HANSON – Members of the Finance Committee met with the Select Board on Tuesday, March 11 to brief the board on the budget they are looking to approve as a group, according to Finance Chair Kevin Sullivan,
“There’s a little more information in here than you all are probably aware of,” Sullivan said. “We’re trying to build a case for where we’re going in FY ’26.”
He said his goal, as always was to paint the picture of where town finances are in the current fiscal year, using numbers from either the Department of Revenue Office of Local Services or Town Accountant Eric Kinsherf.
The overall FY 2026 budget of $39,186,078 is showing roughly a $3 million deficit, including a 10-percent assessment increase from the school district. Kinsherf had pinpointed the deficit at $2,9 million on Feb. 25.
It would move the fire chief’s request for $348,000 to add personnel back into a budget line, for example.
“We’re increasing an average of 6 percent each year for the last five years,” Sullivan said. “However, it’s a 37-percent increase from FY ’21 to FY ’26.”
He characterized that kind of jump in the budget within five years is “pretty severe.”
Select Board Chair Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett asked what portion of that increase was attributable to the school district. Sullivan replied, “a significant portion.”
Hanson’s general government budget for FY 2026 is up by 11 percent. Public safety budgets increased by 10 percent. Education is up by 9 percent overall, but 10 percent came from WHRSD and South Shore Tech showed a 4-percent decrease. The Board of Health budget increased by 24 percent in the salary line.
“We haven’t gotten to the bottom of it yet,” Sullivan said. “This is kind of the raw numbers. … I was shocked to see some of these in double digits.”
Recreation, however, continues to be in the red.
“They are no longer self-sufficient, they are no longer turning a profit … so that will be a hit to us, combined with an estimated deficit at the transfer station of $130,000,” Sullivan said. But that figure is not included in the 24-percent increase in the Board of Health budget.
“You can tack that number [$130,000] in as well, and it will look even worse,” he said.
While the Finance Committee has not officially voted on it, Sullivan said the general consensus of the committee is that the town should seek a $3 million override to close the operational budget deficit.
Based on a property valuation of $515,000, it would increase the tax rate by $752 per year. Hard numbers for all home values are on the Finance Committee page on the town’s website (hanson-ma.gov).
“That $3 million would include everything operational,” he said. “It would include bringing another shift of the Fure Department on board, it would keep everyone on the hours that were restored in October … the $3 million would cover everything. … It doesn’t prioritize one department over the rest.”
Kinsherf said the recommendation was “right on point,” reflecting modest improvement in the town’s fiscal situation and staffing levels.
“We’ve still asked people to put in austerity measures,” said FitzGerald-Kemmett. “It’s not like we’re in a spending spree, but it does allow growth in areas that we’ve identified that we need.”
Select Board Vice Chair Ann Rein asked what increase was being allowed for the school department.
Sullivan said a 10-percent school increase was calculated for W-H schools.
“And I’m planning for the worst,” he said. “We have had no luck in negotiating that number down.”
Revenue snapshot
Looking at incoming funds, Sullivan reminded the board that 93 percent of the town’s revenue comes from taxes. If you add personal property [excise taxes] that figure rises to about 95 percent.
“Commercial-industrial taxes account for very little in this town,” he said. “We always look for these mystery piles of money. They don’t exist, other than the value of your house.”
There is no new growth, and Sullivan said it is actually down slightly.
The average single family tax bill in Hanson increased by 12 percent in FY ’20 through ’22, that was the override passed at the time. It’s actually currently decreasing, according to Sullivan, who said “the increase is getting less.”
“I look at this as how are we keeping pace,” he said. “We’re great at keeping our taxes low, because we’re under the Prop 2.5 levy, the levy restricts us, we can only raise taxes that amount – it’s sort of this interesting shell game that you can go play with the assessors and the collectors, and they say, ‘We adjust the rate based on where you are.”
Where free cash is concerned, the town uses about 20 percent of certified free cash, but since FY ’23, use of free cash levels have steadily increased, Sullivan said.
“Historically we have used it for capital expenditures, articles. The things that a small town doesn’t have the money to do generally,” he said. “We buy police cruisers, we pay for conservation, we do all the stuff that our budget doesn’t let us do.”
Sullivan, who is vice president of the Association of Town Finance Committees, said he has been arguing with his peers to change the term “free cash.”
“We’ve got to work to change it, because it gives people a false sense of hope,” he said. “You want to save that ‘free cash’ so you can buy those police cruisers.”
Rein compared it to the “Peanuts” storyline of Lucy pulling the football away.
“But here it’s like putting the football back,” she said. “I wish we could not have that roller coaster.”
But Hanson has hit a point where it’s not sustainable as town expenses grow exponentially, according to Sullivan.
In FY ’24-25 the town used almost 135 percent of the previous use of free cash.
“We’re lucky that we had it,” he said. “We’re not going to have it always. There’s a limit – there’s an end and we’ve been lucky that the town accountant’s found some sources to load back to free cash. … Free cash can be a crutch for a lot of small towns.”
Select Board member Joe Weeks said the Finance presentation was great, because it shows people what the situation is.
“Statistics can be scary if you don’t know what they’re made of,” he said. “The more information, the more data that we can get out there, the more people can make an informed decision.”
“I think this puts us on a good footing for the future,” Sullivan said.
FitzGerald-Kemmett agreed.
“Perhaps we’ll even see some modest growth,” she said, noting that the Finance Committee has been meeting with department heads and vetting their requests against what their needs are.
“The majority of the Finance Committee is not thrilled about higher taxes,” Sullivan said. “We’re not higher tax people, we’re just coming to a point where we’re going to be hitting a wall.”
Budget survey
Town Administrator Lisa Green said a survey is being conducted through the town’s engaging of Bridgewater State University, focusing on the town budget and override. A link to the survey is available on the town website budget page (hansonbudget.com).
“As people answer the survey and submit them, BSU graduate students will be tallying the responses,” Green said. “This is really going to give us a taste of where the appetite is in the town.”
Paper copies of the survey will be available at Town Hall and will be mailed to residents at the expense of Bridgewater State.