As budgeting for fiscal 2019 draws to a close, the Board of Selectmen and the Finance Committee have found themselves dealing with fluctuating forecasts and last-minute requests that have taken their budget for the coming year from deficit to surplus.
In December, faced with a projected shortfall of more than $600,000, the selectmen voted to cut town expenses by $200,000 and cap spending on other requests at $161,000. Those revisions lowered the shortfall by 97 percent, leaving a small but manageable deficit.
Thanks to news in January that state aid will likely increase in fiscal 2019 and this week’s projection that health benefit costs for town employees will rise somewhat less than forecast, the next budget summary, which was due at this week’s Finance Committee meeting, is likely to show a surplus of approximately $130,000, according to Press calculations. It will be up to the selectmen and Finance Committee to recommend how to spend it.
The omnibus budget, which comprises the spending of town boards and departments as well as debt, is the most predictable portion of the annual budget, growing by a fixed percentage from year to year, with the portion appropriated to each branch of government remaining more or less the same. It is sometimes said that the business of Harvard is education, and the schools, as is typically the case, are in line to receive half of next fiscal year’s $25.7 million planned spending. Add in the portion of fringe and health benefits owed teachers and other school employees, and the school portion soars well above 50 percent. And if it were not for the income the schools receive for educating Devens students, the amount would be even higher.
Health and fringe benefits (20.3 percent) and public safety (police, fire, and ambulance: 7.7 percent) are the next two largest categories. Culture and education (library, Harvard Cable TV, and Parks and Recreation Commission: 2.8 percent) and human services (Board of Health, Council on Aging, and Veterans’ Services: 1 percent) lie at the bottom of the list. (See pie chart, right, to see how spending is distributed.)
Already the second largest slice of the budget, the costs of health and fringe benefits for town employees will increase the most in fiscal 2019, a projected jump of $800,000 or 18.3 percent. This will be offset partially by the shift of Harvard teachers this year from the state-run health insurance program to the regional Minuteman collaborative. In contrast, excluded debt will drop, as will money spent for town government. The only additional excluded debt expected next year—debt that is paid for by an increase in taxes—is contingent on passage of a $383,000 ballot question at May’s Town Election to pay for making the old library accessible.
The spending in this year’s budget conforms to the guidelines given town boards and departments in October 2017 when they were told to budget to maintain level service, but include cost-of-living pay increases for teachers and municipal employees. Requests for money above and beyond these amounts were to be submitted separately. At the time the selectmen voted to cap such requests at $161,000, they had received five: three from the Department of Public Works, one from the Fire Department for new hose, and one from the Planning Board for a full-time town planner. Since January, however, two additional requests have arrived: one for $50,000 from the Conservation Commission for land maintenance, and the other from the selectmen for a $15,000 management study of the Council on Aging. While the selectmen have said they will defer the COA study until fiscal 2020, they and Finance Committee are inclined to grant the Conservation Commission a portion of its request.
The selectmen and Finance Committee have dealt separately with each change in fortune by selectively restoring previous cuts. First, the selectmen restored $53,000 to town spending, and then FinCom responded with recommendations of its own, restoring $43,000, the surplus available at that time. At their Feb. 6 meeting, the selectmen discussed their differences with FinCom and suggested further adjustments, but they have yet to take action. Now with an additional $88,000 available, the selectmen and FinCom have more decisions ahead. A final budget, accompanied by a report from FinCom, is due March 12.
