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Residents talk fiscal responsibilities at forum

(left to right) Select Board member Paul Santaniello, School Committee member Rob Aseltine and Mark Barowsky, of the Finance Committee, take part in the Oct. 18 Town Forum.Reminder Publications photo by Courtney Llewellyn
By Courtney Llewellyn

Reminder Assistant Editor



LONGMEADOW The Town Forum that took place last Thursday brought about two dozen concerned residents to the high school's cafeteria. The Budget Strategies Committee presented information to the assembly, who were then able to ask questions.

The Budget Strategies Committee is made up of two members of the School Committee (Geoff Weigand and Rob Aseltine), two members of the Select Board (Paul Santaniello and William Scibelli) and two members of the Finance Committee (Mark Barowsky and Carla Gunn).

"As a town, we grow by about three percent every year," Scibelli explained. "However, our expenses are growing faster than that."

Some of the questions asked of the Budget Strategies Committee included the following (the majority of the questions were answered by Scibelli):

What makes the committee think it can forecast the budget three years in advance if it can't have a balanced budget one year in advance?

We thought we had a balanced budget except for the teachers' retroactive and current salary increases; the budget was balanced until the school needed to amend it.

What would the "substantial" projected cuts be if override does not pass?

There has been no definitive discussion of what will be cut but it will be shared townwide. The schools use two-thirds of the budget and teachers cannot be laid off in the middle of the year.

Is the override a 3 1/2 year Band-Aid?

Override requests are made almost every year and frequently turned down. If smaller overrides were offered every year, people in this town may be more accepting.

Will town employees opt into state health insurance to save money?

We're already looking into it; however, we're already getting substantially reduced rates from Scantic Valley.

How did we get to this point?

Costs we have very little control over keep growing. There's no physical space for growth in Longmeadow. An override was offered in 2004 but was turned down. Twenty-five percent of school's budget goes toward special education, with $33,000 set aside for each child; for anything spent above that, the town is reimbursed 70 cents on every dollar.

Enrollment has dropped 235 students since 2004, with the average amount spent on each student at $9,968. Why has there not been a decrease in school budget?

Declines in enrollment don't occur evenly, so we can't really budget it. There are not very many variable costs when it comes to the schools.

Instead of possibly laying off teachers, why not lay off administrative aides (like the assistant superintendent, dean of students, athletic director, assistant principals at the middle schools and the substance abuse counselor)?

The Finance Committee has thought about this in the past as well.

How do you know what we'll need in 2010?

We don't know, these are only estimated figures projections. We avoided a smaller override amount because we thought it would be a crime to raise taxes this year and then cut services next year.

"There has been some poor fiscal planning over the past few years," Santaniello admitted.

Six-year resident Mark Beliveau said, "We're looking at the trees, not the forest. We are a gated community in Longmeadow gated by wealth. We are the revenue for this town and we are not unified." The assembly murmured their assent.

Weigand summed up the forum with this question: "Do you want the town to work as it does today or not? I know you all will make the right decision."