Saugus hears budget scenarios for FY’12

SAUGUS – The Finance Committee heard its first official presentations of fiscal 2012 budget scenarios Wednesday from the town’s department heads.No surprises emerged. Town Manager Andrew Bisignani explained the benefits of giving a salary increase to Town Clerk Joanne Rappa, mostly due to her experience and what it would cost to replace her.If approved, Rappa’s present salary of $53,937 would increase by roughly $6,000.Bisignani also emphasized that the one-time property tax assessment residents are being asked to foot in April to pay for $1.1 million in unanticipated winter snow-and-ice removal costs is the least painful method of balancing the budget and trying to maintain the current level of municipal services.”This is a one-time special assessment. It’s a new strategy that has never been done before in Massachusetts. It’s not a debt exclusion and it’s not an override,” he said.When calculating the proposed fiscal 2012 town budget, Bisignani said he presumed the special assessment would pass.A special Town Meeting will be held Monday to vote on whether to ask the state Legislature to give Saugus permission to hold an unscheduled election in April so residents can decide on the special assessment.The one-time payment, averaging about $80 per single-family home, would not carry over into subsequent years, unlike an override which stays on the tax bill.Police Chief Domenic Dimella warned the Finance Committee “there will be consequences” if the Police Department is stripped of overtime and training funds. Emergency calls have increased in the past year from 17,865 to 19,969 and his 38 patrolmen answer dozens of calls per shift, he said.To cut costs, Dimella eliminated the drug unit, juvenile officer and domestic violence officer.”If I lose $200,000, I can’t keep minimum manning,” he said, adding non-emergency service calls such as a child locked in a car would likely go unanswered.”It puts everything in jeopardy,” he said.Fire Chief James Blanchard painted a similarly gloomy picture. “The shortfall in our overtime budget will cause the closure of the Essex Street station by some time in February,” he said.Blanchard said that firehouse is closed when minimum manning levels of three firefighters per engine cannot be met. “We are the most undermanned fire department in Greater Boston,” he said. “At one time we had 12 men on per shift. Today we have nine.”Finance Committee Chairman Robert Palleschi praised the police and fire chiefs for keeping the number of sick leaves and job-related injuries in check.Blanchard said the Fire Department has a new engine on order to replace a 27-year-old model fitted with a 500-gallon water tank. The chief said newer engines have 1,000-gallon tanks, an important consideration in Saugus where the water supply from hydrants is not always reliable.The Finance Committee also heard from Paul Penachio, a Saugus firefighter and director of the town’s Emergency Management Department. Penachio said most of the department is operated with help from dedicated volunteers.Earlier this month, the Board of Selectmen sent the preliminary $76 million budget to the Finance Committee for further scrutiny.Wednesday night’s proceedings marked the first time in Saugus history that a Finance Committee was televised on the town’s cable TV station.