If at first you don’t succeed….

Let me first state as I have in previous posts that I believe Longmeadow needs a new high school and the current school building project is good for Longmeadow. However, I was a quite dismayed this past week by a discussion that occurred at the Select Board meeting (2/1/10) between Select Person Santaniello and Select Board Chair Barkett. It should be noted that Mr. Barkett is also co-chair of the School Building Committee.

During Monday’s meeting Mr. Barkett stated that one of the reasons for asking for a separate early election on the Proposition 2½ debt exclusion override for the school building project was to be able to have a second [“do-over”] election in case Longmeadow voters said NO to the project. Below is a video excerpt of the discussion courtesy of LCTV…



Talk of a second “do-over” election contingency or actions that try to ensure that newly elected Select Board members (two open seats) after the June 8 town election will promise to hold a second election will surely create great distrust within our town. I hope that our new high school project gets sufficient airing and discussion by town residents so that the vote is overwhelming in favor as it was for the town of Wilbraham last fall.

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There is an opportunity this coming week for town residents to get updated and ask questions about the school building project....

The LONGMEADOW SCHOOL BUILDING COMMITTEE will be holding a PUBLIC INFORMATION SESSION for the High School Building project. Updated designs and cost estimates will be highlighted by our Owners Project Manager, Architects and School Building Committee members.

Thursday, February 11 at 7 PM
Longmeadow High School Business Technology Center

Special Town Meeting/ Election for Longmeadow School Building Project

The Longmeadow Select Board (SB) meeting this past Monday (2/01/10) turned into a marathon 4+ hour session with the first hour dedicated to visitor comments (vs. normal five minutes). The primary subject for these comments was the proposal by the School Building Committee (SBC) to have a separate Town Meeting and Town Election for the School Building Project. The proposed timing for both was before the Annual Town Meeting scheduled for May 11. This school building project is currently in final design phase before being submitted for approval by the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) in March 2010. The estimated project cost is ~$81 million which will require a Proposition 2½ override vote (2/3 majority) at a Town Meeting and at a townwide election (majority YES vote). Estimated taxpayer annual property tax increase is $1/1000 or $300 for a $300,000 home payable every year for 25 years.

Below is a 10 minute video (courtesy of LCTV) with selected excerpts from this “public comments” agenda item…



The primary argument used by most people speaking in favor of a separate special town meeting was that people needed ample time to ask their questions so that they could decide which way to vote. As I conduct my own unscientific poll around town, I do find many residents who do not have a good understanding as to what is happening. The SBC has made a good attempt so far to help educate town residents about this project through numerous public forums but there appears to be a lot more that needs to be accomplished….

I strongly agree with town resident Arlene Miller (see video excerpt) who stated that waiting for the town meeting (annual or special) is too late to learn about the project in order to make an informed decision. Longmeadow voters need to do their homework on this project before the town meeting and only look for clarification on key points.

Voters also need to be able to factor in the operational side of our town finances. With a potential major cut in town/school services and/or operational Propositional 2½ override for FY11, town residents need to have this information at the same time as this school building project decision is made.

After considerable discussion, the SB decided by a vote of 4:1 in favor (Rob Aseltine against) to schedule a special town meeting on May 25 (after the Annual Town Meeting on May 11) and not to grant the request of a special election.

I strongly agree with this SB decision and feel that any attempt to circumvent it through a SBC initiated voter petition or other means should be met with public skepticism as to its motive.

A Budget Update for Longmeadow

As reported in a previous post a collective bargaining agreement has been signed between the Longmeadow School Committee and the Longmeadow Education Association. While this agreement does not reduce the $2.15 million projected deficit for the FY11 budget, it does provide town leaders some clarity about unresolved potential future salary obligations for the town. The estimated salary budget cost avoidance of this contract vs. a 1% COLA for FY10 and FY11 is estimated to be ~$675,000 assuming that teachers salaries are ~ 75% of the town employees. Let’s hope that the remaining town and school collective bargaining units are considering similar contract agreements as the Longmeadow Education Association.

click here to read full story

There was some additional news this past week regarding the state aid… Governor Patrick announced that his proposed FY11 budget would include level funding for education and unrestricted local aid for cities and towns.

