Winchendon voters to decide Prop. 2½ override today
By Paula J. Owen TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
WINCHENDON — Voters will decide on a proposed $700,000 Proposition 2½
tax cap override in a special election today that will help reduce a
$3.472 million deficit if approved.
The polls are open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Old Murdock Senior Center, 52 Murdock Ave.
If the $700,000 override passes, it would increase taxes $1.16
per $1,000 property valuation annually, equating to $232 a year increase
on a $200,000 home.
At a special town meeting Nov. 24 called to deal with the deficit, voters shot down the proposed override.
However, Town Manager James M. Kreidler Jr. said he was told by
the Department of Revenue that town meeting approval was not needed. A
spokesman for the DOR confirmed that only approval at a special election
was required.
At the special town meeting, voters approved $175,000 in cuts to
town services to help fill the deficit. School Superintendent Salah E.
Khelfaoui said the School Committee had also cut $350,000 from the
school budget for this fiscal year.
Cuts to the town's operating budget include nearly $44,000 to
the police department, $28,000 to the fire department and $75,000 to the
Department of Public Works.
Selectmen approved the cuts as part of the town's deficit
reduction plan, which the town was required to submit to the DOR. The
plan also includes the proposal for a $700,000 override and borrowing of
up to $6 million from the state that requires passage of deficit
legislation.
Mr. Khelfaoui said he is concerned that the proposed legislation does not include any oversight and increases Mr. Kreidler's powers.
School officials allege there is money missing from their accounts. Mr.
Khelfaoui said it was "very disturbing" that the state would give Mr.
Kreidler up to $6 million without oversight and without holding a public
hearing for input from residents.
"We are truly saddened by the lack of any direct state oversight in the
deficit legislation," he said. "We believe that such oversight would
have helped insure better transparency, but equally important, would
have helped rebuild a better relationship between town administration
and schools."
However, Sen. Stephen M. Brewer, D-Barre, a sponsor of the bill,
said there is not enough time for a public hearing. The bill must be
signed by the governor by Jan. 6, he said. Moreover, he said the DOR was
"intimately involved" in the formulation of bill.
"The committee would not have released the bill if it had not
passed the vetting test for the DOR," the senator said. "If the DOR is
not happy with the legislation, it would not happen."
He said any input he received through email was forwarded to the
chairwoman of the committee on municipalities and local government,
Sonia Chang-Diaz.
"I do not micromanage what happens inside the community," he said. "I respect home rule in a community."
Auditors told Winchendon officials a deficit in the insurance
trust fund, a lack of communication, double accounting entries and
inaccurate reports, and a crash in Munis — the town's financial software
— that permanently damaged records, all contributed to the town's
financial breakdown.
Proposed Legislation
Recent examples of deficit borrowing legislation:
Orange deficit borrowing legislation: C. 419 of the Acts of 2010Templeton's legislation was not enacted. The pending bill for Templeton was Senate 2135 from 2014
North Adams had a bill similar to that of Orange, also in 2010. See C. 144 of the Acts of 2010
Now that the vote was a big NO it's time to get the budget knife out and show the state how Winchendon will make ends meet.
ReplyDeleteFrom what i read in print they have till 1-1-1015 to show how or the state come in and take all contracts and put them in the trash can. Will the teachers union be able to pony up to a large cut in wages and be allowed to cut people to make things in town work out? Will the largest cost in the town keep them in trouble ?