All Board Report
April - May 2019
The Board of Selectmen continued to prepare for Town Meeting, finalizing the Proposed FY20 Operating Budget and certifying the Annual Town Meeting Warrant. A complete listing of Town Meeting documents are available here. Budget and Annual Town Meeting preparations included a public budget hearing, a hearing about the acceptance of Streeter Road and several meetings discussing the various capital and warrant articles to be deliberated by residents.
The Board engaged with residents for several important community events to include the well-attended annual Memorial Day Parade and Ceremony. Selectman Jeff Williams officially welcomed residents to the ceremony on the Town Common and the board publicly thanked the Memorial Day Parade Committee and town staff for their efforts to honor the holiday. An important focus of the board's this year was to restore the American flags to the light poles on Main Street. The Board also hosted Eagle Scout Eric Coviello and Shi Ann Bourgeois as the students presented their Eagle and Gold Star projects. Eric created a Web site showing the location of town monuments and memorials while Shi Ann mapped all of the town's recreation areas. Both projects will become part of Board's larger economic development mission.
Infrastructure continued to be a focus with a recommendation from the Board to seek an override at Annual Town Meeting for doubling the town's road maintenance plan. The Board continues to direct town staff on the repair and maintenance of key infrastructure to include bridges, roads, and the Town Center. More information about the town's infrastructure plans to include the now approved 2023 Town Center project can be found here.
And finally, the Board recognized Selectman Michael Stauder for his 9 years of service on the Board. Michael is retiring this year and attended his last meeting on May 28th. The Board listened as Michael thanked residents and mentors for their support and offered words of wisdom and support to fellow board members. Thank you for your service Michael!
To see videos of Select Board meetings, follow this link.
Here we are end of April, beginning of May and we still can't excavate for full burials. We have had so much rain the ground is saturated and the water table is 30" below grade. Could be another three weeks before full burials can occur.
Cemetery cleanup has begun. Many small branches have fallen with some large ones as well. One cemetery worker has started and another has been hired for the mowing of the cemeteries and park and recreation through DPW.
Uprighting of monuments is starting up. The continuation of Warren Cemetery from last year where we left off. This is very meticulous process. Raven Kalderra a Cemetery Commissioner is leading the volunteers that have learned the correct process of resetting monument bases, putting broken markers back together and setting them back into their bases.
The Cemetery Commission would like to ask all who plant or place plastic pots, containers, etc., that when discarding the pots, real flowers or the non-biodegradable decorative arrangements that any dirt be shaken out in our dirt piles or over the embankment. Putting whole containers full of dirt into the 55 gallon barrels makes it difficult not only to get them into trucks, but fills the DPW dumpsters with dirt that does not need to go as trash.
One more item, whether patrons are visiting their loved ones or attending a funeral at any of the cemeteries, PLEASE do not drive or park on the grass. There are older graves that are not in cement vaults, along with there are graves with no markers to signify a burial. Please stay on the roadways. Thank You.
Over the course of the last two months the Planning Board has been working on the following:
- The town’s Master Plan – The Planning Board, with the assistance of the Town Administrator, has applied for grants to facilitate the writing of the necessary chapters. The town has been awarded the DLTA grant and have further applied for the EEOEA grant. With these combined grants, and a continued effort at application in the coming year, the Planning Board is optimistic that the Master Plan could be completed by 2020.
- In May the Planning Board held a Public Hearing regarding the proposed bylaw change proposed by Article #27 of the Warrant. The board heard all interested parties and voted 3 in favor, 2 opposed to not recommend the article.
- The Planning Board Office has continued to employ their Senior Work Off Program worker, Becky, and with her organizational assistance the Planning Board is preparing to bind over thirty years’ worth of minutes.
- Affordable Housing – the Planning Board submitted the final Housing Production Plan to the DCHD and received notification that their plan was approved. A copy of this plan is available by emailing the Planning Board Office at planclerk@hubbardstonma.us
For further details, please read the Planning Board Minutes.
Despite April being a very rainy cold month the Curtis Rec Field was busy with the Annual Easter Egg Hunt, which was held on a sunny day, where many children participated in gathering candy filled Easter Eggs and having their picture taken with the Easter Bunny.
Spring Soccer started practice and is now in full swing.
May 8th was Baseballs Opening Day and was a huge success and well attended with the Parade and multiple games being played. The smell of hot dogs and hamburgers filled the air with lunch orders being cooked at the snack shack
It's been nice to see the many kids and families enjoying all that our beautiful Park has to offer from organized sports to pick up basketball games and individuals skating at the skate park and playing on the playground.
June 8th &9th will bring the Annual Town Wide Yard Sale with maps available at the Senior Center.
June 22nd will bring the Annual Hubbardston Fair at the Curtis Rec Field.
We invite everyone to come enjoy the Park and remember to keep the park green by carrying out your trash.
Your Finance Committee is ready for our June 4 Town Meeting, where three significant developments reflected in the FY2020 budget will be presented:
- QRSD has requested an 8% increase in the Town’s QRSD assessment – now 51 cents of every operating budget dollar – which your Finance Committee does not recommend. Were we to accept that increase, we would be looking at a budget deficit of over $200,000. Instead, we recommend a 4.45% increase that produces the balanced budget included with this Warrant.
