HANSON – The town’s fiscal 2024 spending plan is akin to “McGyver budget,” as Hanson’s financial team has worked to avoid layoffs as they balance the books.
Interim Town Accountant Eric Kinscherf provided a budget update to the Select Board on Tuesday, April 12 – the day before an April 18 joint meeting was proposed between the Whitman and Hanson boards and School Committee about the district’s budget and its effect on the towns’ financial outlook.
“If everything passes as is now on the warrant article, and with our current budget, we’ll probably have about $30,000 to $40,000 in free cash left from about $859,000,” he said. “That’s pretty tight.”
There is $1.6 million in stabilization right now, he said, noting that $98,000 of the $725,000 in ambulance receipts, which are counted on to replace Fire Department equipment are also being used to help balance the budget.
Kinscherf does not recommend using stabilization at all to balance the budget because bonding agencies look for communities to have funds in such an account totaling more than 5 percent of the total budget.
“That’s the town’s reserve fund in case an emergency comes up,” he said. Noting Hanson’s stabilization fund is now at 5 percent or a little below.
Select Board Chair Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett stressed that Kinscherf was saying that the town was dipping into free cash to balance the budget predicated on an assessment increase of 3.75 percent for the schools.
“We can probably just barely make it,” he said of that increase, which works out to about $500,000 more than last year.
If a higher assessment should be approved, he said Hanson would have to cut $425,000 from the budget with little free cash to help.
“If that school budget passes as is it’s not going to be very a pretty situation for the town of Hanson,” Kinscherf said.
“That would mean no capital improvements whatsoever and, I might add that we are using one-time ARPA money for some of the articles in addition to free cash,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said to Kinscherf’s confirmation. “We’re tapping every avenue we can think of, so we’d be looking at some personnel layoffs. There’d really be no other options.”
Kincherf said it would be almost impossible to cut that much from the budget without getting into personnel.
“We’re not suggesting that that’s what this board wants,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “What this board wants is the 3.75 percent assessment.”
She said she was hopeful a three-way joint budget meeting could help calibrate the numbers.
Select Board member Ed Heal, like some of his Whitman counterparts, expressed concern about the use of one-tie funds to balance budgets. Kinscherf said there is about $250,000 in one-time funds being used to balance Hanson’s municipal budget, including free cash and overlay surplus. Other one-time funds are being used to pay for other articles on the warrant.
“I’ve uncovered every rock,” he said. “This is like a MacGyver budget.”
In other business, the board voted to appoint Joseph Gumbakis as Veterans Service Officer for an annual term beginning Tuesday, April 18.
Departing Veterans Agent Timothy White said a long process was followed to make the appointment and he was thankful for Gumbakis’ acceptance of the position.
Part of his duties there was doing outreach to families of deployed service members, including with rental assistance. He was a recruiter during his active miliary career for which he received a Gold Recruiter award and served two tours of duty in Iraq where he earned a Bronze Star.
“We interviewed a lot of candidates,” White said. “He’s been working at the National Guard as a case manager in the family programs office. … Although he doesn’t do the exact same duties as a veterans’ agent, the family programs are very similar.”
Gumbakis is also working on his second bachelor’s degree in information technology.
“What impressed us was his knowledge, skills and abilities can be used to expand on the position, which is, as White put it, “Outreach, outreach, outreach.”
White said Gumbakis will be a great ambassador for the town.
FitzGerald-Kemmett said she was happy White was leaving the town in good hands.
“We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for everything you’ve done,” she said.
Weeks thanked Gumbakis for his service and, noting that he has big shoes to fill, said he hoped he would make the position his own.
“I’d like to thank the town for having me,” Gumbakis said. “I look forward to serving the commnity and veterans at large.”
White said he will be training Gumbakis, who started this week, having spoken to the Rockland Town Administrator, where White will be serving next, to enable him to ensure there is smooth transition for Hanson.