Clarksburg Officials Working on $233K Budget ShortfallBy Tammy Daniels, iBerkshires Staff
02:15AM / Wednesday, January 04, 2017 | |
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CLARKSBURG, Mass. — Town officials are working on a plan to deal with a $233,000 budget shortfall that will require a town meeting vote.
Town Administrator Carl McKinney said the town is working with the school district and looking at budget cuts and the use of reserves to plug the budget gap.
"We're working on a plan that we should be able to bring to town meeting," he said. "We are working to cooperate with the school to fix this problem, to put it to bed."
The shortfall was caused by an error in recording school choice revenues and an unanticipated $30,000 more in charges on the town's cherry sheet.
"Building on the governor's proposed budget and what they had proposed was $155,000 against the cherry sheet," McKinney said on Tuesday. "And it came in at $180,000."
The so-called cherry sheets list revenues from the state such as Chapter 70 education funding, local aid, payment in lieu of taxes, veterans benefits, and public libraries and state charges against municipalities like special education, state loans and sending tuition.
For fiscal 2017, the school choice revenues are $203,000, which flow into the school side of the budget, and sending school choice tuition of about $134,000, which comes off the town side of the budget.
McKinney said he had overlooked the school choice causing overestimated revenues, and underestimated the charges.
This year's town budget passed in May is $1,438,332, up about $79,000 over last year. The school budget is up $62,000, at $2.55 million. The total town budget for fiscal 2017 is $4.3 million.
McKinney said the town has about a half-million in reserves. Town meeting had also voted to spend $79,000 out of reserves to pay off the library building loan.
Tax bills have not been sent out yet because the state has not certified the town's free cash. That should be completed in the coming weeks and, once town meeting has settled an amended budget, the Select Board can set the tax rate and send out bills.
The Select Board is expected to discuss plans to address the shortfall at next week's meeting before setting a town meeting date.
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