Humason readies city for new budget season

April 28, 2021 | Amy Porter
amyporter@thewestfieldnews.com

Donald Humason
Reminder Publishing file photo

WESTFIELD – Going into the budget season, Westfield Mayor Donald F. Humason, Jr., is optimistic about the coming year for the city and City Hall, which opened to the public on April 19. 

“Westfield is open for business,” Humason said.

In the past year, the city hired a new auditor, airport manager and personnel director.  A search for a director for the Department of Public Works is now underway.  Humason said they went through the first round, but wanted to draw from as big a pool as possible.

“The City Council required an engineering degree [for the position.] We increased the salary, and have four candidates for the next round,” Humason said.  He said the Board of Public Works and Water Commission do the hiring, and will be scheduling interviews.

“Then all the big positions are filled. At first we had a lot of openings; it’s hard to hire during a pandemic,” he said.  

Humason and Auditor Vicki Moro, who he called “a great choice” for the job, have been meeting with all of the departments on budget reviews over the last couple of months.  He said he has asked all of the departments to level fund this year, understanding there will be increases with cost of living (COLA), as well as contractual increases.

He said there are expected increases in a few departments, such as Information Technology “Every kid has a Chromebook. We knew we were going to increase IT,” Humason said.

While conservative, which Humason said is his tendency, a level-funded budget contrasts with the request going into last year, when the outlook was less certain.  

“Last year, we chose to take a really conservative approach. We planned a budget that was 15 percent lower.” Humason said the city was told that lottery sales and other receipts were going to be down and that would affect cities and towns.  Grants and federal aid also hadn’t kicked in.

Humason said the state ended up level funding, but not until December.

“The Commonwealth’s position is stronger,” he said, adding the speaker and governor have pledged to increase the budget. The governor did put in an increase in House I budget, and the House of Representatives began their debate on April 26.  The speaker has said no large tax increases and they will draw from the Rainy Day fund, Humason said.

Humason is watching Chapter 70 aid to the schools, which is based on school population. He said Westfield is down 200 students largely due to the pandemic, which might have an impact how much Chapter 70 funds are received. The Massachusetts Municipal Association (MMA) has an amendment to base Chapter 70 funds on 2019 numbers, which Humason is planning to ask State Rep. Kelly Pease to support.

In addition, the house speaker pledged to fund the Student Opportunity Act (SOA), which Humason said he voted for while in state government. SOA increases spending on low-income educationally disadvantaged students, students on individualized education plans (IEP) and English language learners, all of which the state puts in a high-risk category.

“We think the state budget will be better both for unrestricted funds to the city side, and Chapter 70 to the school side,” Humason said.

The mayor will also be asking Pease to support increasing Chapter 90 funds for approved infrastructure projects, still at $200 million annually. Humason said when he was in the senate, he argued for $300,000 a year for two years, instead of an annual appropriation, to allow cities and towns to plan for longer projects.  Chapter 90 is separate from the governor’s budget.

Westfield is also asking U.S. Rep. Richard Neal to earmark infrastructure money in the transportation bill that is being debated in the federal government. Humason said he would like to see $1 million for the Boys & Girls Club expansion, along with funding for some engineering projects, including widening the Westfield River Levee.

Westfield has been told the city will receive an appropriation of $17 million from the American Rescue Plan to spend over the next four years (through December 2024).  Humason said there are four different categories eligible for the funding. “It is not a blank check,” he noted.

According to USA.gov, in addition to helping local governments address the revenue losses they have experienced as a result of the crisis, the American Rescue Plan (ARP) will help them cover the costs incurred due responding to the public health emergency and provide support for a recovery – including through assistance to households, small businesses and nonprofits, aid to impacted industries, and support for essential workers. It will also provide resources to invest in infrastructure, including water, sewer and broadband services.

Humason said the city did not suffer a lot of losses in revenue.  He said according to Treasurer Matt Barnes, receipts are currently $1 million over this time last year.  He said infrastructure is an area that Westfield is looking at for the ARP funds, and they are waiting for guidance in May from the Treasury Department.

“We may spend on levees and dams. That might be an area where we could use some of the money,” he said.  

Humason added, “Westfield’s budget will be bigger than last year. The question is how much bigger. I don’t want to create a budget that’s not sustainable when the well dries up.” He said one-time money should be spent on capital needs.

Humason said the next step for the budget will be to work with Finance chair Ralph J. Figy and City Council President Brent B. Bean, II, to pick a week or two in May to set up a subcommittee as a whole to review the budget.  He said department heads, the treasurer, finance team and mayor will present to the City Council, who will make recommendations as they go along.

Humason’s goal is not to raise taxes. “Last year, not only did we not raise taxes, the tax rate went down. That is the good news. More good news is Westfield is a great city. In December, tax values went up 5 percent. At the end of this year, I’d love to not have new taxes. My goal is to keep Westfield’s tax split and tax rate the same,” he said.

The mayor does want to use free cash this year to create a Request for Proposal for a Master Plan, which hasn’t been done in 50 years. He said the city will hire a consultant once the City Council agrees to pay for it to begin the fairly lengthy process. Humason pointed to the city’s many “good pieces:” the Rail Trail, recreational opportunities in the rivers and woods, a hospital, a university and airport.

“We know we have good pieces. The Master Plan looks at how to join those parts,” he said, adding, “I want to tie all those in, so all those parts make up a whole. A unified cohesive vision that will carry us into the future.”

In the near term, Humason would like to use funding received for downtown revitalization to hire a consultant to work with downtown businesses on how to capitalize on visitors coming in for the opening of the new section of the Rail Trail this summer, in coordination with the new Chamber of Commerce director.

“People are going to be coming here for the new section of the trail. I want them to get off the trail. I want to help the business community to capitalize on new customers, and make Westfield known as a friendly, welcoming place,” Humason said. He said one idea they are looking at is an interactive GPS map that will tell riders what is off each exit.

Humason also said an “interested party” is looking at the Turnpike Industrial Park for a “dream project” that he couldn’t talk about; one that Community Development

Director Peter J. Miller is currently focused on.

“Whether you want to locate here or expand here, we want your business. It’s all about providing services locally,” Humason said.

When asked whether he misses being a part of the state legislature, especially now during the budget debate, Humason said he misses it “a little.”

“I liked it, I did it for a long time. I miss it a little, but I like what I’m doing much more now.  I get much more done and am more closely impacting the lives of the people in the city,” Humason said.

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