After lengthy discussion, Middleboro Town Meeting approves budget

MIDDLEBORO -- Annual Town Meeting voters approved a budget of about $109.5 million Monday, June 1 at Middleboro High School, but the process took a while.

Several hours of discussion ensued before a final vote was taken to approve the budget number of $109,445,314. Of 38 individual budget categories, voters asked for more information for 24.

The ultimate approval caps off months of work on the budget by Interim Town Manager Joseph Perkins. Soon after he stepped into the position in March after the departure of Town Manager James McGrail, Perkins reviewed the budget and announced it was out of balance by $3.375 million.

With some increase in state aid, the shortfall dropped to $3.312 million, Perkins said Monday.

Several voters raised questions about specifics in the budget and suggested other ways to tackle them.

A Town Meeting voter suggested moving $300,000 from the town’s stabilization fund, which is money set aside for emergencies, to offset cuts to the school budget.

He said class sizes could increase to 30 without some financial support. “You cannot teach in that environment,’’ he said. With a stabilization fund of about $6 million, “we can afford [to give] a couple of hundred thousand back to our schools.’’

Using the stabilization fund for one-time funding can hurt Middleboro’s credit rating, Perkins noted. The town is already using the account to fund Bristol-Plymouth Technical School’s construction project, he said.

Using stabilization money could also force the town to rely on those funds each subsequent year to maintain the budget, Select Board member William Pike said.

Interim Superintendent of Schools Michael Perrone noted that, although the district would not turn down additional money, class sizes would not be at 30 even with the budget cuts. Even with the additional funding, he said, the schools would still need to make cuts.

Resident Karen Foye, who worked in the media department that was eliminated as part of the budget cuts, questioned why certain positions in the budget could not be consolidated or otherwise reconfigured.

She suggested the town “remove line items for currently vacant or recently created’’ positions.

Questions were raised by Matt Foye about specific items in the budget, such as travel costs, during a time when positions and employees are being cut. Foye, who has been laid off from his facilities manager position, said these reductions would “keep spending down.’’

Voters do not have the ability to determine how money is spent within a budget, Town Counsel Gregg Korbo said. The amount spent can be increased or decreased by voters, he said, but how that final amount is spent is decided by the town manager.

Select Board member Thomas White noted that Perkins spent “hours and hours’’ organizing the new budget. “I put my faith in the town manager,’’ he said.

Select Board member Brian Giovanoni acknowledged that the budget, with its required cuts, is far from ideal.

“I hate this budget,’’ he said. “There’s nothing good in it. We’ve had to cut and cut and cut, very difficult cuts, and none of it has been fun for anybody.’’

But the work had to be done, he said, and additional cuts would mean the town would “cut services even more.’’

Eliminating or restructuring positions could mean a “return to the bargaining table.’’ Perkins noted that negotiations were done in good faith with unions and changes at this point would threaten those agreements.

In the end, after an hours-long discussion, the original budget of $109,445,314 was approved.

Once the budget was approved, all other issues passed with little or no debate.

Voters unanimously approved a ban on cryptocurrency machines. 

They also supported a zoning bylaw change that would allow for smaller lot sizes in developments to maintain more open space.

Voters agreed to ban social consumption at marijuana facilities

Spending of community preservation money, which is raised through a portion of taxes, was approved for funding a Robbins Museum preservation project, installing a new playground at 48 Wareham St. and removing invasive vegetation at Tispaquin Pond.