Huntington library, ambulance will depend on override vote

May 5, 2022 | Amy Porter
aporter@thereminder.com

From left, Huntington Public Library Director Amanda Loiselle and trustees Karen Wittshirk and Linda Siska objected last week to the Selectboard’s plan to condition their budget on a Proposition 2½ override.
Reminder Publishing photo by Amy Porter

HUNTINGTON — On April 29, the Huntington Selectboard and Finance Committee decided not to include funding for the Hilltown Community Ambulance Service or the Huntington Public Library in their fiscal year 2023 budget, and instead to have those agencies’ budgets rely on voters passing Proposition 2½ overrides, according to an email from Jennifer Peloquin, administrative assistant.

Huntington Public Library trustees Karen Wittshirk and Linda Siska and Library Director Amanda Loiselle had met with the Selectboard on April 27, asking for $86,328, which they described as the minimum annual budget required to meet the state’s Municipal Appropriation Requirement (MAR) for certification.

Instead, they were told by Selectboard members that the library will not be funded in the regular town budget for 2023, and its funding will depend entirely on passage of an override.

“We were all so incredibly stunned, we were not so coherent,” Wittshirk said about the meeting.

Under Proposition 2½, a state law passed in 1980, towns can only raise their property tax levy up to 2.5 percent per year, unless voters agree to a higher tax hike. Peloquin said the Selectboard and Finance Committee will host a public hearing on the town budget, including the proposed overrides, at 7 p.m. on May 16 in Stanton Hall, 26 Russell Rd., Huntington. The overrides would be voted as ballot questions at a special election on June 4, and as warrant articles at the annual Town Meeting at 7 p.m. on June 6. They would need to pass in both venues to take effect.

Selectboard Chair Edward Renauld said although the two boards passed the budget cuts unanimously, they don’t want to close the library or lose the ambulance.

“Hopefully, we get enough people that want to support the library and the ambulance,” he said.

He said for several years in a row, however, Huntington’s town government has had to resort to stabilization and free cash — money saved or left over from previous budget years — to meet its operating expenses.

“By doing these overrides, we can raise what we need to raise and appropriate. I don’t want to close the library. The fact of the matter is, it’s large enough to make a dent,” Renauld said. He said the only other departments in town that are large enough, such as highway, fire and police, are more essential to the town.

Renauld said even eliminating the library and the ambulance service, which total approximately $145,000, the town is still planning to use $150,000 from free cash and stabilization to bridge its operating deficit.

“There are only so many programs and departments in town that have that kind of budget. These seemed to make the most sense; basically, we came up close to what we’re short, knowing that we’re going to have to use free cash or stabilization or a combination of both.”

Renauld said the town has only $700,000 in stabilization.

“We had over a million, but we had to hit it. We shouldn’t be using stabilization for operational costs,” he said.

Free cash was recently certified at $270,000, and “we’re probably going to use almost all of it,” he added.

One of the reasons Huntington’s budget is short this year is an increase in the student population of more than 20 students, which increases the town’s percentage of the Gateway Regional school budget. Huntington’s school assessment is going up $200,000. Renauld said the alternative assessment, which levies an equal increase on all six towns, would have meant a hike of only $56,000 to Huntington, but that formula doesn’t seem likely to pass.

“We have to be prepared for the extra $150,000,” Renauld said.

Renauld said another “kicker” is the town is also going to be $300,000 short for the Route 66 project, which is underway. The town received a $1 million grant to mill and fill the road and repair catch basins, but with the increase in costs of materials such as asphalt, the $1 million is not enough. The town is lobbying state legislators for more money to complete the road.

“When you start over $300,000 in the hole, where else will I get the money?” Renauld said. “I hate the perception that we’re trying to close these things. We just need to find a way to raise and appropriate more money,” Renauld said.

 

Decertification consequences

If the town does not fund the library, it would close its doors on July 1, the start of the new fiscal year. If library funding does not reach the MAR standard, the library would lose its state certification. Instead of having access to 59 million items from libraries across the state through the interlibrary loan system, and borrowing privileges at other towns’ libraries, Huntington residents would be limited to the holdings at their own library only.

The loss of access to out-of-town libraries could apply even to Huntington residents who are already longstanding members and cardholders at other libraries, such as the Westfield Athenaeum or the Forbes Library in Northampton. Libraries in certified municipalities such as those are not required to extend reciprocal library services to residents of a non-certified municipality.

Other benefits of state certification include access to state construction and networking grants, and federal technology grants. Libraries that lose certification do retain access to some state databases and resources, such as the Library for the Commonwealth at the Boston Public Library.

There are only four towns in Massachusetts that do not have state-certified libraries: New Ashford has no library, Monroe and Savoy never applied, and Alford hasn’t applied since 1988.

Wittshirk said once before the Huntington Selectboard — with different members than today’s board — put partial funding of the library on two different overrides, one smaller and one larger, without consulting with the trustees. As a result, the residents voted for the smaller funding, which was below the MAR standard. Eventually the funding was restored, but the library’s certification was put on probation for five years.

Asked whether the library could raise the money it needs to reopen, she said the funds have to be raised and appropriated by the town, and the MAR is based on population for each town.

“This is the focus and reason for the establishment of MAR by the [state] Board of Library Commissioners,” Wittshirk said. “Massachusetts practically invented public libraries in this country — goes back to the 1700s. Other small towns with strapped budgets are managing to fund their libraries, and make funding them a priority.”

Siska said after a few rough years, the Huntington Public Library “has been in an upbeat mood, and is really starting to sing.”

According to statistics compiled by Loiselle, since July 1, 2021, 1,373 people have visited the library, which has added 73 new patrons. The library has ordered 1,517 new items, increasing its collection to 7,340. In addition, residents have asked for 346 interlibrary loans.

“The number of people using it is greater than it has been, and a great effort went into ordering new books, from top 10 lists and award winners,” Siska said, adding, “There is a difference in the library.”

She said there are many ways the library serves the community, beyond lending books. There are free children’s programs with special guests, including a summer reading program for which Loiselle already has four guests booked. It also hosts adult programs, lends out museum passes, and recently started a “library of things.” Loiselle said she is also planning on starting a maker space at the library, and had planned to increase the hours the library is open. Currently, library hours are 2-6 p.m. Tuesdays, noon to 6 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays.

Wittshirk said the trustees were planning to raise money for new computers and a new printer, a service that the library, which has a Wi-Fi hotspot, has been offering for years. The library is also a heating, cooling and flood center for the town in an emergency.

Siska said the fact that the town of Huntington allocated no money to the library concerns every community.

“It makes me embarrassed for Huntington,” she said.

The trustees were planning to convene a meeting with the Friends of the Library on May 2, after which they said they would issue a public statement.

They are also encouraging residents to attend the public hearing on May 16.
Renauld said he, too, wants to see as many residents as possible at the meeting.

“Most people are involved one night a year. They need to see what the picture looks like,” he said. “When people see it, and they understand what the problem is, and that the problem is not going to go away, I think it will convince them this is what needs to happen. People don’t like to pay for taxes.”

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