Southwick budget increases 2% over previous year
SOUTHWICK — Despite the Finance Committee requiring every department in town to submit a budget 5% less than the previous year, early estimates of the property taxes needed to fund the town's budget for fiscal 2026 indicate taxpayers will be paying more, and it is primarily because of an $865,000 increase to fund the Southwick-Tolland-Granville Regional School District.
'The problem is mostly around the schools and the assessment for the schools,' said Select Board member Douglas Moglin during a joint meeting between the board and the Finance Committee Monday night to hammer out the final details for the fiscal 2026 budget.
'We have to make some cuts to make sure the budget works,' said Town Accountant Laura Fletcher during the meeting.
'Unfortunately, there were some increases to the school assessment … we were hit with [increasing the amount of funding for] out-of-district students,' she said.
That assessment was a nearly 12% increase for the Southwick-Tolland-Granville Regional School District's over last year's budget.
According to the budget approved by the Select Board and Finance Committee Monday, the district's assessment to the town for fiscal 2026 will be $14.4 million, which is nearly half of the $28.6 million in estimated revenues needed to cover all government operations for the upcoming year.
The primary driver of the school district's increase is the assessment Fletcher referred to, which is $737,164 to pay tuition for students who choose to attend vocational or technical schools outside the district.
Last year, the district learned that Southwick taxpayers had been inadvertently paying out-of-district tuition for Granville and Tolland students.
There was some expectation that once the state began allocating Chapter 70 funding to Granville and Tolland to pay for its students to go out of district, Southwick's taxpayers would get some relief from the school assessment, which Select Board member Jason Perron mentioned during the meeting.
'We were looking at some savings, but it didn't turn out that way …everything's going up,' he said referring to an increase in health insurance costs for district employees and town employees.
Finance Committee Chair Joseph Deedy said during the roundtable budget discussion every available cut that could be made to this year's budget had been made, but he was worried about next year's budget.
As the Finance Committee began developing the budget earlier this year, the heads of every department in town were asked to submit a budget that was 5% less than last year — last year's budget was level funded.
'Most departments were fine with it … they get it,' he said, but added he was worried about the future.
'I'm scared for next year,' referring to the school district's budget.
He talked about how the town generates its revenues, which is primarily through property taxes.
The town is projected to have property tax revenue of $26 million for fiscal 2026, $746,018 more than last year's $25.26 million.
But that could change if property values decreased, Deedy said.
'Housing is our growth. We're going to slow down as new growth goes, but if we lose any value on the housing side, we're done … we're done for next year,' he said.
Fletcher reminded the board and committee members that the property tax revenues used to build the budget were estimated and could change.
Because of that, the estimated property tax increase expected to be approved in October has a difference of 30 cents.
The current property tax rate is $15.57 for every $1,000 of assessed value.
The expected rate for next year is between $16 and $16.36, according to budget documents.
There were also several capital requests by the Police Department and DPW cut from the budget.
The Police Department requested $21,000 to purchase a new fingerprint machine and $10,000 to pay an outside consultant to update the department's policies and procedures, which Perron, who serves as a police officer in Westfield, had an issue with.
'Why are you not writing your own policies and procedures?' Perron asked Police Chief Rhett Bannish.
Bannish said it was the most cost-effective way to update the regulations, instead of having him, with a salary of over $100,000, spend the time needed to do it.
Perron, speaking of his experience, said his department does it.
'We don't do it all at once,' he said, again referring the Westfield Police Department.
That prompted member Diane Gale to ask if his department had the assistance of an attorney.
'Yes,' Perron said.
'We don't,' Gale shot back.
Then Perron said he had called several police departments in the area and learned that most write their own policies and procedures.
'I'm not a fan of hiring an outsider to come in and write our policies,' Perron said.
Bannish then spoke directly to Perron.
'I trust you'll give me a list of the chiefs that write their own policies,' he said.
Moglin then got involved. He said it was his understanding that the department's fingerprint machine 'would live to fight another day' after it had been serviced.
Bannish said a technician had rebooted the machine and it appeared to be working properly now, and added if the issue couldn't be resolved, the company would provide another machine for free.
Moglin suggested using $10,000 of the $21,000 needed for a new machine and putting it toward the policy and procedures update, which was approved.
The Police Department nearly always gets funding for two new cruisers each year.
This year it asked for a cruiser and a truck, which would be used to pull the department's boat.
Instead of purchasing a new truck, it was decided to rebuild its motor, which Moglin was not 'thrilled about.'
'We'll throwing good money after bad on that truck,' he said.
He warned the committee and board that the truck request would be made again, if not next year, at least the year after.
'I don't think it's the best use of the town's money,' he said.
When the board held a vote to approve spending $20,000 for the truck's repair, Moglin voted no, with Gale and Perron giving it a thumbs up.
As for the DPW, it was announced that the roll-off truck it requested, and initially approved by the Finance Committee, would not be purchased this year because replacing the compactor, an $80,000 capital expense, at the transfer station was needed more.
And the pickup truck it requested to replace the truck used by DPW Supervisor Rich Bozak was nixed.
