Now that a Proposition 2.5 override in both Whitman and Hanson has been soundly thrashed at the ballot box, select boards, school officials and public safety officials are probably thinking what’s next – and where do we go from here?
Whitman has already begun work on a special Town Meeting at 6 p.m., Wednesday, June 11 with a brief warrant. The town’s budget working group, which includes Town Administrator Mary Beth Carter, Assistant Administrator Kathleen Keefe, Select Board members Shawn Kain and Justin Evans along with Treasurer-Collector Sharon LoPiccolo have already begun examining the town’s finances again in an effort to answer the question.
Evans noted that he spoke with Superintendent of Schools Jeff Szymaniak at Monday’s groundbreaking for the new Whitman Middle School, at which time, Szymaniak said the School Committee expects to have a certified budget number to the Select Board by June 4.
“This next step in the budget process is definitely a precarious one,” Kain said, noting the budget group has already reached out to the schools and Finance Committee chair to keep them in the loop. “I think we have to be careful about how we proceed.”
They are also mindful of the employees who might be affected by any budget cuts.
“There’s a lot riding on making sure we do things right,” Kain said.
Vice Chair Dan Salvucci said he was happy with the amount of people who turned out to vote.
While expressing his appreciation for the work Carter has done on the budget, Salvucci did wonder if each department were given a number to stick to and let them make their cuts, because department heads know where best to cut.
“My understanding, Mary Beth is that you have regular meetings with the department heads and discussed all of these things before Article 2 was made,” said Chair Dr. Carl Kowalski.
Carter said they had already trimmed back quite a bit, and there are smaller departments such as the assessors, where there is nowhere to cut.
“They only have a few lines, they’re a small budget, so there really isn’t anywhere other than personnel to cut,” she said. “There expenses may be only $500.”
Salvucci’s frame of reference was the Zero-based budget approach used at South Shore Tech, and Carter said that is the same budget approach she uses.
“I don’t see that we’re able to reduce the budget without reducing staffing in some areas,” she said.
In Hanson, in a brief Select Board meeting on Tuesday. May 20, Chair Laura Fitzgerald-Kemmett opened their discussion by noting that any budget cuts need to be made by July 1.
Town Administrator Lisa Green said she held a department head meeting Tuesday, at which time they, “went over the amounts departments need to look at and we’re going to be having further discussions.”
“Hopefully, we’re going to have everything in place by July 1,” Green said. “Of course, we do have to impact bargain with some of the unions for positions that may be impacted by this.”
Fitzgerald-Kemmett, said the town must continue to think outside the box in order to increase revenues.
“Is it going to solve our fiscal problem?” FitzGerald said of a recent meeting of the Economic Development. “No. But Every little bit helps.”