The $2.1 million projected deficit for FY11 discussed at earlier budget meetings (Tri-Board + Select Board) anticipated a 15% cut in local aid for Longmeadow. FY10 state aid for Longmeadow is expected to be $5.6 million (Chapter 70 = $4.34M + unrestricted local aid = $1.23M) … so a 15% shortfall = $837K. If the FY11 budget proposal for level funding for cities and towns passes the legislature, it would shrink the projected FY11 deficit for Longmeadow to $1.31 million.

However, given that this is an election year (and Gov. Patrick is running for re-election with state Treasurer Timothy Cahill as one of his opponents), there is hardly unanimous support for this level funding of local aid to cities and towns given the current economic environment.

click here to read full story

In the past week, Mass State House Ways and Means Chairman Charles Murphy- the chief budget writer from Burlington, MA was quoted as saying: “I heard what the Governor said to you yesterday about level funding local aid. Well, good luck to him!”

It looks like it will sometime this summer before Longmeadow will have solid information about how much local aid it will actually receive for FY11! Not much different than last year.

Bottom line

Given the difficult fiscal situation still facing the state of Massachusetts, Longmeadow should continue to plan how it would deal with a significant drop (10-15%) in state aid. Perhaps, the idea of multiple budget scenarios and related cuts should be used as suggested in earlier Tri-Board budget discussions.

Both the School Committee and Select Board will continue intense budget discussions next week and it will be interesting to see what actions each group plans take to meet their assigned targeted cuts (Schools = $1.5 million cut, Town = $650,000 = $2.15 million).

Upcoming dates for the FY 11 Budget Process….

1. Select Board/ Regular Meeting, February 1 at 7 PM- Police Dept Community Meeting Room


2. School Committee- Special Meeting- February 4 at 7 PM in the School Committee Room at Longmeadow HS to discuss the School Department FY 2011 Budget.


3. School Committee- Public Hearing- February 8 at 7 PM in the LHS Cafeteria- on the Longmeadow School Committee budget.


4. School Committee/ Select Board- Special Meeting- February 24 at 7 PM in the School Committee Room FY2011 Budget Presentation


5. February 26- FY2011 budget submission by Town Manager to Select Board

Check the Town Calendar at LongmeadowBiz for the latest calendar of scheduled events.

Longmeadow Teachers Agree to 0% COLA

The Longmeadow School Committee and the Longmeadow Education Association have reached a two-year collective bargaining agreement that provides for a 0% COLA for FY2010 and FY2011. Below is the official press release....

"The Longmeadow School Committee and the Longmeadow Education Association are very pleased to announce that they have reached a two-year collective bargaining agreement with the Association’s approximately 285 teachers, counselors, and specialists. During the negotiations that resulted in this agreement, the Committee and the Association recognized the extraordinary financial challenges facing the District. Although we are in difficult financial times, we all kept our “eyes on the child” and reached an agreement that does not further stress our financial resources. The agreement, which the LEA ratified last week and the School Committee approved this evening, provides for zero percent cost of living adjustments (COLAs) in FY 2010 and 2011, permits a temporary reduction in professional development days over the two-year period, and goes through August 31, 2011. The Committee and the Association are pleased that we have reached an agreement especially at this critical budget time."

Now that this contract has been settled... will the other town employee collective bargaining units without contracts for FY2010 and FY2011 do the same and accept a 0% COLA?

As summarized in a recent post (Tough Times Ahead for Longmeadow- Part IV, 1/10/10) achieving a balanced FY2011 budget will be very difficult with a current projected budget deficit of over $2 million. This agreement to a 0% COLA for FY2010 and FY2011 provides significant financial relief to the town of Longmeadow and allows our town leaders to create a balanced FY2011 budget without the uncertainty of a teachers union collective bargaining agreement.

A large thank you to Longmeadow teachers!

Libraries are used more than ever

Libraries are the other half of education serving the needs of all residents and supporting learning for students of all ages. Check out the Massachusetts Library Association Value of Library Service calculator to see the worth of your library usage. Or visit Geek the Library to further explore the value of your public library.

Tough Times Ahead for Longmeadow- Part IV

I have now been writing about Longmeadow’s budget problems for about one year (see A Financial Tsunami Is Heading Toward Us (1/16/09). The situation really hasn’t changed since the last time I wrote on this subject… see Tough Times Ahead for Longmeadow- Part III (12/06/10).