Department Budgets for fiscal year 2026
General Government — $3,118,329, which is a 1% decrease from last year.
Public Safety — $4,080,108, which is a 6% increase primarily because of the Police Department budgeting for an additional officer.
Public Works — $2,087,749, which is a 1% increase from last year.
Human Services — $412,341, which is a 5% decrease from last year.
Culture and Recreation — $736,404, which is a 1% increase from last year.
Total Debt, Interest and Insurance — $3,184,568, which is a 1% increase from last year.
Total General Government — $13,615,344, which is a 2% increase from last year.
Sewer Department — $1,396,526, which is a 4% increase from last year.
Water Department — $1,575,736, which is a 2% increase from last year.
EMS — $1,592,272, which is a 4% decrease from last year.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Yahoo
How the Senate megabill could backfire on conservatives
A provision in a key Senate committee's version of the GOP megabill will backfire against Republicans by forcing red states to consider doing exactly what Republicans don't want them to: expand Medicaid, the CEO of the South Carolina Hospital Association told POLITICO. Republicans have sought to shelter the 10 conservative states that have declined to expand Medicaid to cover more low-income people, as Obamacare encourages with generous federal subsidies. But the Senate bill, in an effort to find the savings needed to extend President Donald Trump's 2017 tax cuts, would still blow a hole in the budgets of Palmetto state hospitals by reducing what insurers who contract with the state to provide Medicaid services can pay them. States and Washington share the insurance program's costs. 'It affects the viability of the whole system,' said Thornton Kirby, chief executive of the South Carolina Hospital Association, which estimates the Senate proposal will cost the state over $2.3 billion annually. 'If you take away this alternative way to balance the budget, you leave us with only one path…Medicaid expansion,' Kirby said. The Senate is rushing to complete its version of a bill that would enact Trump's agenda using a procedure that requires only a simple majority vote. Trump wants it done by July 4, but with the slim margins in both houses of Congress, the industries affected by the bill are hoping to peel off votes to save themselves from cuts. Republicans can lose no more than three votes in either chamber as long as Democrats remain united in opposition. To make the case that the restrictions on so-called state-directed payments need to go, the hospital association is leaning on three home state Republicans with clout: Sen. Tim Scott, who has a seat on the Finance Committee that has proposed the restrictions; Rep. Russell Fry, who's on the Energy and Commerce Committee that drafted the Medicaid provisions of the megabill the House passed last month; and Henry McMaster, the governor of South Carolina and, Kirby said, a personal friend. 'I don't want to put him in the hot seat,' Kirby said of McMaster. 'He doesn't want to see [Medicaid] upended.' Of Scott, Kirby said he's in touch at least every other day and that the senator and Trump ally 'has been a champion.' 'He understands…he doesn't want to go down that path' of Medicaid expansion, Kirby added. The three Republicans did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Expanding Medicaid could help replace the revenue the Senate provision would take away because it would make many more people — South Carolina now has one of the nation's higher uninsured rates at 9 percent — eligible for the program. Under Obamacare, the federal government picks up 90 percent of the cost for the new enrollees. Under the Finance Committee proposal, state-directed payments to hospitals serving Medicaid patients would fall by 10 percent each year until the total payment rate is only 100-110 percent of the Medicare payment rate. In South Carolina, the current payment rate is more than twice the rate paid by Medicare, the federal health insurance program for elderly people. Hospitals in states that have expanded Medicaid would take an additional hit under the Senate proposal. The Finance Committee would lower the provider tax rate that the 40 states that have expanded Medicaid can levy on hospitals from 6 percent to 3.5 percent. States have used the taxes to boost their federal matching funds, which they have then sent back to hospitals in higher reimbursements. The Senate would freeze the tax rates in states like South Carolina that haven't expanded Medicaid, but would not require them to lower them. The version of the megabill the House passed would freeze the rates for all states, a plan Kirby was willing to accept. On Friday, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) urged GOP leaders to strike the Finance Committee language on Medicaid, warning the crackdown won't clear the House. Republican senators hope to pass their version of the bill next week after which the House would need to pass it before Trump could sign it into law.
