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Date: 3/10/2021
SOUTHWICK – The Southwick Select Board and Finance Committee met for a joint meeting on March 6 to begin the town’s first round of fiscal year 2022 (FY22) budget hearings, which included budgets from the Department of Public Works, the Fire Department, and the Planning Board among others.
One of the biggest talking points during the Planning Department’s budget hearing was a request to begin work on a new master plan, which Planning Board Chair Micheal Doherty said is a necessity moving forward.
“The big thing we are focused on is the master plan. As I said to the Capital Committee, we see that as a necessity at this point in time with the amount of growth in Southwick in the last 15 to 20 years and what to do next, the Green Communities initiative that’s coming down the pike, changes generally in energy and green services, and the number of developments coming along,” he said.
By creating a new master plan, Doherty said town officials will be able to do their jobs properly with a more updated guideline based on current needs.
“Getting a master plan, having guidance, and knowing what the community wants for Southwick I think is a useful exercise, and a necessity for us to be able to do our jobs properly,” he said.
Rather than creating a new master plan now, Finance Committee Member Terry Mish said he wanted to create a committee to investigate changing the plan first.
“My own sense is we are getting the cart ahead of the horse. If you are looking to find out what the town wants, I can tell you they want to stop all growth, reduce taxes, and more recreational opportunities. I don’t think we should pay money to ask those questions. I think we should put a group together to look at the master plan and where we need to go,” he said.
Select Board Chair Doug Moglin said with challenges coming down the pike for Southwick, the town needs to take a closer look at the master plan.
“I think the document we have that is quite old and there was some good that came out of it. I think the discussion needs to continue. Every year it comes up, and every year we kick the can and at some point, we have to figure out some of these challenges facing the town,” he said.
One of the biggest changes to the DPW’s project from the FY21 budget was a request for $2 million more than the previous year for paving and infrastructure improvements.
“The budget request for paving and infrastructure improvements is for $3 million. You can just drive around town and see the deterioration on many of the roads, especially this time of year with the potholes. I’m asking for $3 million, but any bit is going to help, there are a slew of projects we can dedicate these funds to,” DPW Director Randy Brown said.
During the Fire Department’s budget hearing, Fire Chief Russ Anderson said one of the larger increases in the operational budget was with the Verizon account.
“The Verizon Wireless account is probably the biggest increase in the operational costs, going from $4,800 to $8,000. Part of that is trying to put laptops and tablets in our front-line pieces. This is one piece of trying to reduce our insurance ratings, it allows us to look at where fire hydrants are and all of those connections are, right on the tablet, when we’re answering a call,” he said.
Southwick’s second slate of budget hearings take place on March 20.