Rehoboth Struggles to Balance Budget

Rehoboth is facing some serious financial problems. The new fiscal year started weeks ago on July 1 and at press time, the town was operating on a temporary budget to maintain town services until September 30.
Voters rejected a Proposition 2 ½ override election on July 15 that asked for an additional $1.6 million in property taxes to fund town government for the current fiscal year. The vote was 1,652 to 1,349 against the tax increase.
The average homeowner would have seen an increase of approximately $300 in annual taxes if the override had been approved and that turned out to be too high for many people, especially seniors and others on a fixed income.
Rehoboth selectmen had warned residents that town services, including police, fire, town hall and the library, could be severely cut if the override failed. After it failed, they asked all town departments to slash 20 percent from their operating budgets.
The board is in the process of meeting with town department heads to review those cuts in order to present a balanced budget at a special town meeting on August 7.
Selectmen Chairman Mike Costello has said that the 20 percent cut will still not get the town where it needs to be.
Costello also said that it will probably take awhile for the town to recover from this situation.

How It All Started
The financial trouble that Rehoboth now finds itself in started not at the annual town meeting in May, but back in the spring when a problem was discovered in the school district’s methodology for calculating operating assessments for Dighton and Rehoboth. It was discovered that Rehoboth should have been paying about $1 million more and Dighton should have been paying about $1 million less.
When the budget for Fiscal Year 2015 was prepared, the correct statutory method was used and Rehoboth found itself with a school bill that was approximately $1 million more than anticipated.
The finance committee recommended $13.2 million for the schools, the minimum contribution allowed by law. The school department had requested $14.9 million.
Voters at town meeting approved spending $14,865 on the schools, which put the budget over the levy limit. The Proposition 2 ½ override election was scheduled to fund a tax increase to cover the shortfall in the budget. Since it failed, the town is now scrambling to find the money to make up for the deficit.

School Committee Reduces Town Assessments
The Dighton-Rehoboth Regional School Committee held a special meeting on July 29 and decided to reduce the total school department budget which will give Rehoboth a little relief.
The board approved a $265,034 cut, with the money being divided between Dighton and Rehoboth. Rehoboth will see a reduction of $153,273 in its assessment and Dighton will get a $111,761 reduction.
The funds are coming from an expected reduction in transportation costs. The school committee did not want to cut any programs or staff from the current budget and also did not want to take any money from the school’s excess and deficiency account.

Cuts in Town Services
At press time, the board of selectmen was still reviewing cuts in the town’s operating budget. Some of those cuts have been outlined. Here is a brief list.
The Police Department plans to eliminate three patrol officers, including the school resource officer, shut down the detective division and reduce overtime and training.
The two detectives will have to go back on patrol to cover two patrol positions that are currently vacant and cannot be filled now due to the budget problems.
Acting Chief Lt. James Trombetta assured selectmen at a recent meeting that “residents would not suffer in their safety and security” as a result of this situation.
At the Fire Department, a part time fire prevention officer will be eliminated and duty and training hours will be cut by 50 percent.
Fire Chief Robert Pray said they would not jeopardize public safety or cut fire response. But residents may have to wait longer for inspections typically conducted by the fire prevention officer and for other non-emergency services. The department will maintain its school programs.
The Highway Department plans to cut the highway superintendent salary, a part-time office clerk and part-time summer help. The department, which had been reduced from 11 employees a few years ago to six employees now, will not be able to hire two new employees that had been approved at town meeting. Acting highway superintendent Mike Tyler told selectmen they would “do the best they can”.
Town Hall is looking at cuts in contracted services including custodial work and pest control at town offices, office supplies, advertising, equipment acquisition/replacement, and training. In addition, the municipal hearing officer’s hours will be cut and the town counsel budget will be reduced.
Blanding Library will be in danger of losing its certification if it has to cut 20 percent, according to Werner Horlbeck of the Rehoboth Antiquarian Society, which runs the library. Maintaining certification is important because it allows library patrons to use other libraries in Massachusetts that are part of the SAILS system. If a town doesn’t fund the library at a certain minimum set by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, the town has to request a waiver. Horlbeck said that the library would have to close for two or three days a week, lay off employees and apply for a waiver if it cuts 20 percent. Blanding has already cut its hours from 46 to 40 hours per week in order to incur some savings in anticipation of the budget cuts, said Horlbeck. The Antiquarian Society offered another scenario to selectmen that included an eight percent cut in operations cost, but would maintain certification and keep operations at the 2014 level, but no one knows if this is going to be possible. Selectmen, however, did indicate they want the library to keep its certification.
The Council on Aging plans to cut all its extra expenses for amenities for seniors as well most of its office expense budget. Two positions that would probably have had to be cut will be funded through grants. One of the positions, the meal site manager, prepares food for the meals on wheels program, so that program will continue for the time being. For now, the senior center doesn’t plan to cut hours, but that could change. Seniors may have to start paying a fee for special lunches and will have to put off some improvement plans. Palmer says that if hours are cut, they won’t be able to help seniors access many important services, from fuel assistance to Medicare.
At the Town Clerk’s office, much of the operating costs are mandated by the state. Town Clerk Laura Schwall has cut her salary increase which was approved at town meeting, is postponing some of the work planned for the preservation of historical documents and records (the town received some funds from the Community Preservation Committee toward the project so some of the work will take place), is cutting their equipment maintenance/repair budget, and is eliminating a town calendar that was sent to residents this year with the town census. The election budget cannot be cut. In addition, there are extra unanticipated expenses this year because the town did not budget for the July 15 special election or the upcoming Aug. 7 special town meeting.