Needham's superintendent, Daniel Gutekanst, said the school district can likely get by with a budget increase of 4.5 percent.
(Bill Polo/Globe Staff/FILE)
By cutting about $2 million from requests for fiscal year 2009, Needham officials say, they have avoided the need for an additional override of the state's Proposition 2 1/2 property-tax law to balance the town's operating budget. But residents may still face a tax-increase proposal this fall to fund staffing and other costs at the renovated High Rock School. And both Selectman John Cogswell and school Superintendent Daniel Gutekanst see another possible override proposal as early as fiscal year 2010.
According to Town Manager Kate Fitzpatrick, the savings in the budget for the fiscal year starting July 1 have been spread out across many areas, such as Needham's Police, Fire, and Public Works departments, but the school district saw one of the biggest cuts, with roughly $1.1 million slashed from its request for 2008-09.
Cogswell does not see the financial picture getting better in the future.
"Basically," he said, there are "insufficient revenues to handle the expenses.
"I'm not surprised there is a gap, because in general the cost of healthcare, the cost of pensions, and the cost of energy eat up the entire increase in revenues."
The town's revenues - property taxes, service fees, and state aid - typically increase between 3 and 4 percent a year, he said, while personnel and energy costs have been growing by double digits.
To make ends meet, the town's voters have approved three property-tax increases through Proposition 2 1/2 overrides in the past two years, two totaling $1.7 million to bolster operating budgets and another for $21 million to finance the renovation of the High Rock School.
Spending on education has been a controversial topic, with Needham parents demanding more money for schools and town seniors spurning the idea of raising taxes.
School officials originally presented a 2009 budget of $43.7 million - a 7.3 percent increase over this year's spending plan - but eventually settled on a proposal seeking a 4.5 percent increase and a total of $42.6 million.
"There is no question that Needham is struggling with finding resources for the schools," Gutekanst said. "If we ultimately can end up with a 4.5 percent increase to our budget, I think it will allow us to move forward."
The smaller spending plan would require the schools to decrease the number of teachers, Gutekanst said, while he would not know how many until the final figure is approved by Town Meeting and next year's student enrollment is known.
Despite the cutbacks, the school district's budget is still approximately $200,000 more than what has been allocated for education, said David Davison, Needham's director of finance. The budget must still be reviewed by the Finance Committee, and the town would likely cover the shortfall by shifting money from other departments, he added.
The school district is not the only one to face budget cuts. The Fire Department gave up about $38,000 that it had earmarked to hire a consultant and allow for more overtime for building inspections, said Chief Paul Buckley.
"We've got a budget shortfall," he said. "Everybody was going to have to make some concessions."
The Police Department saw a $21,000 reduction in salaries, and the Department of Public Works plan was trimmed by $40,000, taken from an allocation for professional services in its drains and highway division.
Finding the extra money for the schools doesn't seem like an insurmountable task to officials, who say $200,000 is like "a drop in the bucket" compared with the overall budget of $105 million. However, there is some concern that further cuts to other departments could affect their ability to provide for the community.
"I don't see any soft spots that we can cut without significantly impacting the services the town provides," Cogswell said.
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