Proposed budget cuts spark debate over assistant town planner position

ATHOL – Town Manager Shaun Suhoski’s proposed fiscal year 2027 budget will include a number of cuts to vacant and filled positions, but it was the role of assistant town planner, held by Heidi Murphy, which generated the most discussion.

At a meeting held Tuesday, April 28, members of the Selectboard, Finance and Warrant Advisory Committee, Capital Program Committee, department heads, and a handful of residents got a look at the final version of the approximately $28 million budget.

Among other things, the spending package leaves four currently vacant positions unfilled – one each in the police, fire, health and public works departments. It also cuts four and a half filled positions, including a technician and another full-time employee at the Athol Public Library, one DPW employee, the part-time collector clerk and the assistant town planner.

The budget cuts are due to a $1.8 million deficit facing the town. An attempt was made to pass two Proposition 2 ½ overrides to cover this gap, but both were defeated at the recent town election.

‘A huge loss for the town’

Murphy, who was not in attendance at the meeting has been in the assistant town planner position for more than two years and earns an annual salary of just over $55,000.

Planning and Development Director Eric Smith told the meeting, “I appreciate the town of Athol and the voters and the taxpayers supporting this position for the past two and half years. It’s been a big help having another person in the office helping to write grants and administer grants. She (Murphy) has actually provided more money to the town per project than we’ve spent providing her current salary for the past two years.”

Among the grants written and secured by Murphy, according to Smith, were two which allowed the town to update its master plan, “which hasn’t been updated since the mid-2000s. Without her assistance, and with everything else that is assigned to me, I wouldn’t have had time to work on this master plan.”

A check of planning department data shows Murphy alone has secured grants totaling nearly $400,000 since being hired. These include grants to promote downtown development, trail improvements at Bearsden Conservation area, and upgrades at Fish Park, among others.

Smith presented the meeting with a letter from Melissa Eaton, president and CEO of the North Quabbin Chamber of Commerce, in support of continuing to fund the assistant planner’s position.

“Over the past several years, this role has demonstrated a clear and measurable return on investment by securing and administering nearly $1 million in grant funding,” Eaton wrote. “These are not abstract benefits, they translate directly into improved infrastructure, enhanced recreational assets, updated planning tools, and increased capacity for future economic growth.”

“Eric could not possibly do all the work he does do without (Murphy’s) assistance,” said Marc Morgan, a member of the Board of Planning and Community Development. “Eric is phenomenal at his job, but his assistant has put out extra time to…promote Athol. This is big-time money we would never have seen without her assistance. She has been out there working her butt off to secure dollars for the town of Athol. What she has brought in isn’t even close to what we’re paying her.”

“I’ve had a chance to see how essential she is to the operation of our town and getting grants that more than make up for her salary,” said Selectboard member Mitch Grosky via Zoom. “I know how hard Shaun has worked on these cuts and I know if we don’t cut Heidi, that we have to make cuts elsewhere. But I would urge you to find any other cuts than Heidi Murphy. I think it would be a huge loss for the town.”

After the meeting, Suhoski was asked if he might look for other cuts in order to save the assistant planner’s job.

“The budget I presented here tonight is the budget I’ve put together,” he said. “It could still be changed by the Selectboard or the Town Meeting, but this is my budget.”

The next meeting of the Finance and Warrant Advisory Committee is scheduled for May 12. The Athol Daily News asked committee Chair Ken Duffy if the panel was likely to discuss potential strategies for saving Murphy’s job.

“I don’t anticipate there will be any discussion of specific cuts that are planned,” he said. “My opinion is that that’s out of our lane. That’s the responsibility of the town manager and Selectboard and the various department heads. They have a much better feel for the day-to-day operations than we do as a committee. We need to trust their judgment during this difficult period.”

Contacted by email, Grosky, who is recovering at home from kidney transplant surgery, was asked if he would work to amend the proposed budget when it comes before the Selectboard for consideration.

“I would encourage our town manager and the Selectboard either to find an additional funding sources to fund that position, or to make added cuts elsewhere in order to keep what I feel is an essential town position,” he said. “Certainly, as the Selectboard members weigh in on this and other budgetary matters, I would expect to have the opportunity to present my thoughts. At the same time, I would listen to and evaluate the ideas of other Selectboard members, as well as those of Town Manager Suhoski.”