent Jen Voyik added, “getting the South Hadley name out there is important.”
When discussing priorities for the three boards, the creation of a facilities department was selected as another priority to be further planned. Members from the three boards agreed on motioning to approve the town to move forward on looking to make this a reality for the town.
Some of the common options listed for discussion was the creation of a joint facilities town department, having a facilities position as a school position or having a head facilities worker integrated within the DPW.
In the option of a joint facilities department, the town would look to hire a director of facilities under the direction of the superintendent and town administrator and ensure the department has staffing and funding. They would then create a joint Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the School Committee and the Selectboard.
The school position option would see the district create the position within the school department and the positon would likely oversee custodial staff. The position would collaborate with facilities manager for the town and depending on funding and job description, the position could voersee the MSBA process for Mosier School.
If the town were to integrate a new facilities position in the DPW, the town would have to add resources. The typical model is a position within the DPW similar to the level of superintendent. There would have to be an arrangement for how this position would interact with school staff.
Interim Superintendent Mark McLaughlin was in favor of the joint facilities option as he felt a school position was not common in this scenario.
“It’s really an unusual model to have a business administrator who at the same time has responsibility for facilities,” McLaughlin said.
Ultimately the boards motioned to pursue the joint facilities options to better serve more needs of the town.
There will be two more joint meetings between the Selectboard and the Appropriations Committee on Feb. 7 and Feb. 9 to review department budget proposals. In the following weeks into March, the Capital Planning Committee will review requests before the School Committee and town budget is eventually voted on in March.
The budget would then be approved through Town Meeting on May 10.