Town Meeting is Tonight, Monday: Are You Going?

It affects your town. It affects you. There are 50 warrant articles this year that require your vote to pass, including the budget.

Town's Staffing Needs Assessed

Town wants to take a "hard look" at staffing in Northborough.

In an effort to take a "hard look" at the staffing needs in the town's department, an ad hoc committee is forming to assess that very issue. Board of Selectman Chairman Bill Pantazis said that because workforce planning is 60 percent of town's annual budget, the board and administration needed to take a closer look at the municipal personnel positions. "Like everything else, we need to take a hard look at it and study it and make sure we make the right decisions," said Pantazis. The committee, which will include two selectmen, administration and members of the Appropriations committee, will be confirmed at the next Board of Selectmen meeting, said Pantazis. Town Administrator John Coderre added that, as with much of the town's approach, …

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Northborough Will Pay a Much Bigger Share of School Budget in FY2014

The Regional School Committee approved a budget of $19,240,779, which marks an increase of $715,363 over FY2013, or 3.86 percent. But why did Northborough's assessment skyrocket this year?

Massachusetts Legislators To Receive Pay Cut

A drop in the state's median household income led to the salary reduction.

Massachusetts lawmakers will get a pay cut this year, in accordance with a state law that links legislators’ salaries to the state’s median household income. Governor Deval Patrick’s office announced the drop in wages this week. “As required by Article CXVIII of the Amendments to the Constitution, for the purpose of adjusting the base compensation of members of the General Court, we have ascertained, from the federal census American Community Survey and reports of average weekly wages, that the median household income for the Commonwealth for the preceding two-year period decreased by 1.8 percent,” Patrick said in a Jan. 2 letter to State Treasurer Steven Grossman. The pay cut amounts to about $1,000 annually from legislators’ current base…

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Alice Mask

12:27 pm on Friday, January 4, 2013

As it should be.   more ›

Governor Proposes Half-Billion in Cuts to Deal with Low Revenues, 'Fiscal Cliff'

Northborough's town administrator responds to budget adjustments announced by Patrick on Tuesday.

In anticipation of the “fiscal cliff” combined with projected tax revenues that are more than half a billion dollars lower than previously expected, Gov. Deval Patrick released a revised budget designed to deal with the gap Tuesday. “The uncertainty of the fiscal cliff and the resulting slow down in growth, is the direct cause of our budget challenges,” Patrick said. “Congress and the President must come to terms on a solution so the private sector will continue to make the kind of investments that create jobs, grow state and federal tax revenue collections and contribute to a lasting economic recovery." The state is now expecting to bring in roughly 21.5 billion in tax revenue, and Patrick's plan to bridge the gap between this amount and …

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Capital Budget Over $3 Million Has Minimal Impact to Taxpayer

A new firetruck, a generator for the Melican School and repairs to the Ellsworth McAfee track are included in FY2013 capital plan.

Next year's budget includes a capital plan of ten items totaling $3,086,000, approved by the Board of Selectmen in order to send it off to town meeting this spring, when voters decide whether to give it their blessing. Calling it a "significant capital investment on behalf of the town," Town Administrator John Coderre stressed that 91 percent of the $3 million plus dollars will be "funded with sources that will not increase taxes." The sources include free cash, bonds, repurposed bonds, Enterprise funds, MSBA grant, mitigation, community preservation funds and donations. The FY13 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) focuses on ten investments for the town. A 1984 fire engine will be replaced at $350,000. Also, mandated by the FCC, Northborough …

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Town Admin: Budget Numbers are 'Unfolding as Planned'

Last week, the Patrick-Murray administration announced its fiscal year 2013 budget for Massachusetts.

Based on initial numbers, Town Admininistrator said state local aid seems to be "right on target for now," according to the budget released by the Patrick-Murray Administration on Jan. 25.  Governor Deval Patrick filed his FY2013 budget recommendation last Wednesday, calling it "a balanced and fiscally responsible plan that reflects the Governor's unprecedented commitment to education, health care, creating jobs and other key priorities that support long-term job growth and prosperity and will continue to accelerate the Commonwealth's economic recovery. Cherry Sheet estimates differed little with Gov. Patrick's budget. Education items, including Chapter 70 and school transportation, shows an estimated increase from predictions of $116,324…

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Lack of Federal Funds Will Affect Next Year's School Budget

The School Committee weighs in on an overview of a budget concept for FY2013.

Superintendent Charles Gobron stressed, he wasn't presenting a preliminary FY2013 school budget; he was opening up a discussion about a preliminary budget. Either way, the School Committee got a chance to take a look at some thoughts on the next fiscal year's budget plan for the Northborough schools. Gobron outlined priorities in line with a district wide strategic plan, and approach that strives to "sustain our current staffing levels due to loss of stimulus funding" and the "ability to increase our capacity to better meet the needs of our current student population."  An obstacle, he said, this year is overcoming a "funding cliff" that now exists due to the lack of federal funding, which for the past two years helped the schools navigate…

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POLL: Do you have a spending cap for the holidays?

Budgets are tight. Does that weigh into your spending at Christmas?

Everyone's complaining about budgets, more now than in quite some time. Despite a booming Cyber Monday and Black Friday, people still have a tight grasp on their wallets. Some say to heck with the budget and wrack up the credit cards. Others save all year in Christmas funds, and stick to the amount. Others, well, they just wing it. How do you handle Christmas, monetarily speaking?

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