You can count Harwich out, they are looking to lay off 11 cops 5 firefighters and 20 teachers. Although a freind of mine who works there thinks it won't happen. But they deffinatley won't be hiring.
Harwich eyes $5M override
By JASON KOLNOS
STAFF WRITER
HARWICH - If voters reject an anticipated $5 million Proposition 2 1/2 override this spring, town officials warn they may have no choice but to cut jobs and services.
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On the chopping block
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Should the override fail, Town Administrator Wayne Melville said these essential services will take a hit:
There will be 38 layoffs of municipal employees. There are now 206 full-time workers. About 110 are employed by the fire, police and highway departments.
There will be a 25 percent reduction in the fire department and police force. Twenty-five of the 38 layoffs will come from the fire, police and highway departments. And there will be an as "yet unmeasured reduction in educational resources and teachers," Melville says.
All 20 seasonal positions will be left vacant. This includes tasks around town in the summer such as beach maintenance and landscape-maintenance for local roads and cemeteries.
The hours of the Brooks Free Library will be cut.
Various Harwich Community Center programs will not be funded, which means less access for senior citizens.
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After spending nearly six months preparing the fiscal 2006 budget, the town has come up at least $4.3 million short of what is needed to support $43 million in budget requests. That represents a more than $3 million increase over the current fiscal year's $39.9 million budget.
Town Administrator Wayne Melville said this is the most dire financial picture he has faced in his 17-year tenure. He attributes the shortfall to declining revenues and an increase in employee costs.
In a budget message sent to officials earlier this week, Melville said he expects the override amount will increase to $5 million after school officials submit their final budget request later this month.
Melville said 38 municipal positions could be at risk, with the largest departments being hit the hardest.
The three largest departments - police, fire and highway - have 110 full-time employees out of 206 town workers. Melville anticipates 25 jobs would be cut from those departments.
"This (cutting staff) is the last thing we want to do," Melville said. "But when there are no cookies left in the jar, you have to make difficult decisions."
Since school officials are still reviewing Melville's budget recommendations, it is unclear how many teaching positions would be cut if layoffs are needed. The final school budget request is expected to exceed $13.6 million.
Selectmen will then review the budget before sending it to annual town meeting in May for a vote. An override would then have to be approved by voters in a townwide election.
Geoffrey Wiegman, president of the 400-member Harwich Taxpayers Association, estimates a $5 million override would increase the average residential tax bill 20 percent.
According to the taxpayer's association, the average annual property tax bill this year is $2,788, up $56 from the previous year.
The average homeowner could expect to pay more than $3,300 in taxes, if an override of about $5 million was approved, Wiegman said.
"A change is needed"
Melville said the largest override - which permanently expands the town's tax levy - in recent town history was roughly $621,000 in fiscal 2001. That year residents were asked for an increase to hire more staff.
There are some, however, who are appalled that taxpayers in this town of about 12,000 must choose to either accept a large tax hike or lose a number of employees.
"They have allowed these problems to build up and get worse over the years," Wiegman said. "A change is needed if we are going to get out of this mess."
Melville and other town officials stressed the budget forecast is a "work in progress."
Over the next few weeks, Melville, selectmen and the finance committee will try to trim the budget with department heads. They hope they can find enough cuts to lessen the number of potential layoffs, if taxpayers reject an override.
Melville cited the following reasons for the budget shortfall:
depletion of free cash reserves;
salaries for 17 new employees;
skyrocketing benefit costs;
and loss of state aid.
The gap between the budget and available revenues is approximately $2.9 million. But Melville said he has opted not to dip into $993,149 in remaining free cash to balance the budget. He said he is also unsure what the unemployment costs would be if there are layoffs, but estimates it could hover around $1 million.
"I want people to know that $2.5 million of the proposed override is due to a decline in total revenue, and not a cost-increase problem," he said.
Melville pointed to employee benefits as a huge "buster" in this year's budget. In the current fiscal year, the town must pay $3.85 million for Blue Cross/Blue Shield premiums. For the upcoming budget year, the cost will increase to $4.4 million.
The budget increase also appears larger, because it's the first time the town has had to include pension costs, he said. The state revamped its accounting practices this year. Now, the town must include more than $1.6 million pensions costs in the budget total.
Melville said the town is also losing a lot of state aid. Harwich received about $500,000 this year, down from $2.2 million in 2002. One chunk of that is $1 million lost due to School Choice, which has seen an increasing number of students attending schools in neighboring towns, Melville said.
Besides the increased costs resulting from the addition of 17 employees in 2001 and 2002, the town is now also paying $300,000 annually for water department employee benefits. The town did not pay for their benefits until their 2003 contract.
In addition, he said, the certified free cash account has been depleted to under $1 million, because town officials have already dipped in to cover some costs. At the end of fiscal 2003, that account totaled $3.5 million, Melville said.
Ideas for reform
The budget shortfall has some calling for change.
"Our official position is that we will not support an override unless there is a change in how the town is managed financially," Wiegman said.
Wiegman said his group will send a letter to town managers stating what they feel the town has done wrong and suggested changes.
"I think a lot of people are going to be shocked when they realize what their choices will be," he said.
Among his ideas for reform are capping insurance premiums, stretching out debt service over longer periods like a mortgage, and outsourcing municipal jobs.
"People talk about affordable housing and not being able to live here," he said, "But what do you tell people when your already high property taxes are increased another 20 percent?"
Though Melville wouldn't delve much into the affect of a possible override on tax bills, he estimated the increase would be closer to 16 percent.
Both selectmen Chairman Donald Howell and finance committee Chairman Brian Widegren said Melville's projections are preliminary.
"We don't want people to put their fingers on the panic button," Howell said. "We are a long way from knowing what we'll be asking people to pay for."
"We are going to do our best to try and trim the budgets to the lowest, most practical level, with hopes that there can be no layoffs," Widegren said. "But looking at the initial projections, I don't see how that will be possible without an override of some sorts."