Politico
a day ago
- Politico
Senate megabill will strengthen Obamacare, says red state hospital CEO
A provision in a key Senate committee's version of the GOP megabill will backfire against Republicans by forcing red states to consider doing exactly what Republicans don't want them to: expand Medicaid, the CEO of the South Carolina Hospital Association told POLITICO. Republicans have sought to shelter the 10 conservative states that have declined to expand Medicaid to cover more low-income people, as Obamacare encourages with generous federal subsidies. But the Senate bill, in an effort to find the savings needed to extend President Donald Trump's 2017 tax cuts, would still blow a hole in the budgets of Palmetto state hospitals by reducing what insurers who contract with the state to provide Medicaid services can pay them. States and Washington share the insurance program's costs. 'It affects the viability of the whole system,' said Thornton Kirby, chief executive of the South Carolina Hospital Association, which estimates the Senate proposal will cost the state over $2.3 billion annually. 'If you take away this alternative way to balance the budget, you leave us with only one path…Medicaid expansion,' Kirby said. The Senate is rushing to complete its version of a bill that would enact Trump's agenda using a procedure that requires only a simple majority vote. Trump wants it done by July 4, but with the slim margins in both houses of Congress, the industries affected by the bill are hoping to peel off votes to save themselves from cuts. Republicans can lose no more than three votes in either chamber as long as Democrats remain united in opposition. To make the case that the restrictions on so-called state-directed payments need to go, the hospital association is leaning on three home state Republicans with clout: Sen. Tim Scott, who has a seat on the Finance Committee that has proposed the restrictions; Rep. Russell Fry, who's on the Energy and Commerce Committee that drafted the Medicaid provisions of the megabill the House passed last month; and Henry McMaster, the governor of South Carolina and, Kirby said, a personal friend. 'I don't want to put him in the hot seat,' Kirby said of McMaster. 'He doesn't want to see [Medicaid] upended.' Of Scott, Kirby said he's in touch at least every other day and that the senator and Trump ally 'has been a champion.' 'He understands…he doesn't want to go down that path' of Medicaid expansion, Kirby added. The three Republicans did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Expanding Medicaid could help replace the revenue the Senate provision would take away because it would make many more people — South Carolina now has one of the nation's higher uninsured rates at 9 percent — eligible for the program. Under Obamacare, the federal government picks up 90 percent of the cost for the new enrollees. Under the Finance Committee proposal, state-directed payments to hospitals serving Medicaid patients would fall by 10 percent each year until the total payment rate is only 100-110 percent of the Medicare payment rate. In South Carolina, the current payment rate is more than twice the rate paid by Medicare, the federal health insurance program for elderly people. Hospitals in states that have expanded Medicaid would take an additional hit under the Senate proposal. The Finance Committee would lower the provider tax rate that the 40 states that have expanded Medicaid can levy on hospitals from 6 percent to 3.5 percent. States have used the taxes to boost their federal matching funds, which they have then sent back to hospitals in higher reimbursements. The Senate would freeze the tax rates in states like South Carolina that haven't expanded Medicaid, but would not require them to lower them. The version of the megabill the House passed would freeze the rates for all states, a plan Kirby was willing to accept. On Friday, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) urged GOP leaders to strike the Finance Committee language on Medicaid, warning the crackdown won't clear the House. Republican senators hope to pass their version of the bill next week after which the House would need to pass it before Trump could sign it into law.
Boston Globe
3 days ago
- Boston Globe
After multi-year saga, Milton finally approves a state housing plan
Tuesday night's vote may finally be the end of a saga that has flamed political tensions in Milton since 2023, and, MBTA Communities supporters say, could mark a broader shift in the fight over the law. A year ago, 'Tonight's decision by Milton Town Meeting to advance a compliant plan is a strong signal that we are prepared to put the rancor of the past behind us and become a part of the solution to the housing crisis,' said Select Board Chair Ben Zoll, who has been pushing for the town to comply. Related : Advertisement Still, it was not without controversy. The plan passed at a special Town Meeting that went on for two nights, during which some community members gave impassioned speeches against complying with the law, and argued the town should continue its 'In every neighborhood, I meet people who tell me they saved up everything they had to move out of the city to live in Milton,' Denny Swenson, who helped organize the referendum in 2024, said at the meeting Tuesday. 'Many left the city and stressed the importance and value they place on having their own driveway, that tree by the sidewalk, that stitch of land in their backyard. They paid dearly to live in their neighborhood that is zoned as it is. This zoning article is changing that on them.' Denny Swenson campaigns against Milton's MBTA Communities plan ahead of a referendum in February of 2024. Erin Clark/Globe Staff There may still be one last push from opponents. Under the town charter, residents can trigger a referendum on a Town Meeting vote if they collect signatures from at least 5 percent of Milton's registered voters. There have been rumblings that opponents of the plan may try to force another town wide vote. The long fight over MBTA Communities in Milton began in 2023, when the Select Board passed a state-mandated zoning plan that would theoretically make room for 2,461 housing units. The plan was controversial, and after it The lead up to that vote in February 2024 was filled with intense campaigning, and some 54 percent of the 9,500 voters in the referendum Advertisement Milton's deadline to meet state guidelines was the end of 2023, so when voters rejected the plan, Attorney General Andrea Campbell In January, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled Related : After the ruling, the town's planning board designed two plans for Town Meeting to consider, one that would comply with the town's full requirement as a rapid transit community, and another, smaller plan designed for a scenario in which the town is reclassified to a different community category, and therefore a smaller housing requirement. It was the bigger plan that passed Tuesday night, while the smaller option was sent back to the planning board for further study. 'We have a housing crisis, there's no question,' said Anthony Cichello, a Town Meeting member. 'The MBTA Communities Act is an effort by the Legislature to try to address that housing issue. Its not going to fix the problem. But its a step, and its the law.' Advertisement The vote puts Milton with a growing list of communities that have fiercely debated, yet ultimately passed, an MBTA Communities plan. More than 75 percent of the 175 cities and towns covered by the law have enacted zoning plans intended to comply with it, state officials have said, and Earlier this month, a Superior Court judge Andrew Brinker can be reached at
