Crabtree tells board: ‘Everything is not fine’

SAUGUS – Town Manager Scott Crabtree said even though the town?s budget is balanced, Saugus still faces an uncertain financial future.In a lengthy update to the Finance Committee Thursday night, Crabtree pointed to staffing shortages in the Police and Fire departments, and the Department of Public Works as issues that need to be resolved.?We need to have that staffing,” said Crabtree. “We?re playing roulette here with everything. We?re in a challenging situation. We don?t have enough for services throughout the town. We need to get staffing up throughout the town period.”Crabtree said he?s hoping to hear back about a grant to hire eight new firefighters in the next couple of weeks, but noted the town needs to plan “one year, five years and 10 years out.”?We don?t have enough funds to survive long-term,” said Crabtree. “People think things are fine ? everything is not fine. There is no piggy bank ? We only can spend what we bring in. We?ll have to make cuts and reduce services or we?ll have to make other decisions.”In other business, Crabtree said he spent $78,000 implementing a new fuel management system that will keep track of gas usage in town and monitor when vehicles need oil changes and repair, and is looking to upgrade the town?s phone service.Crabtree said the fuel management system should pay for itself with fuel savings within one-and-a-half years.?What I?m trying to do is make the most efficiencies, and bring back the trust and confidence of the board and the public,” said Crabtree. “The core of the problem is there?s been a lot of waste ? that?s what we?re trying to get a hold of.”Finance Committee member Louis Rossi, however, said the town needs to get its “house in order” first before spending money on new systems.?My sense is it would be nice to do all these things,” said Rossi. “But we need to have priorities ? I want to focus on the real issues ? as opposed to doing so many things at one time that we might lose sight of the nuts and bolts of it.”Crabtree also told the committee he recently discovered that a state grant for the Senior Center had been spent on “non-Senior Center expenses.”Treasurer/Collector Wendy Hatch said department heads are being trained to keep better financial records.?We?re educating them on reconciliation so there are no surprises anymore,” said Hatch.Hatch also said any inappropriate stipends, as outlined in the three-part forensic audit, have been “discontinued,” but Crabtree noted there are still some stipends that legally have to be paid.Matt Tempesta can be reached at [email protected].