While other towns cut, Medway looks to grow
While many neighboring communities are struggling this year with budget cuts, rising fees, and Proposition 2 1/2 override votes to balance their books, Medway officials are cautiously optimistic that they may be able to add personnel and services in the new fiscal year.
"Quite frankly, our town had made the cuts," said Selectman Dennis Crowley, reflecting on measures taken to deal with deficits over the past several years. "What other towns are going through now, Medway went through three to four years ago."
As Medway officials began to craft a budget for the 2009 fiscal year, they were aiming to maintain this year's level of services by spending $40.4 million, and initially found themselves facing a relatively small deficit - $40,000.
That's when they discovered that a state-mandated fiscal stability account, previously funded out of the town's operating budget, will instead be bolstered by a portion of its $1.8 million in free cash. The operating funds that would have been paid into the stability account can now go to other needs, said Town Administrator Suzanne Kennedy.
Also, Medway's delegation to Beacon Hill told town officials that they could count on a $962,000 increase in state funds over this year's amount.
Those two factors "gave us $1.4 million in capacity over and above last year," Kennedy said. "This is the first time in more than five years that the town has been in a position to add new things, and I'm excited."
In 2006, the town had to borrow $1.8 million to pay off operating-budget deficits stretching back to 2004, Kennedy said. In 2005, the state's Department of Revenue conducted a financial management review that was extremely critical of the town's administrative procedures. The review's findings led to the requirement that Medway set up the fiscal stability account.
"Compared to two or three years ago, this is a lot more fun," said the Board of Selectmen's chairman, Glenn Trindade. "People should realize, though, that what got us here was a lot of hard work by town administrators and the financial team, and the Board of Selectmen being very fiscally prudent in our decisions."
With the extra money available, the School Committee is slated to receive an additional $562,000, said Susan Connolly, the School Committee chairwoman. "Based on the economy and state budget, it still leaves me a little bit concerned about the future, but, right now, it's great to be able to add and put back some of projects we lost, and move forward rather than backward," she said.
On April 3, the School Committee voted on a $22 million budget for next fiscal year, which starts July 1. The figure included a $753,903 increase over this year's budget to maintain level services, as well as $562,549 to cover additional items in the schools, including new textbooks ($83,196), a K-5 language arts program ($151,976), two teachers at the high school ($103,700), a first-grade teacher ($51,850), and mathematics specialists ($77,775).
On the municipal side, officials are looking to upgrade or add positions in the offices of the accountant, treasurer-collector, and town administrator, where Kennedy also serves as procurement officer and human resources director. "One individual cannot do justice to all of those responsibilities," she said.
The town is looking to hire an individual to serve as a human resources and special projects coordinator, as recommended in the town charter, which was approved by Town Meeting in December and will go before voters in the May 5 election.
"By bringing in an additional staff person who will handle HR issues as well as special projects we'll develop, it will be taking a load off" Kennedy, Crowley said.
Added Trindade, "We're looking at improving our ability to manage and stay on top of our finances so that we're never in the same place as we were three years ago."
Trindade noted that the town has made very guarded projections in such areas as local receipts and excise taxes.
"The whole purpose is to be fiscally conservative," Trindade said. "Going into next year, we don't want to be in a position of adding staff this year and making cuts next year. We're not going to overextend ourselves."