- A proposed Prop 2½ override to fund an ongoing, single-purpose Roads municipal stabilization fund – which your Finance Committee does recommend.
- Capital expenditures of $263,000, which your Finance Committee also recommends.
The QRSD Assessment
Why Is This Assessment So High? Because of the Method Used to Calculate It. But we have some ideas on how to fix that problem, discussed below.
Why Can’t We Afford It? Because Education is 57% of Our Operating Budget. And that means that even small increases in the QRSD assessment translate into big numbers that cut into the remaining 43 cents left to pay for all of the other basic functions of our small town government:
- 9 cents to maintain our roads and cemeteries
- 1 cent to manage our growth through inspectional services, planning board, and board of health functions
- 15 cents to ensure our public safety
- 1 cent to fund our sense of who we are - helping our seniors and our veterans, supporting our library, our agricultural and historical commissions, our parks and community activities, and our town clock
- 3 cents to pay down our borrowings (in FY2020, for our roads, one dump truck, one fire truck, and one police car)
- 7 cents to pay our various insurance and employer contribution obligations – health, unemployment, liability, retirement and FICA
- and 7 cents to run this little town – to pay and manage the people who are responsible for collecting, spending, and accounting for our revenues, handling tasks ranging from the running of town elections to the issuance of dog licenses, and making sure that what we do complies with state and federal law.
Then Just Cut the 43% Somewhere! Uh … No. Could we cut the non-education portions of the operating budget? Sure – but not without negative consequences to the items paid for by the remaining 43 cents of every dollar. And, if you remember that several of those items – like insurances, debt service, and union contract obligations – are fixed, it becomes clear that some of those items – like road repair and maintenance, and even public safety – will suffer disproportionately.
Then No Capital Spending! Uh … No. Is it tempting to cut capital expenses? Always. But cutting the spend for equipment for road repairs and public safety doesn’t help the operating budget. And equipment doesn’t fix itself and replacement costs only increase over time. That’s robbing both Peter and Paul.
So What Can We Do? In the immediate term, your Finance Committee recommends that the Town vote to approve the budget included with the ATM Warrant. It affords a 4.45% increase in our QRSD assessment, which is in line with prior increases, and will begin a negotiation process with the District that is intended to serve the Town’s best interests. While there is always a chance that negotiations will fail, we remain optimistic that the District will find savings in G&A and other non-program spending to help us and the other member towns live within our means and prioritize our kids.
Going forward, we have also recommended that the Town renegotiate with the other member towns the method by which all QRSD member towns’ assessments are calculated, to produce a more equitable sharing, and in the meantime that all member towns align their real property revaluations to coincide with one another – another factor that currently produces skewed results. These changes don’t cut the QRSD budget – they simply realign assessments with enrollments to produce a fairer and more predictable outcome.
The Override
Anecdotally, the sorry condition of Hubbardston’s roads is the single biggest frustration of its residents. Yet, with only 9 cents out of every operating budget dollar to spend, our DPW simply can’t keep up as conditions continue to deteriorate. This year, the Selectmen propose the creation of the Municipal Road Repair and Maintenance stabilization fund, which your Finance Committee recommends. Sourced with money from the Prop 2 ½ override needed to create it, the dedicated fund will serve to double the money we have available to accelerate our repairs in accordance with a 5-year plan developed by our Selectboard and our DPW. You can find it on the Town’s website. This is an exciting idea whose time has come.
The CapEx Spend
Meanwhile, our capital budget is $573,181 – a little over 6% of our operating budget, consistent with established Town fiscal policy. Of that budget, we are looking to spend $263,000 – a little less than half of it – with about 50% of that spend - $130,000 – going to equipment needed for road work. Equipment for the Police Department – handguns and a new cruiser – accounts for 20% of that spend, and the rest goes to IT needs, school equipment, and library roof repairs. That’s it. Let’s give our hard-working public servants the tools they need.
In conclusion: VOTE!
On April 18th, an "oldies concert" sponsored with a grant from the Hubbardston Cultural Council took place at the Senior Center. It was fairly well attended and the performers did a fine job entertaining and interacting with the group.
At a meeting of the Council on May 8th, we discussed strategies to attract new members to our group. We designed a poster and some hand out post cards which we shall use at the upcoming Open House on June 4th and The Hubbardston Fair on the 22nd of June.
Attached please find our recruitment poster, our flyer listing our 2019 grants and a photos from the April 18th "oldies concert"
Here is a list of the 2019 Cultural Council Grants:
Blacksmith Demonstration
Caterpillar Lab
History of the Beatles
Listening Wellness Center
Musical Programs
Pastel Class
Peace Strings Project
Pottery Demonstration
Quabbin Community Band
The Green Sisters
Uniquely Quabbin Magazine
Wizard Workshop
About Us
Email: admin@hubbardstonma.us
Website: www.hubbardstonma.us
Location: 7 Main Street, Hubbardston, MA, USA
Phone: 978-928-1400
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TownofHubbardston/
Twitter: @hubbardstonma