Budget choices are getting harder

More cuts or revenue needed

Having just cut $500,000 from the budget, and next year's not looking any better, Winthrop officials are scrambling for new sources of revenue.

The cuts, a result of lower than anticipated revenues, have so far led to the start of a four-day workweek at Town Hall and layoffs in the School Department.

With residential and commercial development at a standstill, obtaining new revenue will involve turning to Winthrop residents, who have rejected four of the last five Proposition 2 1/2 override requests since 2000.

"There's a need to fund services of local government," said Town Council president Thomas E. Reilly. "We can't keep looking to the MWRA or the [Massachusetts] Port Authority to pay our bills. The only ones who can pay is us. . . . If the governor cuts local aid this year, we have a huge problem."

It is unlikely the town will turn to service fees, which were already substantially raised three years ago, Reilly said. One viable, but already unpopular option among some residents, is the implementation of a trash fee program, such as pay-as-you-throw, which charges residents a fee for each bag of solid waste they throw away.

"We've had people tell us, 'Implement a trash fee,' others say 'Don't bother,' " Reilly said. "Cities and towns are severely restrained on what they can do to raise funds - property tax, receipts, and local aid. There aren't any creative ways of raising revenue."

To find out how residents feel about a trash fee, town councilors Linda Calla and Jeanne Maggio spearheaded a survey that will be mailed to all Winthrop residents along with the annual census form this month. Residents will have until Jan. 23 to turn in the survey.

"Part of the new form of government is that the citizens of the town want to feel as though they have a voice," Calla said. "So let's put a survey out there. If they don't want to do anything at all, then let's ask, what services are you willing to accept be cut?"

When it became apparent the town would be running at a deficit this year, Town Manager Richard White proposed the council approve $545,000 in immediate cuts, Reilly said.

The council reduced that amount to $500,000, which they approved last month.

White, whose contract was not extended by the council, won't see the cuts through, as he accepted the town administrator position in Dennis. His last day in Winthrop is Jan. 17.

The town also took $217,411 from the stabilization fund, which now stands at just $122,882, Reilly said.

"Raiding the stabilization fund was a tough decision," Reilly said. "But making cuts midyear, you weren't given a good and bad choice; you were given two bad choices. You had to decide which one would have the less adverse effect."

Town Councilor at Large Joseph Ferrino Jr. said dipping into the town's savings was a risky decision.

"This is just a bandage," Ferrino said. "The secret to moving forward with Winthrop is to develop a team effort and try to make the cuts, but you try to limit the pain of where the cuts are coming from, or generate revenue to offset the cuts we have to make."

In the original proposal the School Department was being asked to cut $220,000, but that was reduced to $80,000. Because the School Department was affected by Governor Deval Patrick's midyear program cuts, Superintendent Steven Jenkins said the actual amount he needs to cut from his budget is $148,000. Jenkins said he used the remaining $30,000 in the department's stabilization account to reduce the cut to $118,000, which will be covered by six layoffs and three personnel reductions starting next month. "I've been in the business of education since 1972, I have lived through an experience of Proposition 2 1/2, and this has been the most difficult financial situation that I've ever seen," Jenkins said.

The remainder of the $500,000 cut came from a $45,000 reduction to the Fire Department's budget; $30,000 from the Police Department; $30,000 from the library; $20,000 from the town attorney account; $10,000 from the Town Council account; $8,000 from the treasurer/collector; $7,500 from the Council on Aging; $6,100 from the Department of Public Works; and $3,300 from the town manager's office.

Shared expenses, including utility savings from going to a four-day workweek at Town Hall, are projected to be reduced by $30,085. A $9,604 adjustment was made to the harbor account, and $3,000 to the Zoning Board of Appeals account.

Calla said the cuts will get the town through the next few months and that it is up to town officials to educate residents on the effects.

Some residents believe the town has a habit of crying wolf because many of the warnings of overrides' past never happened, Calla said. Part of that was that after overrides failed, department heads dissected their budgets, moving things around to avoid layoffs, she said.

Councilor James Letterie said residents will have hard decisions, given the economy.

"But it's important to see that it's an investment in the town, your home, the infrastructure of the town," Letterie said. "A lot of cities and towns have stabilization funds and free cash, sources of onetime revenue, like a piggy bank. Winthrop has none of that. Our piggy bank is broke."

Katheleen Conti can be reached at kconti@globe.com.