Lakeville officials approve hiring freeze amidst future financial concerns

LAKEVILLE — Select Board members have approved a hiring freeze of town employees as officials consider deficit pressures of a tough fiscal year in 2027.

Select Board Chair Maureen Candito said there is “nothing good” about Lakeville’s budget during the Tuesday, Feb. 17, Select Board meeting. Under the financial concerns for the future, members unanimously voted to approve an immediate hiring freeze until the end of the year.

The freeze will add a safety net for Lakeville’s budget, Candito said. Town department leaders will now have to go through the board to fulfill their vacancies. Usually, departments can fill roles without needing the Town Administrator and Select Board’s approval.

“We're doing this as a budgetary process till the end of the year,” Candito said, "until we figure out where we are and what we can afford going forward.”

Candito and Select Board Member Christopher Plonka said a budget impact analysis would be done if the freeze is needed indefinitely or throughout the next budget cycle.

The town’s financial deficit stems from increases in fixed insurance and pension costs, rising education expenses and a reduction in federally funded state aid.

Hiring would be paused on positions including: Assistant Treasurer-Collector with a salary of $59,000; Assessor with a salary range of $75,000-$90,000; and a police Patrolman with a salary of $61,000. Hourly-paid custodian and dispatcher positions will also be frozen.

Freezing these positions would provide both financial stability and the known impact of forgoing the vacancies in question, Candito said.

“We'll know better if we don't replace some of these positions,” Candito said. “We can theorize what impacts there are, but we'd actually be able to see the impacts that are there and then make a decision based on that.”

The topic was raised at the previous Select Board meeting, where officials asked for more information from department leaders regarding how necessary the vacancies are. Town Administrator Andrew Sukeforth stated the positions are all “essential” according to the respective department leaders.

Sukeforth was not present during the Tuesday meeting, but recommended the board to enact the hiring freeze, according to the meeting’s agenda documents.

Select Board Member Christopher Plonka said the freeze is necessary under the concerns for the future.

“We're working hard to resolve those budget shortfalls while balancing the impacts to the employees and services to the community,” Plonka said.

Candito added the freeze is a way for the town to both protect current employees and address the budget concerns.

“We are trying our very hardest to protect not only the budget process and the money of the people of Lakeville, but the livelihood of the people that work for us,” Candito said.

The Select Board will discuss budget updates regarding Lakeville’s financial problems and possible solutions at the next public meeting on March 3.