Override vote divides Wayland leaders
When Wayland residents head to the polls on Tuesday, they will be asked to approve a $2.1 million tax increase to balance the town's $55.2 million budget.
Jeff Dieffenbach, chairman of the Wayland School Committee, said rising utility, transportation, and special-education costs require a significant budget increase to maintain services. The schools would get most of the tax increase -- $1.47 million.
''This is not driven by luxuries we're trying to put in place or excessive pay to employees," he said. ''It's driven by costs we can't control."
Selectman Alan J. Reiss has criticized the proposal for an override of the Proposition 2 1/2 tax-limiting law, though, saying voters should have been offered the opportunity to pick from several smaller tax increases.
Reiss said by bundling together public safety and school funding requests, Wayland officials ''force" approval of the override.
''There's a certain amount of arm-twisting that occurs," he said.
But Reiss's colleagues on the Board of Selectmen say that offering a menu of choices would pit town departments against each other in a competition for dollars that would have a negative impact on the community.
State law limits increases in taxes collected by a town to 2.5 percent, plus allowances for new growth. In order for the town to collect more in property taxes, residents must vote to override that limit. Last year, the town approved a $2.3 million override.
This year's tax bill for a home of median value -- currently at $569,000 -- was to go up $178 to $7,313 even without the override, said Cherry Karlson, vice chairwoman of the Finance Committee. With the override, the median bill would rise an additional $357 to $7,670.
If the override is approved, the school budget would increase nearly 4 percent over this year's budget, to $28.4 million, with only moderate cuts and fee increases.
Reiss criticized the growth of the school budget and the town's dependence on overrides.
He said his fellow selectmen bow to the ''very vocal and very organized section of Wayland" that wants to maintain a high level of funding for the schools. ''Whatever they want, they get," Reiss said.
But Michael Tichnor, chairman of the selectmen, said that's how it should be. Good schools are one of the town's top priorities, he said.
''If we cut schools funding, we will cut the quality of the schools."
The Finance Committee's budget documents state that without an override the school district will have to cut 20 teachers and support staff, a principal, the elementary music program, and teacher training programs.
The School Committee began as early as December to paint a dismal picture of the district's prospects without an override.
''If people don't want to see the character of the town change," Dieffenbach warned recently, ''they need to support this override."
Without an override, the town also may have to cut a number of public safety positions, including two police officers, two firefighters and a dispatcher, and on-call firefighters.
According to preliminary budget plans, the town also would be forced to cut its road resurfacing budget by half, reduce the number of school nurses, and cut park and recreation positions.
Reiss, who has lived in Wayland for 18 years, said residents have approached him to ask why their taxes have increased so much -- 47 percent in six years, by his calculations.
Many residents are ''struggling to stay put" after increases in their tax bills, Reiss said.
He also said the ''dismal" reality is that approving an override this year doesn't guarantee there won't be one next year.
But Tichnor said a plan is in the works to prevent the town from having to seek an override for the next three years.
He said the town will consider making changes to health insurance during union negotiations next year, consolidating several town departments, and restructuring elementary schools, possibly even closing one.
''We will do everything within our power to make sure we don't have to go back to the town for a budget override next year."
If the override proposal is approved in the election, the budget still must be approved during the annual Town Meeting, which will begin Thursday. 