GREENFIELD — The mayor has presented a $53.9 million budget to City Council for fiscal 2021, representing a $2.6 million increase over the current fiscal year.
Should the budget pass as presented, the tax rate would be $23.55 per $1,000 valuation, or an increase of 62 cents.
At the City Council Ways and Means Committee’s first budget hearing held Thursday via the Webex conference call system, Finance Director Liz Gilman said 31 percent of the budget represents general government expenditures, 39 percent represents education expenditures and the remaining 30 percent represents department costs.
Gilman said some of the major drivers in the budget are health insurance, the retirement assessment and contractual increases.
Mayor Roxann Wedegartner noted the increase in the mayor’s office budget — an increase of $16,000 — covers salary increases across the board, and also creates a full-time administrative aid position.
In her presentation of the mayor and executive administration’s portion of the budget, Wedegartner said she also aims to improve Greenfield’s marketing and advertising.
“Perhaps now, more than ever, we’re going to have to get the word out about Greenfield,” she said.
At-Large City Councilor Christine Forgey, who was Greenfield’s first mayor, commented that Wedegartner’s budget is “right on.”
Assistant Assessor Kimberly Mew explained the $116,000 increase to the Assessor’s Department accounts for her anticipated transition to chief assessor upon completion of certification classes, as well as increased hours for the administrative clerk and raising dues and memberships to have board members become part of the assessor’s association.
Also addressed at Thursday’s hearing were the treasurer’s department budget plus the finance and accounting budget, which had minor changes from the current fiscal year.
The next budget hearing is scheduled for April 15 at 6 p.m., also via Webex. A link to join the call will be provided on the agenda when it is posted on the city’s website, greenfield-ma.gov.
The budget also proposes increases of $472,000 to the education budget — which includes assessments to the Franklin County Technical School and Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School — and a $350,000 increase to the public safety budget.
The school budget includes funding for contractual increases, such as higher transportation costs, and for the reopening of the Green River School, according to the budget proposal.
The increase in the police budget accounts for vehicle maintenance, replenishing equipment, such as radios, and hiring additional officers. The city also anticipates moving forward in the upcoming fiscal year with plans for a public safety complex.
The fire department budget accounts for reinstating the deputy fire chief’s position, which was previously eliminated and replaced with a captain, until the captain position was also removed, the budget explains.
Wedegartner also proposed $19,485 be budgeted in fiscal year 2021 for emergency management, a sub-department of the fire department, in comparison to the current fiscal year’s $9,500. The increase, requested in December by Chief Robert Strahan, includes the addition of a part-time manager for the Emergency Operations Center, according to Wedegartner. The manager would be responsible for the center’s maintenance, including equipment, maintaining supplies and assistance with maintaining emergency plans.
With few exceptions, the mayor proposed department budgets that came in below the department heads’ requests for fiscal 2021.
“If I had granted all city and school department requests for additional staffing and other expenditures, the city would have surpassed the levy ceiling, which is something we cannot do,” Wedegartner said in a message addressed to residents and city councilors.
She also noted the budget was prepared in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The current state of affairs is the reality under which I must present this budget to you, knowing that we have no crystal ball that tells us whether it will be able to accommodate the financial projections and current realities under which the fiscal year 2021 budget was prepared,” the mayor wrote.
Wedegartner said in her message the proposed spending plan was built based on the budget history and projections of the previous administration. She also said the city, as in years past, continues to use capital spending and planned debt to allow for repair and replacement of institutional infrastructure.
Her message also addressed the city’s continued efforts to increase revenue.
“This is where the impact of COVID-19 may hit us hardest,” Wedegartner wrote. “Not only in our residential and excise tax collections, but many businesses have been shuttered or are only able to operate on a substantially reduced schedule with limited ability to sell their goods and services.”
Mary Byrne can be reached at mbyrne@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 263.