ORANGE — Schools, departments and services are looking at cuts of about $460,000 collectively, “unless there’s a miracle” before the annual Town Meeting on June 18.
During a joint meeting between the Selectboard and Finance Committee Wednesday, Finance Committee Chairman Robert Stack detailed the impending cuts, and what they might mean to Orange residents.
“This FY19 budget has been the most challenging budget to work on since I’ve been on the committee, which is since 2012,” Stack said.
Nothing has been set in stone quite yet, and the Finance Committee has at least four more meetings before the annual Town Meeting. The Ralph C. Mahar Regional and Elementary school committees have yet to pass proposed budgets, too. Stack said the town is looking at an overall budget of around $20 million — an increase over last year’s $19.6 million.
The problem is the various schools and governmental bodies in town have told the Finance Committee what they think they need for operations next year, and it all adds up to much more than $20 million.
Around 57 percent of the town’s budget goes toward funding the Mahar regional schools, Orange elementary schools, Franklin County Technical School and Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School.
Original proposals from Orange elementary schools and the Mahar schools indicated they would need an additional $1.5 million — over their combined roughly $10 million last year — for next year.
There have already been discussions of cuts — eliminating late buses and one scheduled bus at Mahar, and increasing class sizes by eliminating sections at the elementary schools — and that $1.5 million has been shaved down to about $750,000, Stack said.
Eliminating a counselor at Mahar, and getting rid of private grounds keepers have also been discussed. The Mahar Regional School District School Committee is set to meet May 24, while the Elementary School Committee will likely meet in the first week of June.
Still, roughly $460,000 in cuts across the board are needed, but state aid has decreased, the town’s net growth economically has slowed — from a $67,000 increase last year to $63,000 this year — and Orange has the 18th lowest per capita income in the state —$18,100 compared to the state average of $42,000.
“It’s imperative to us that decisions are made on facts and reality,” Stack said, indicating that some cuts will have to be made, and that an override permanently increasing taxes is unlikely.
“The average tax bill in Orange is $3,217, and that’s an increase of almost $500 over the past four years,” Stack said. “The average in the state is $5,400, but it’s much more difficult for people in Orange to pay with the income they have.”
Selectboard Vice Chairman Ryan Mailloux — currently acting chairman after Richard Sheridan’s resignation last week — said multiple solutions should be employed to balance the budget.
“I think we might need a combination of solutions,” Mailloux said. “We might have to do a 10 percent cut across the board.”
Mailloux also said that, while voters have rejected overrides four times in Orange since 2003, this time might be different.
“I think if the people of Orange know that the schools are on the line, it’s going to pass,” Mailloux said.
Many things, Stack said, cannot be cut. The “obvious” budgets, he said, are things like electricity, and that police departments and schools must still be functional.
Stack also added he’s confident in the various bodies in Orange to come up with solutions.
“It’s not all doom and gloom,” Stack said. “This Finance Committee has presented a balanced budget every year.”
Reach David McLellan at dmclellan@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 268.