Town manager’s plan to address deficit may impact capital program committee

ATHOL – As the details on a two-year, two phase plan to address the town’s $1.78 million deficit come together, one significant impact may be to the Capital Program Committee.

The eight-member CPC meets regularly with town departments to review and prioritize capital improvements to municipal property, buildings and equipment. At its most recent meeting, the committee approved $806,000 in expenditures; monies that would normally come out of free cash.

However, as Town Manager Shaun Suhoski’s plan includes the use of some portion of the town’s $1.6 million in free cash, he is recommending the CPC instead use the town’s stabilization account, which has approximately $1.1 million.

Allowed by M.G.L. Chapter 40, Section 5B, a capital stabilization fund is used to set aside money for high-cost capital projects, such as major equipment purchases or infrastructure improvements.

On Tuesday, April 14, a joint meeting of the Selectboard, Finance and Warrant Advisory Committee and CPC was held to review the proposed plan, which would take effect in fiscal years 2027 and 2028.

“If this is going to go through, we’re going to have to get the department heads together and we’re going to have to reevaluate their requests,” said CPC Chair Jim Smith. “We’ve worked hard for seven years to build up the stabilization fund. The stabilization fund is for a rainy day, and it’s raining now.”

He added that the town is facing substantial expenditures in the near future, including the need for a new ladder truck for the Fire Department.

The $806,000 in spending recommended by the CPC included cruisers for the police and fire departments, a grant match for the Rabbit Run Rail Trail project, new voting machines and drainage repairs. The goal will be to trim that total in order to reduce use of the capital stabilization account.

The deficit came about following the defeat of two Proposition 2 ½ overrides at the recent Town Election. The proposed overrides were for $1.8 million and another for $2.9 million. The lesser amount would have maintained current services, while the larger would have done this and also allowed for some hires that officials deemed essential. Had both been approved, the larger amount would have been used.

The first phase of Suhoski’s plan calls for four vacant municipal positions to remain unfilled; one each in the fire, police and public works departments, as well as the position of assistant public health agent.

In addition, the plan calls for the elimination of the summer beach program, including the program’s director and seasonal lifeguards, as well as the director and youth counselor positions from the summer recreation program not being filled. This would cut $352,000 from the budget. He is also asking the Athol Royalston School Committee to cut Athol’s education assessment by $300,000.

Suhoski added that an additional four and half positions—four full-time and one part-time—at Town Hall, Athol Public Library, and the DPW will be laid off, amounting to a cut in salaries of just over $256,000.

“The plan is to initiate the cuts 50/50 – half this year, half next year,” Suhoski told the Athol Daily News. So, for this year, our target is $882,000 (in cuts), and to plug the remainder with free cash to hold off on further layoffs in year two, FY28. We’re deferring the additional cuts so the departments can adapt to the reduced staffing.”

In Phase 2, he said, “We’ll continue to work on reducing health insurance costs, we’ll probably have some employee attrition and some retirements, and things of that nature to narrow the gap for the following fiscal year.”

Asked how much free cash he would be using, Suhoski said, “That hinges on School Committee action. The goal is not to exceed $1.1 million.”

Several people who attended Tuesday’s meeting wanted to know why the town couldn’t use the nearly $960,000 currently sitting in the cannabis stabilization fund, money collected from local marijuana businesses and set aside to mitigate any negative community impacts from pot sales.

Suhoski explained that several communities are being sued by cannabis businesses for the return of those funds in the wake of a state Supreme Judicial Court ruling which said the collection of additional revenues from those businesses, over and above the approve local sales tax, is unconstitutional.

Town counsel has advised the town of Athol to hang onto those monies in case they have to be returned to the businesses who paid them.