Previous posts include:
Tough Times Ahead…Part I
Tough Times Ahead….. Part II

Here is an overview of the current fiscal crisis facing Longmeadow…

• The town is facing a $2.1 million budget deficit for the upcoming FY11 without considering the financial impact of ongoing collective bargaining with the teachers, firefighters, police and other town employee unions.


• A 1% COLA adjustment for the current FY10 and FY11 years would add an additional $900,000 in additional operational costs (FY10 = $300,000 and FY11 = $600,000). Such a contract settlement would balloon the FY11 deficit to $3 million.


• There is $0 in our free cash account.


• There is $1.9 million in the Operational Stabilization Fund (OSF).The SB has recently adopted a policy that stated they will not authorize the use of OSF monies which depletes the fund below $1.0 million unless there is a plan to replenish the fund to that level.

A large majority of the town + school budget costs are employee salaries + benefits so a reduction of $2,100,000 in expenditures likely means significant layoffs and/ or furloughs. Paul Pasterczyk, Longmeadow’s Finance Director stated at a recent SB meeting (12/07/09) that any employee layoffs would also require the town to pay unemployment compensation/ severance benefits that could total as much as $450-600,000.

Achieving a budget reduction of $2,100,000 (~4% of total budget) will not be very easy without seriously affecting the quality of life in Longmeadow. One of the options being seriously considered by some SB members though not voiced during public meetings is the closing of Storrs Library. Closing of the Storrs Library would save an estimated $675,000 but it would be a severe impact to our community given the large number of people who use this important resource on a regular basis.


Other options that may be considered by the SB to reduce costs include:
- regionalization of town services including library, DPW, fire, water
- continued consolidation of town departments
- institution of a fee based curbside trash collection

The Town of Longmeadow is also engaged with the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) on a path to the building of a new high school at an estimated price tag of ~ $80.5 million. Approval by the MSBA will likely come sometime in late March after which the town has 120 days to approve the project. Longmeadow’s share after reimbursement by the state has been estimated to be ~ $44 million. The high school project must be approved at a town meeting and town election (Proposition 2½ debt exclusion override). If the Prop. 2½ debt exclusion override is approved, cost to the average property owner has been estimated to be $1/$1000 of assessed property value or $300/year for a $300,000 home. This is an extremely important project to the town but it would appear to be in serious jeopardy given the current budget crisis and national/ local economies (see my earlier LongmeadowBuzz post- Now Is the Right Time!)

The Town Manager is scheduled to present the proposed FY11 budget (including the School Dept) to the SB on February 26. It will be very interesting to see how the TM manages to balance the budget. From recent SB discussions, it would appear that town employee COLAs will not be included and any potential financial impact will be ignored. At their December 7 meeting the SB asked the School Committee to deliver 70% of the required cuts (~$1.5 million) in their proposed FY11 budget and the Town Depts to provide 30% of the required cuts (or $630,000). They also asked for priorization of the proposed cuts.

Here is what I see taking place later this year….

1. Presentation of a balanced budget (without contract settlements?) at the Annual Town Meeting (ATM) on May 11 with budget cuts significantly affecting both school and town services. It is possible that there also may be a vote on a Proposition 2½ operational budget override to balance the budget.
   
2. At the ATM there will be a warrant article for a Proposition 2½ debt exclusion override for $44 million to build a new high school.
   
3. Town elections will be held on June 8 to decide the two separate Proposition 2½ override questions. It should be noted that the last Proposition 2½ (operational) override for $2.1 million in November 2007 passed by only 6 votes. The outcome of these votes will influence the quality of life and services in our town for many years.

One thing that concerns me greatly is the lack of interest and/or understanding by many town residents about this current crisis. As I survey residents around town and ask them what they think, many of them are not very familiar with the school building process or the severity of the need to reduce the town budget. It will be too late if town residents wait until the annual town meeting to provide their inputs to town leaders…. the decisions will already have been made.

Now is the time to become involved and provide inputs to our town leaders about how to manage the budget!

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Longmeadow Real Estate is Improving...

