Budget cut news even worse for local towns

Municipalities were left scrambling Wednesday to reassess fiscal year 2010 budgets in light of Gov. Deval Patrick’s proposed cuts.Patrick released his $28 billion budget proposal for 2010, which is approximately $200 million less than the budget lawmakers approved this year. The spending plan includes $1.6 billion in spending cuts and savings; withdrawing $586 million from the rainy day fund; and anticipates $711 million from a federal stimulus package that has not been approved by Congress yet.What that translates to for communities across the state is pain.”Very real pain,” said Saugus Town Manager Andrew Bisignani. “It makes me tired.”Communities have been bracing for the FY’10 cuts for months but the results are even more drastic than many North Shore municipalities expected.Nahant Town Administrator Mark Cullinan said based on the Governor’s latest numbers the town would be receiving $17,000 less in FY’10 than he budgeted for in his zero deficit budget.”We’ll be getting $114,000 less in state aid than we received for the current fiscal year,” he said. “We’ll try to absorb the cuts out of the operating budget but that may not be possible.”Cullinan said the $17,000 deficit would be split equally between the town and school. He said if he can’t balance the budget by making cuts in the operating budget he would look at contractual salary increases.”Layoffs have never been completely out of the picture,” he said. “If necessary I will meet with the unions and ask them to temporarily forgo pay increases before I resort to layoffs.”Bisignani said while he hasn’t received the details of the cuts yet he has little doubt he too will have to resort to layoffs.Anticipating the loss of state aid, Bisignani said he already trimmed $850,000 from his budget proposal but he said the cutting probably wouldn’t stop there.”Using the ’09 budget as a base I was able to take $850,000 off the table,” he said. “I’m still not through though. It will translate to bodies – to layoffs – there’s just no way around it.”When it was announced last week that the cuts were coming Town Moderator Robert Long took the news in stride.”This is nothing new for us,” he said. “We’re used to living in poverty.”Saugus has suffered a number of financial setbacks over the last few years, finally reaching a period of stability this year. Bisignani said that will all soon be washed away.As he waits for the final dollar figure on the 2010 cuts Bisignani has already positioned the town to absorb roughly $450,000 in emergency 2009 cuts also handed down by Patrick.”We really don’t even know the exact number for ’09 yet,” he said. “I can probably cover that but going into 2010, that’s where the real pain is going to be. I just wish I knew the details. Until we do, we’re preparing for the worst.”Swampscott Town Administrator Andrew Maylor said the town would receive less in state aid than anticipated and he expects layoffs would be necessary to balance the FY’10 budget.”There is nothing about the numbers to indicate we shouldn’t expect staff reductions,” he said. “There is not a scenario present I see where school funding would be sufficient to sustain staff at current levels with the existing contractual increases.”Maylor said he is looking at every aspect of the budget including staff reductions.”We are reviewing everything and trying to find more efficient ways to do things,” he said. “It may be necessary to close the library and senior center one day a week.”Maylor said he contacted the unions regarding the possibility of forgoing contractual salary increases in FY’10.”There hasn’t been a lot of dialogue yet,” he said. “I haven’t heard from a majority of the unions yet but some unions have indicated they would review it.”Maylor said the Governor’s budget assumes $587 million in new state revenue by increasing taxes on hotel rooms, alcohol and meals. His budget also calls for increasing revenue by increasing RMV fees.”We don’t know if these taxes will pass,” he said. “This