Town Manager presents 'worst-case' scenario
By Melissa Muntz Community Reporter

Shrewsbury - If the town fails to pass the proposed Proposition 2-1/2 override question and Town Meeting votes down pay-as-you-throw trash removal, the town will have to find an additional $2 million in cuts to balance the budget.

The Finance Committee is required to come to Town Meeting with a balanced budget, barring any variable funding that may be approved through the course of Town Meeting or in the Town Election.

To help them get to that number, Town Manager Daniel Morgado presented $2.1 million in possible cuts at the March 27 Finance Committee meeting. Morgado said he presented more than what was needed, to give the committee some flexibility in where they would need to make cuts.

The proposed cuts include the layoff of nine full-time town employees, including a firefighter and police dispatcher, eliminating several vacant positions town-wide, cutting hours at Town Hall and the library, and postponing or reducing equipment purchases and upgrades.

Morgado presented four phases of cuts, with Phase 4 being necessary only if both the override and pay-as-youthrow fail.

The first round of cuts would total $376,263 and would mean eliminating a vacant town electrician position, putting off building repairs at Floral, Spring and Paton Elementary schools, and cutting $250,000 from the School Department.

The second round of cuts would eliminate $763,905 from the budget, and would force the town to lay off a High School custodian, cut three drivers from the Meals on Wheels program (which would then be picked up by the state), eliminate Thursday hours at the library, reduce the level of service to school fields and cut the school budget by $500,000.

Phase 3 would cut $1.25 million from the budget, which would mean the library hours would be cut to 40 per week, at which point the library would lose its certification. It would also eliminate all part-time staff at the library, eliminate vacant positions in the Police and Public Buildings departments, and lay off staff in the Treasurer's Office, Engineering Department, and Parks and Recreation Department, as well as cut $750,000 from the School Department.

The final round of cuts, Phase 4, would eliminate $1.79 million from the budget and would mean the layoff of a po- lice dispatcher, a firefighter and a full-time library employee; hours at the library being cut to 30 per week; and $1 million being cut from the School Department.

Throughout the presentation, some members of the Finance Committee expressed concern that the library, through four phases, would lose 25 percent of its entire budget as opposed to the School Department, which would lose just 2.5 percent.

"It's one of the busiest departments. No matter when you go in there, there are dozens and dozens of people," committee member John Campbell said. "It appears on a percentage basis that the library is really getting hammered."

Morgado said each department determined its own areas of reduction, and that it will be the value judgment of Town Meeting members to determine where cuts will be made.

Because of staff layoff s and shorter hours, windows at many departments would be closed for times throughout the day to allow for staff to keep up with their work.

Finance Committee Chair Gene Buddenhagen expressed concern that upcoming capital expenditures, pay-as-youthrow trash removal, upcoming increases to water and sewer rates, and tough economic times make it difficult to ask voters for an override, but said the municipal departments just can't take anymore.

"We're talking about shorter hours at Town Hall, closing buildings, not purchasing equipment," Buddenhagen said. "It will be complete devastation."

The Finance Committee took no action following Morgado's presentation and said it will now take time to process the information before making any decisions.