Haverhill’s budget for the year that begins next month is out of balance by a little more than $500,000 with fire department staffing emerging—as it has for the last several years—as an area of disagreement.
Mayor James J. Fiorentini and City Council President Timothy J. Jordan spoke by telephone Thursday, but did not reach agreement on how to proceed. Councilors, who conducted a final review Wednesday of the proposed quarter-billion city spending plan, said the issue centers on how to pay for adding a fourth firefighter to each crew dispatched from the Water Street fire station.
Earlier contention over school spending appeared to be largely resolved. The mayor told councilors he fulfilled requests made by Superintendent Margaret Marotta and the school department.
“The great bulk of the money of the original budget that was submitted to you was extra money for the school department. I had already agreed to provide an extra $1,820,000. The other night, she asked for an additional $1.6 million to improve service and I agreed that if the debt exclusion passed, I would do that. I’ve added that. We’re close to an agreement but not quite. The fire department budget separates us,” he said.
The mayor appeared to condition the fire department’s staffing request on the use of civilian dispatchers. A study, released in February, by the Washington-based Center for Public Safety Management pointed to advantages of firefighters handling calls instead of civilians and noted civilian turnover nationally. Should the transition take place, it suggests, the department’s overall uniform firefighter count not be reduced.
Both Fiorentini and councilors agree no further cuts to the budget are needed. The mayor said he will likely take the money from one-time cash. Councilors note the administration might be undercounting income. They also said money could be taken from the city’s continuing surplus or from property taxes since the city remains under totals allowed by the state’s tax-limiting law, Proposition 2 ½.
School Committee members earlier took the mayor to task for taking away money he already pledged. This includes $1.82 million annually to pay teacher salaries during each year of a new contract that resolved last fall’s strike. Members said the mayor also took back $1.63 million to reimburse the city for such expenses as health insurance.
Fiorentini says he will bring a proposal to close the gaps to Jordan within the next few days and have it ready for the Council’s final approval next Tuesday.
Although not part of the budget discussions per se, the issue of paying for a future replacement John Greenleaf Whittier School was raised by Councilor Thomas J. Sullivan. He pointed to Tuesday’s close vote on paying for the new Dr. Albert B. Consentino School and asked how much stomach will residents have for another override in a relatively short period of time. He noted it will likely be 2032 before a new Whittier School becomes a reality. He also took the opportunity to endorse the idea of purchasing modular classrooms as soon as possible.