Alarmed by this year’s 15% increase to the town’s portion of employee pension contributions, Finance Director Jared Mullane has proposed a warrant article that would create a new stabilization fund to help pay for future increases. Mullane suggests an initial annual taxpayer contribution of $200,000, which would cost the average single-family homeowner about $96 a year.
Mullane told the Finance Committee at its Feb. 5 meeting that the town’s payments into the Worcester Regional Retirement System, one of the 105 pension systems for nonteacher municipal employees in the state, have recently been increasing by 10% each year. He said the town has no control over which system it is assigned to. This year’s 15% increase, he said, amounted to $236,587, outpacing the town’s new growth revenue from last year. Creating a fund for the purpose of paying for these annual increases would take some pressure off the budget, he said.
Residents will vote on Mullane’s proposal, which includes funding the account with $200,000 of taxpayer money, at Annual Town Meeting May 3. If passed, the increase in taxes would require an override, separate from any budget override the town may face. Once the fund is established, the Select Board would control any further increases or decreases to taxpayer funding. Increases would be limited to 2.5%.
Mullane also explained eight other small articles that will be on the May 3 warrant. One involved rescinding some portion of the debts the town agreed to take on for projects that are complete and came in under budget. The old library roof debt, taken on in 2019 and 2021, will be reduced by about $191,000. In addition, a reimbursement from the Massachusetts School Building Authority on the new elementary school’s feasibility study, which was approved by the town in 2016, allows the town to rescind $223,400 of debt.
Two other articles will use about $156,000 of this year’s free cash to move money that came into the town’s General Fund but rightfully belongs to the schools. Of that amount, $43,000 was generated by school building rentals in fiscal 2024, and the rest is for technology purchased during the pandemic. The Federal Emergency Management Agency reimbursed the town for the technology, but the money went into the General Fund, not the school fund that paid for the purchase.
A third article pertaining to the schools is to cover a deficit of about $15,000 in grant money from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund. Mullane said a school employee’s salary was mistakenly paid from the grant account, causing it to be overspent in 2024. If the money is not returned to the account, the Department of Revenue will not certify the town’s fiscal 2026 tax rate, which would delay property tax collection in calendar 2026. School Superintendent Linda Dwight told FinCom members that school administration has acknowledged the error and has put procedures in place to avoid any future similar errors. She also apologized to the town. The reimbursement to the account would come from either free cash or the Stabilization Fund.
Another article asks residents to extend the sunset date of a $10,000 Community Preservation Committee grant approved by voters at the 2022 Annual Town Meeting for capital improvements at the Harvard Park playground. The money was slated to provide an accessible walkway at the playground. Recreation Director Anne McWaters told the Press there is more than $6,500 unspent because the Park and Recreation Commission chose to use locking rubber mats instead of a more expensive poured walkway. She said the remaining funds will be used to purchase new equipment, and this article may not be necessary if the equipment can be ordered before June 30.
Federal funds?
The town is also hoping to collect $51,000 in federal Inflation Reduction Act rebates for the installation of solar panels on the Harvard Senior Center. But Mullane said the town needs to hire a tax consultant to file for the rebates because it’s a difficult process that town employees cannot do themselves. He said he spoke with two companies who estimated the work would cost about $7,000. A warrant article will ask for that amount to be transferred from the town’s Stabilization Fund.
One of the final two small warrant articles would make it easier for the Harvard Media Cooperative, the town’s cable access station, to access the revenue it receives during the fiscal year. The second article asks voters for permission to create a revolving account for building, electrical, plumbing, and wire permits so that the town can better track revenues and spending in those areas. No funding would be required for either of these articles.
The Finance Committee voted to recommend all nine small warrant articles.
