The Haverhill City Council voted 8-1 Monday night to reject a Haverhill School Committee recommendation to add $1 million to next year’s school budget.
Ward 1 Councilor Ralph T. Basiliere praised the city’s original spending plan that avoids staff layoffs, pays down the city’s debt and maintains the city’s AA bond rating. He ticked off a summary of reasons he and a majority of his colleagues believes the city needs to tighten its belt.
“The bad news is I am hearing about a 9% decrease in receipts, challenges with the (fire department’s) SAFER grant, a shortage of free cash goals, higher inflation, a whopping snow and ice deficit. Of course, we had a mill fire that’s costing us to the tune of about $5 million and dwindling free cash,” Basiliere said.
Ward 3 Councilor Devan M. Ferreira was the sole vote in favor of additional money for the schools in the budget for the year beginning July 1. Voting against were Council President Timothy J. Jordan, at-large Councilors Thomas J. Sullivan and Colin F. LePage, Basiliere, Ward 2 Councilor Daniel R. Diodati, Ward 5 Councilor Shaun P. Toohey, Ward 6 Councilor Michael S. McGonagle and Ward 7 Councilor Catherine P. Rogers. Vice President John A. Michitson abstained because he has a family member who works for the school department. Ward 4 Councilor Melissa J. Lewandowski was absent.
As WHAV first reported, the School Committee voted 7-3 last Thursday to request the additional $1 million to add to the $137 million budget Haverhill School Superintendent Margaret Marotta presented.
During a discussion of the impact of adding money—beyond which Mayor Melinda E. Barrett allocated, Chief Financial Officer and City Auditor Angel A. Perkins painted a bleak picture of the city’s finances over the next several years. Perkins predicted only $435,193 will be left in the city’s free cash account on June 30 after the city pays a $3.4 million snow and ice removal bill for this past winter. The city began the year with $11 million in that fund.
Barrett’s proposed city spending of $285.2 million already anticipates a tax increase of $245 next year for the average home valued at $561,903. Barrett, who chairs the School Committee, said she cannot go along with more money for the schools, noting property taxes increased by 8% two years ago and 5% last year. Barrett is proposing to draw on $1.1 million of the city’s excess levy limit—money that could have been added to property tax bills in prior years, but wasn’t—to balance her budget. That would leave $1.4 million.
While Marotta’s budget mostly avoids layoff through attrition, it eliminates 17 full-time positions and makes across the board cuts in several programs. At-large School Committee member Toni A. Sapienza-Donais proposed adding back $350,000 program cuts and $650,000 to cover salary increases for unions which have open contracts, most notably the school’s educational support professionals.