As overrides fail, suburbs feeling pinch
Proposed tax increases to keep municipal budgets afloat were plentiful across Southeastern Massachusetts during the spring and summer, a microcosm of what was happening statewide. But most of those overrides failed, and towns are now feeling the effects.
Bridgewater, Canton, East Bridgewater, Middleborough, Norton, Randolph, Rockland, and Walpole all voted down override measures.
The situation in Rockland is a snapshot of adjustments, big and small, being made across the region: "There isn't any money to buy new cruisers, so the police chief bought two motors from a junkyard just to keep two of his old cruisers going," Town Administrator Bradley Plante said.
While slightly more than half the overrides failed across Southeastern Massachusetts, overrides passed in Marshfield, Scituate, Sharon, and Westwood. In Kingston, there was a mixed result: A $73,000 override to support general services failed, but more specific tax hikes earmarked for the Fire, Police, and School departments passed.
The region's 45 percent passage rate reflects the statewide experience.
Among the hardest-hit towns was Randolph, where a $4.1 million proposal for the annual budget went down. Three-quarters of the total tax increase was to go to the schools.
"We had to make $3 million in cuts," said Randolph Superintendent of Schools Richard Silverman, and that meant eliminating 30 staff members, closing a school, and redistricting to eliminate bus transportation.
Silverman said it's just the latest round in a downward spiral begun in Randolph five years ago.
"We've made $8 million in cuts over the last five years," Silverman said. "There are no remedial programs left in the system. No foreign languages are offered below high school, and Spanish is the only language offered at that level." Class sizes are verging on 30 students.
"We are a school district in crisis, due to underfunding and a lack of support from the community," Silverman said. "It's very discouraging."
Bridgewater faced the tough task of cutting $1.5 million out of the general government budget at a Special Town Meeting on Oct. 9. Voters had defeated a $2.9 million override in June and a $2.2 million override in September. To cover school costs, other town budgets were stripped.
The Senior Center, like the library, had been slated to close, although it was saved by nearly $30,000 in donations from businesses and the public. The library was allotted a meager amount at the Special Town Meeting so it could remain open a few hours a day. The money won't be enough for the library to keep its state certification.
According to a recent report by the Massachusetts Municipal Association, "Fiscal 2008 is going to be remembered as a tough year for cities and towns to balance local budgets."
The report states that 66 communities, 19 percent of the state total, asked voters to approve overrides for yearly operational budgets. The stakes were also high this year, with nearly half of those towns looking for more than $1 million in tax increases.
The association's report also stated that override failures resulted in severe staffing and service cuts for schools and other municipal departments. Fees have been instituted or increased as a way to lessen shortfalls.
"We were decimated," Rockland's Plante said of the effects of a failed $675,000 tax increase. Making matters worse was a 16 percent shortfall in excise tax revenue.
"We laid off four firefighters, and we only have three emergency dispatchers left," Plante said. "The dog officer's hours were cut 50 percent, and we did away with crossing guards for the kids. We're also down two police officers, and we're not replacing others as they retire."
Plante said nine teachers who retired were not replaced and some academic programs were eliminated. Town Hall departments also were reduced.
"The news this year just gets worse and worse."
In Norton, the defeat of a $1 million override meant school user fees were increased, staff laid off, and school libraries closed. A proposed $1.9 million temporary debt exclusion to fund some building repairs went down to defeat twice this summer. Officials are now grappling with how to get the repairs done.
Middleborough Superintendent of Schools Robert Sullivan said the $2.5 million override failure in June in that town resulted in a school budget this year that's $1 million less than last.
"We let go 19 teachers, nine educational support people, one technology technician, and a school nurse," Sullivan said. "Our teachers are all giving 110 percent, but they're working without supplies they've had in the past."
Freshman sports also were eliminated, and the school raised its sports fees to $175 per sport. "We don't even have a middle school sports program any longer," Sullivan said. "Anybody can see if this pattern continues, it's just not going to work."
Danielle Bowker, the public library director in Middleborough, said a 10 percent cut to her budget meant the loss of 89 staff hours a week. The library doesn't meet state requirements for hours of operation, so it will only get 87 percent of its state funding this year. The Council on Aging also took a major hit and is operating without a director.
In East Bridgewater, voters rejected a $1.25 million override that was to have been the beginnings of a capital fund. The money was to be used for several major projects. Selectman David Walsh said that defeat actually will cost taxpayers far more in the long run to get the jobs done. Water rates just dramatically increased to cover a new water-treatment plant and other system upgrades that the override would have funded.
Walpole voters defeated a $3.9 million override this spring, but Town Administrator Michael Boynton said the town has fared better than many of its neighbors. "We haven't experienced the horror stories we've heard from other places," Boynton said. "Through the efforts of all of our department heads, we survived the cuts. We're just trying to navigate through the tough times."
Christine Wallgren can be reached at CLWallgren@aol.com.
