Longmeadow Select Board discusses tax rate, FY22 town budget

Nov. 12, 2020 | Sarah Heinonen
sarah@thereminder.com

LONGMEADOW– The Longmeadow Select Board reviewed its assumptions for the Fiscal Year 2022 town budget. Finance Director Paul Pasterczyk walked the board members through a fairly level budget, which will see only an estimated 3 percent increase in salaries due to contractual obligations and an estimated increase of 0.5 percent for other expenses.

The goal for the tax rate is an additional 1.75 percent, well under the 2.5 percent limit. Pasterczyk said that the expected new growth is $125,000, below the historic floor of $150,00 per year of new tax growth.

The state aid for the schools is expected to be an increase of roughly $30 per pupil, yielding $84,000 for the school budget. Aside from this, Pasterczyk said most revenue will remain even. The exception to this is the Stormwater Enterprise Fund, which is set to increase by 3.75 percent.

He also said that the town’s debt service will go up by about $500,000 due to the Adult Center and Department of Public Works projects. The next round of capital projects is expected to cost $1.9 million.

As a whole, the budget has a $900,000 shortfall, which fall exceeds the target of $373,000 covered by the 1.75 percent tax increase. Pasterczyk said, “I do not believe that I can meet the $311,000 [of unused levy capacity] goal when we go to set the tax rate. It’ll be in the vicinity of about $250,000, which would be almost equal to where we were in FY20.”

Pasterczyk noted that 20 percent of the property in town is up for re-evaluation. Sleect Board Member Mark Gold asked when the town would see the impact of that. Pasterczyk told him that the process has been put on hold due to the pandemic.

The board voted to approve a roadway incursion policy proposed by Gold. The policy requires any non-emergency opening in a recently-paved road, in the case of utility work, for example, be patched with an eight-foot square patch. Gold made the case that the town spends as much as $400,000 on paving the streets and, as such, the residents should be ensured smooth roads on which to drive.

Select Board Chair Thomas Lachiusa expressed concern about the cost homeowners would incur if they had to pay for the 8-foot patch required by the policy. Gold said that homeowners are generally only responsible for the pipes and utilities to the street. The policy is intended to address work done by utilities, Gold said.

The board took up the discussion of “irrigation meters,” which would read water used for purposes that do not result in sewage treatment. Resident Mike Madsen spoke to the issue.

“As a secondary meter for irrigation is an accurate way to determine the amount of water that is used that does not enter the sewer system, it is more equitable than estimating,” Madsen said. He said that while there are enough signatures to get an article on the warrant at the annual town meeting, he hoped that the board would approve the change so the meters can be installed “before the 2021 season.” Madsen acknowledged that the residents who take part in this would be responsible for the cost of the meters.

Gold said that a plan was designed for this in 2012 by the water department. He called it a “well-developed proposal.” The water used in the house would be tracked by one meter and a second meter would track water used for irrigation. The amount on the second meter would be subtracted from the resident’s sewer bill.

Strange asked if separate meters asked would cause the sewer rates to go up.

“The short answer is yes,” Gold told him, but added, “For the individual ratepayer, right now we have that 220 unit cap on sewer rates, so they would get charged for all the water that goes through their main meter. One can assume that if more than 50 houses in town did this, there’d be a measurable amount of water that’s currently being billed for sewage that wouldn’t be. Those costs would be borne by everybody else.”

He added, “Right now the people who water their lawn are subsidizing the sewer rates.”

Foster recommended reviewing a 2017 study on “winter averaging,” a related concept that takes the average water usage during the winter months, since no irrigation is done during the winter, and uses it as a baseline for the sewer usage. He also noted the cost of the meters is expensive.

Select Board Clerk Steven Marantz expressed skepticism, stating “I’m not so sure at this time that if I water my lawn, I’m subsidizing the sewer system.” The board tabled the discussion.

Town Moderator Rebecca Townsend explained to the board her reasoning behind the postponement of the town meeting, originally scheduled for Oct. 27. With the rising cases of COVID-19 in the area and in the town, she said it was a prudent decision. The board agreed with her. She also informed them that, although the meeting was rescheduled to Nov. 17, she will likely postpone it further, depending on the data and case numbers.

“My thought is if one person got ill from a Town Meeting we put on … so, yeah. I fully agree with this decision,” Select Board Vice-Chair Marc Strange said.

Gold suggested that the special town meeting be staged outside on a weekend, during the day while the weather is mild. Townsend said she would be amenable to that plan.

Marantz asked if there were any financial matters that may create challenges due to the postponement. Pasterczyk told him that there are some supplemental budget items that would require a town meeting vote, including additions to the legal expense account and the forestry account. If the special town meeting is not conducted, these departments may need to put off some of their projects until the annual town meeting in the spring, Pasterczyk said.

In Town Manager Lyn Simmons’ town manager report, she told the board that the town has retained Tighe & Bond for development and evaluation of slope stabilization alternatives at the new Department of Public Works building at 170 Dwight Rd. This is the start of a process to prevent further erosion.

Simmons reported that the tax abatement program, which employs seniors in various town departments in exchange for a reduction in property taxes, has been postponed until after the pandemic eases and people can be allowed inside town buildings again.

Longmeadow made some revenue through an auction of surplus goods and equipment, including old iPads, decommissioned police vehicles, and DPW equipment. A total of 19 items were sold at the public event, and the town made $36,585.

Health Director Beverly Hirschhorn is retiring at the end of the year. The town will soon post the position and begin the search process. In the meantime, Cheryl Messer-Lusty has been hired as a temporary Public Health Coordinator, a position paid for by federal coronavirus relief funding. Messer-Lusty can be reached at covid19@longmeadow.org.

Several residents appeared before the Select Board to apply for various volunteer positions with the town.

Anastasios Angelides applied for a position on the town’s Board of Health, of which he is already an alternate member. Angelides is a retired doctor and medical school instructor. In his letter of interest, he noted that he had had several interactions with the Massachusetts Board of Health in the past. He told the board that he is willing to take a training course “to bring me up to speed.”

Selectman Richard Foster asked Angelides how often he felt the Board of Health should meet. Angelides said that he felt a monthly meeting was reasonable, but the board needed to be flexible to deal with issues as they arise.

Resident David L. Russell had sent a letter of interest to Simmons regarding representing the town to the Longmeadow Casino Mitigation Advisory Committee. While he told the board that he was more familiar with the Gaming Commission as a whole, he voiced an interest in learning more about the LCMAC and in pursuing grants to mitigate the casino’s impact on the town. He stated that he had some experience in grant writing and could be of value to the town.

Lou Kornet also expressed interest in the LCMAC. Kornet has served on several town boards and committees in the past, including the planning board, Recycling Commission, and as commissioner to the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission. “We all want to do something to better the town,” Kornet told the board.

Evelyn Pratt applied to the Longmeadow Cultural Council (LCC). Pratt volunteers with several other organizations and committees in the town and said that the LCC seemed like a good way to become more involved. The board will make a decision on the appointments at their next meeting.

Simmons updated the town on a letter to Eversource that the board had been asked to cosign which urged the company to eschew its natural gas holdings. She said that the town attorney had reviewed the letter and recommended against signing. The board took no action on the letter based on that advice.

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