The full year 2009 results show that the number of houses sold in Longmeadow was 3.8% higher than 2008 results (165 vs. 159) but home sales were still significantly lower than recorded for prior years (2006- 189, 13% lower and 2007- 198, 17% lower).

During the second half of 2009 median sales prices for homes continued to show improvement from the lows observed in early 2009. Median prices at year end were 15.2% higher than December 2008.

For additional details, visit the Real Estate Buzz at LongmeadowBiz blog.

Storrs Library- A Resource for All Ages

For some people in Longmeadow... having access to high speed Internet at home is an expensive non-essential "luxury". However, many of the new "social media" like YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook and others being adopted as standard methods of communication require the use of a recent vintage computer as well as high speed Internet. In today's difficult economic environment, having access to high speed Internet is crucial to finding a new job.

Storrs Library with its state of the art computer technology provides an important resource to many people in our town.

Below is just one example....

Long time resident Ruth Brenner watches
her granddaughter's college piano recital on YouTube

As our town leaders work through this years' budget crisis and are confronted with difficult choices regarding cuts in services.... let them not forget that our town library is a critical resource that we cannot afford to lose. Perhaps, rather than closing our Storrs Library we might consider reducing or eliminating the library services at Longmeadow HS (+ middle schools and elementary schools) and centralize these services at Storrs Library so that all town residents can benefit. Access to library services for high school and other students would likely increase significantly since Storrs Library is open at night and on Saturdays.

In addition, many of the resources for Storrs Library are accessible 24/7 via the Internet. If you haven't visited Storrs Library "on the web", please consider doing so. Here is a link - check it out for yourself and I think that you will be impressed!

Just an idea... thinking outside the box!

WMRLS Night at MassMutual Center

The Springfield Falcons Hockey Team is dedicating the Saturday, January 23 game to benefit the Western Massachusetts Regional Library System which supports all western Massachusetts libraries. Tickets (regularly $17) are only $10 for everyone who orders using the special form. This offer of discounted tickets to the January 23 game is extended to the general public.

Tough Times Ahead for Longmeadow- Part III

I attended the Tri-Board meeting last Monday night (11/30/09) and came away disappointed with the discussion that took place between our town leaders. It certainly wasn’t the meeting that I was expecting and left me feeling that this year’s approach to resolving difficult budget issues may not be much different from previous years.

I believe that there are some major planning and budgeting hurdles to overcome this year.

On the horizon there is a decision that will likely be made by town voters next June regarding the funding of new high school (Proposition 2½ “debt exclusion” override) and the possibility of a large budget operating deficit that will result in a significant reduction of town/ school services and/or the need for an Proposition 2½ “operational” override. At this latest Tri-Board meeting there was no clear budget strategy outlined as to how the town will successfully navigate these difficult times.

Given that our last Proposition 2½ override in Fall 2007 passed by only 5 votes with a 40% voter turnout… I believe in today’s financial world that the probability of passing two Proposition 2½ overrides by Longmeadow voters in a single year is very low.

There was much dialog about the gloomy state of town finances for the upcoming FY11 and FY12 budgets. Paul Pasterczyk, Longmeadow's Finance Director presented an overview of these budgets with projected deficits ~ $2.1 million in both FY11 and FY12.

These budget projections by Mr. Pasterczyk were made based upon the following assumptions:

• Level funding (not level services) for both schools and town departments.
• A 15% cut in state aid for FY11 vs. FY10
• COLAs for teachers, fire and police were not included since collective bargaining is still ongoing.
  Note: A negotiated 1% COLA for each of the contract years (FY09, FY10 and FY11) will add an additional $900K of annual spending to the FY11 and FY12 budgets.
• Step increases were included for teachers at $450K in FY11 and $900K in FY12.
• There was no change in capital funding of projects for FY11 and FY12 vs. FY10 ($681K) which is significantly lower than FY09.

As of November 30, the Operational Stabilization Fund (OSF) has $1.9 million (vs. $2.15 million as last reported in mid October). There is currently $0 in the Free Cash Fund.

The Select Board will spend time discussing the upcoming budget process at their meeting tomorrow night (December 7). The official FY11 budget planning process begins next with instructions from the Town Manager going to Town departments on December 15.

Let’s hope that town leaders start showing the necessary leadership to get us through these difficult times.