Reduced budget to go before Mattapoisett Town Meeting

Jul 28, 2020

MATTAPOISETT — Amidst concerns over state aid to towns revenue loss due to the pandemic, the town’s Finance Committee recommended a new budget for the fiscal 2021 year that cuts  $668,000 from the original allocation. 

The new budget will go before residents at the Aug. 17 Town Meeting at Old Rochester Regional High School at 6 p.m. The meeting was postponed due to uncertainty on state aid and revenue because of coronavirus, and how that would affect the annual budget.

Former Town Administrator Mike Gagne, who helped craft the original budget, said that being “a little bit more conservative this year makes a lot of sense.”

This conservative approach shows in places like state aid predictions. The new budget accounts for a predicted 10%, or $163,000 decrease in funding from the state. Gagne said that although state aid will most likely be down, he is unsure how much less it will be, because the state is still operating on a temporary budget at the moment. 

In other areas, the town cut down its budget by holding off on the purchase of two new police cruisers, stopping capital investments except on projects that have already begun and cutting the budget for the Council on Aging and library because they are both operating in limited capacity.

The article states that more funds can be added to the budget at the fall Town Meeting if necessary.

The Finance Committee recommended nine other articles, including an allocation of $150,000 to the fire station project from the town’s debt stabilization fund for annual principal and interest payments, and obtaining easements for the Acushnet Road Bridge and Industrial Drive projects.