Marblehead town department heads fielded questions about their budgets and the potential impact of service cuts during a public panel discussion organized by the Select Board on Thursday at the Council on Aging.
The forum gave residents a chance to hear directly from town officials about department services, major projects and how different override scenarios could affect staffing and operations. (Read more about the three proposed override tiers HERE.)
Select Board Chair Dan Fox read the first submitted question: “It feels like every road going in and out of town is being dug up at the same time. For example, Pleasant, Atlantic, West Shore Drive … Is it possible to coordinate so at least one route would be clear?”
CURRENT PHOTO / LEIGH BLANDER
Department of Public Works Director Amy McHugh said the town tries to coordinate infrastructure work among utilities before paving streets.
“Water and sewer has continually updated their infrastructure. National Grid, which is our gas company, has infrastructure just as old as water and sewer. They both date back to the 1800s,” McHugh explained. “What we want to do is a holistic approach. Before we pave a street, we want to make sure there’s no gas company ready to rebuild or rehabilitate, water and sewer projects are done on that street so that we’re not tearing the street up. We’re also hoping that the gas company will come and upgrade their utility.”
She said the effort to align work schedules across utilities can create the appearance of multiple projects happening at once.
“We have to have a multi-phase approach to getting these upgraded, and so that’s why you see multiple roads at the same time,” McHugh said. “And unfortunately, our main roads in are the ones where we started, because those are the ones we wanted to get upgraded the quickest.”
Budget cuts and overides
The Select Board and Finance Committee have recommended a $123 million balanced budget that cuts programs and at least 35-40 staff. Wednesday night, the Select Board reviewed three override tiers — $9 million, $12 million and $15 million — that would restore cuts and re-invest in the town.
Department heads discussed to what degree the $9 million override would restore their budgets.
Police Chief Dennis King said the $9 million would restore one patrol officer position slated to be cut. That position is a school resource officer who works with students.
King said with 31 officers, Marblehead Police Department is one of the leanest on the North shore. “So our neighbors, Swampscott, with a smaller population, they run with 32 full-time officers,” he said. “Newburyport runs at 33.”
Library Director Kimberly Grad said the $9 million override would still mean reduced hours and services.
“The materials budget would still be eliminated,” she said. “It’s still 45 hours, no evenings or Saturdays. Your (library) card would work in other towns. We’d have some programming. We’d still have to figure out how we pay for books and materials.”
Resident Sarah Fox urged Grad to consider adjusting hours to maintain some evening or weekend access. Grad said that is up to her board of trustees.
The School Committee meets Thursday night to vote on its final budget and announce where the latest round of cuts will come from.
Superintendent John Robidoux said it has been a grueling process.
“It’s been a very difficult budget season where we have reduced several million dollars from our budget to get to first, level funding, and then below-level funding to try to make sure that town can operate.”
‘Most challenging budget’
Finance Director Aleesha Benjamin said this budget process has been brutal.
“This has been the most challenging budget of my career, and that’s 20 years,” Benjamin said.
Benjamin said personnel costs make up the majority of the town’s budget, meaning layoffs are unavoidable when revenues fall short.
“We don’t want to do that, and that’s why we’re asking the community for an override, like many other communities are, because we’re in such a tight position,” she said.
Town officials said they plan to release a detailed list of potential cuts and impacts across departments as discussions about an override continue.
Building commissioner
Building Commissioner Steve Cummings described ongoing efforts to stretch limited capital.
He said the town has used cost-effective repairs to extend the life of facilities, including the building hosting Thursday’s meeting.
“We were able to get a roof recoating on this and get another 20 years out of it, for half the money that they were going to spend initially,” he said. “So I love stretching a buck.”
But Cummings warned that limited funding going forward could create maintenance challenges.
“Just like maintaining your own home, the buildings need to be maintained,” he said. “What we lack on them now is only going to cost us money later.”
