WILBRAHAM – Wilbraham Town Administrator Nick Brault and Assistant Town Administrator for Budget and Finance Thomas Sullivan presented the proposed town budget for the Fiscal Year 2021 at the  Select Board meeting on Feb. 3.

Brault began by explaining that due to fiscally responsible decisions in years past, the town is approximately $1 million under the 2.5 percent levy limit. With the budget proposals put forth this year, the town will be $69,428 under the levy limit.

Resident Don Flannery asked what will be done with that $69,428. Brault explained will be used, in part, to fund the new Wilbraham Middle School roof.

Brault and Sullivan highlighted some line items in the budget that were proposed to change by a significant amount.

Karen Demers, director of the Wilbraham Public Library was on hand to help explain the increase in the proposed budget for the library. Libraries must reach a municipal appropriation requirement (MAR), which is mandated by the state. This year’s MAR is $7,420,266; the town plans to reach that level by increasing funding for office supplies and books and periodicals. Demers explained if the town does not budget the required amount, the library may lose state funding.

“Our Board of Trustees would like to see our state funds go toward something a little more special, and our operating budget to come from the town,” Demers said.

Sullivan explained that an estimated 2.5 percent increase to the regional school assessment is the result of children from Wilbraham making up a growing portion of the school enrollment. The base increase is estimated to be approximately $605,417.

Capital expenditures from free cash are expected to total $273,980.

The salary pool also increased from $115,000 in FY20 to a proposed $246,000 in the upcoming fiscal year. Brault explained that the increase would cover collective bargaining contract agreements, vacation payouts, personal day options and sick leave buy-backs. The buy-backs for the accounting department, police department, inspectors, assessors and the Council on Aging total $103,552.

A proposal for police vehicle cameras would cost $57,780.

An increase of approximately $52,000 was added for solid waste “contract services” due to the financial increase in the proposed contract with the material recycling facility in Springfield. Brault said that the figure was generous and expected it to come down as the numbers were solidified.

The elections budget is proposed for $52,966, up from $28,507 in FY20. Brault said that this increase was needed every four years to pay for the presidential primary elections.

The budget for the Tree Warden has been increased by $30,000 to $77,616 to pay for tree removal. Brault has proposed to increase the budget permanently going forward as the dead tree situation in town continues to deteriorate.

“We’re certainly looking to invest more in tree work,” Brault said.

Approximately $16,500 has been proposed to pay for a part-time planning board administrative assistant.

The Historical Commission has requested $4,200 for signage that would draw attention to the historical nature of downtown Wilbraham. It was determined that the project was not eligible for preservation money, and an estimate from a local company was obtained. The project does not need to be bid out as it falls under the financial threshold.

Long-term debt in the town decreased by $40,000, partly because, Sullivan said, the fire truck had been paid off. The long-term debt principal is $130,000 less than it was in FY20.

Police Chief Robert Zollo requested an increase of $10,733 for overtime. Even with that in mind, the police budget is projected to be $2,568,564, which is down $28,275 from last year.

Similarly, the fire department budget is projected to increase $20,000, while the regular salaries have been reduced by approximately $23,000. The total budget for the department is $93,114 less than last year.

The town is projected to save approximately $14,000 on rent for the building that houses the YMCA and the Senior Center.

As Brault and Sullivan were reviewing the dog officer budget, Flannery stated that the dog officer should be self-sustaining based on collected license fees. He made the argument that it should be paid for only by those residents that use it. He stated that the transfer station should be funded in the same manner.

Sullivan countered by asking if he would propose the same method for funding the schools and the fire department. The topic was tabled.

The warrant was closed for the March 9 Special Town Meeting. The two items under consideration will be the approximately $3,169,773 of funding for the Wilbraham Middle School roof and the funding for a backhoe.

Resident Dave Sanders inquired about the building study request for proposals, which Brault said will go out around Feb. 11. Sanders also asked about the proposed state Department of Transportation project to create bike lanes on Route 20.

“It’s a state road. We have no say in it,” Selectman Robert Boilard told Sanders.

Toward the end of the meeting, Flannery asked the select board if they could intervene on his behalf with the Senior Center Building Committee. He said that his plan to locate the new senior center in the shuttered Memorial School building was not being given “equal time.”

The Senior Center Building Feasibility Study Committee had reviewed and discounted the use of Memorial School of the Senior Center as oversized and too expensive to renovate, choosing instead to pursue a location on Springfield Street behind the Town Hall.

Acting Select Board Chair Robert Russell explained that the committee was independent and the decision to not allow Flannery to propose an alternate location was within their purview.

“You appointed that committee, so you can tell them to give me equal time,” Flannery said.

Russell and Selectman Robert Boilard explained that Flannery, who has filed a petition for a warrant article for the Annual Town Meeting in May, would have the time and use of a projector to present his plan then.