By Bob Hertz
Management (ALG) suggests fiscal 2025 budgets represent “level services”. Level compared to what benchmark? Are all services level or does the label apply only generally? People come and go and priorities change. Ten years ago, Acton did not have a community wide transportation service. Two years ago, Acton and A/B did not have multiple directors of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. A/B currently sees large increases in special education requirements and in the number of students for which English is not the primary language. Schoolmates increasingly choose Minuteman Tech. at $38K per pupil. Such program shifts clearly affect the concept of “level services”. Acton has been facing budgetary pressures for some time. Clever management and use of reserves will no longer keep the wolves at bay. The process has become an uphill plod.
Funding clearly is not level. As can be seen below, the $123.4M budget for fiscal 2025 is roughly $10M above that of fiscal 2024, an 8.8% increase. Biden tells us current inflation is a tame 3.5%. The remainder is due to changed and/or new programs, external funding declines and truer inflation rates. If future budgets increase at the rate expected for fiscal 2025, Acton soon will be coming back for another override. Fiscal 2025 budgets are a stretch which cannot be sustained. Spending needs to be reduced, and programs eliminated, or overrides will be the norm. Future wishful thinking won’t get us there.
| Per ALG Plan A | Expected | Budgeted | % | |
| In $ Millions | FY24 | FY25 | Increase | Increase |
| Town, including enterprise subsidies | $37.2 | $39.1 | $1.9 | 5.1% |
| Raiding OPEB funding to cover expenses | -$0.3 | -$0.3 | ||
| ABRSD assessment | $67.3 | $74.6 | $7.3 | 10.8% |
| Minuteman assessment | $2.7 | $2.9 | $0.2 | 7.4% |
| Total town operating budget and assessments | $107.2 | $116.3 | $9.1 | 8.5% |
| Capital additions of town government | $0.7 | $1.6 | $0.9 | 128.6% |
| Excluded debt (bond payment obligations) | $5.6 | $5.6 | $0.0 | 0.0% |
| Total expected and budgeted expenses | $113.5 | $123.5 | $10.0 | 8.8% |
Prop 2 ½ became State law in 1980 as an effort to combat runaway budgets and allowing Acton roughly 3% annual budget growth. When necessary, it provides an override process requiring approval by a majority of Acton voters. The override effectively resets the spending bar and all future levies (property tax calculation footings) by $6.6M. One can argue the merits of Prop 2 ½, but it does provide checks and balances for a complexity of spending which most voters do not have time to understand, and it allows for a rethinking of priorities. Keep in mind that many residents of Acton do not have a reset button. Living on fixed incomes or low wages, they cannot wave a magic wand to meet their ever-increasing expenditures – property taxes being a significant one. They must live within their means and should expect no less of their community and its leaders.
For those who want to vote the Acton April 30 warrant by absentee ballot, the time is here if you are not already registered. If you are not sure you will receive an absentee ballot, or to sign up, call the Town Clerk at 978-929-6620 or e-mail to clerk@actonma.gov . I received my absentee ballot so the clerk office staff are ready to serve your request. Along with votes for various offices, you will be voting for or against the override.
Is there not enough commercial business to contemplate having have a split rate here in Acton? There are lots of small businesses along 27, the Staples/TJ mall, the Acton Fine Wine strip, the large grocery stores? How about pharma, consulting and technology startups? Exceptions could be made for farms and businesses with very few employees like professional offices.
You have an interesting idea. The issue gets raised every year during the rate setting exercise. We would need some type of study – could probably be done in a day. For many years Acton was anti-commercial and pro-residential growth. Today we live with the aftermath which pushes a large % of the operating cost of town and schools onto residents. Acton commercialization pales when compared to Burlington, Waltham, Westford to name a few. It forces Acton to spend less than many other communities, but still ranks us very high on a ratio of taxes to per capita income. Acton simply cannot be everything to everybody. There is a limit beyond which taxes become an overwhelming burden to some residents of the community.
IN REPLY TO ALISSA
You don’t address the author’s central issue — WHAT IS THE DEFINITION LEVEL SERVICES?
When referring to cuts, you never say how many FTEs have been added, or of those cuts, how many of them are actually open positions. No one considers hiring a clinician part-time versus full-time a cut to current services. And you keep failing to mention that the cuts in FTEs are referenced against 2021, the year they hired 22 teaching FTEs. The fact is the schools have more FTEs than they did at peak enrollment, despite the fact that we have 17% fewer students.
School committee members at last Thursday’s not-so-open forum confirmed what we all know — level services is defined as spending as much as we did last year (so a level *budget*) plus 3%.
Your comment puts on full display the lack of transparency we’ve seen on our boards over the last several years. It reminds me of an infamous quote referencing “the stupidity of the American voter”. Statements like this are meant to bamboozle the public into a giant, permanent increase in the tax base.
Neither the school nor the town budgets for FY25 include “level services.” The schools are cutting 20 FTEs and the town 7 FTEs. Some programs and capital projects are also being cut. The staff and programs that have been added have historically meant a shift in budgets. In other words, to make changes and offer new programs or staff, others were eliminated. One very recent example is the 3rd School Resource Officer (following the resignation of 2 out of 3) was changed by Towm Meeting in 2023 to a clinician position. So “new” position for a “new” person, made possible by the elimination of another position. This clinician position has not been filled, but if the override fails, it will be reduced to .5 FTE.
I agree services are not level. I suggest the TM, Superintendent and FinCom stop using the phrase to describe the budgets as it is clearly not a truthful portrayal and unfortunately confuses those who do not follow the budget process.
Thanks for the insight.
I agree services of FY25 are not level. For that reason, I would appreciate the TM, Superintendent and FinCom stop stating they are and come up with some other catch phrase. To call the services level is to misinform the electorate.
People come and go – that is the nature of an organization of any size. With that comes new priorities. On that we can agree. My point, however, is that Acton government is costing too much for our commercial-lacking taxpayer base, and there seems to be little interest in truly reducing the costs. As new programs are added an equal number of older programs should disappear. I do not believe that is happening. Lots of talk about labor cuts but nothing about limiting budget increases year after year. I wish my earnings would do the same, but they don’t. Overall expenditures should be limited by some reasonable standard, and it should not be how much ALG thinks it can get out of the taxpayer before there is a town-wide scream for help.
I am aware of processes for having taxes delayed or for seeking tax relief. I do not appreciate the town leadership forcing me into that position. A little better government sizing would solve the problem for all of Acton.