Springfield boards OK $11.2M

Voters will have to weigh whether to approve a town budget that calls for a spending increase of 2.1 percent, but will require a slightly bigger increase in property taxes.

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Springfield budget up 1.5 percent 
The proposed 2017- 18 town budget is $11.18 million, which shows a $166,085 increase over last year and reflects a 1.5 percent spending increase.


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Springfield budget up 1.5 percent Rutland Herald | December 23, 2016 By SUSAN SMALLHEER STAFF WRITER SPRINGFIELD — The proposed 2017- 18 town budget is $11.18 million, which shows a $166,085 increase over last year and reflects a 1.5 percent spending increase. But due to anticipated declining revenues, taxes are expected to rise 2.4 percent to raise the $9.22 million needed to support town government, said Town Manager Tom Yennerell. Budget workshops began last week with the town’s budget advisory committee, and will resume in the new year. Town officials plan on asking voters, in separate articles, whether they want to provide more money for paving roads. Voters last year approved an additional $400,000 for paving. Voters will also be asked whether they would support adding what is described as a community development/ town code enforcement officer to work on the various anti-blight projects and ordinances the town has adopted in the past two years. The exact amounts for both requests are still being worked out. “ I think the paving number will be $500,000, in addition to $300,000 already in the budget,” Yennerell said Monday. And, he said, he was already rethinking the proposal to add staff for dealing with the blight problem. “I think we need a person to take a look at troubled properties and figure out what we can do with them, even if they are privately owned. So I’m re-thinking this, and thinking of hiring a consultant, as opposed to an employee,” he said. “It might give us a lot more flexibility in the long run and at less cost,” he said. Yennerell said that there were decreases in the proposed budget, including on health insurance, debt service, heating fuel and electricity, due to the town’s new contract with a North Springfield solar developer. On the issue of revenue, Yennerell said income from the town’s transfer station and the sale of recyclables is down, as are ambulance fees. “Prices on recycled goods are very depressed. Textiles are the worst and we are currently seeking a vendor to take textiles,” he said. The town of Chester, which now uses the Springfield Recycling Center, will increase its contribution by $5,000, he said. As for ambulance fees, Yenerell said that Medicare and Medicaid now have what he called “specific protocols” that control ambulance fees, which has resulted in a decrease in revenue from last year. He said the town added new software to help with that issue. Springfield Police Chief Douglas Johnston has requested a new full-time dispatcher, which would replace a part-time position. The additional person would bring the number of full-time dispatchers to five, he said. Also included in the budget is a 35-cent per hour increase for all 25 non-bargaining unit employees, Yenerell said. Most town departments are unionized, and are in contract negotiations. The non-bargaining unit employees include most of the town hall staff and department heads and managers. The town has about 100 employees, he said. Yennerell said he was disappointed that the town’s workmen’s compensation insurance had gone up $20,000 to $277,000. He said the town had worked hard to get it down, only to see it go up anyway. 2017-01-25 / Front Page Print article Print Selectboard approves $11M proposed budget By TORY JONES toryb@eagletimes.com SPRINGFIELD — The Springfield Selectboard has unanimously approved all warrant articles for the 2017 Annual Town Meeting, including a proposed $11,255,307 annual operating budget, an additional $500,000 for repairing town roads, and the creation of a $100,000 economic development fund. The annual budget, approved at a regular selectboard meeting on Monday, Jan. 23, has no significant changes to the bottom line from the proposed budget presented on Dec. 30, according to Town Manager Tom Yennerell. A public hearing on the annual town budget, which covers July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018, took place immediately before the regular meeting. If approved, the proposed $11,255,307 operating budget, not including revenue, would be $236,085 more than the 2016 budget, an increase of 2.1 percent over last year, Yennerell said. The taxes required to support the budget would be $9,297,076, a 3.23 percent tax increase, he said. The Springfield Budget Advisory Committee (BAC) recommended the selectboard approve the proposed 2017 budget as presented for the town meeting warrant. The BAC’s recommendations also included adding a warrant article for an additional $500,000 for road repair to add to the existing $300,000 contribution in the highway budget for paving, for a total of $800,000 to cover the town’s road repair plan for 2017. That is an increase of $100,000 over last year’s request. Selectboard Chair Kristi Morris said the paving warrant article, asking for an additional $400,000 last year for a total of $700,000, was popular among voters at the last annual meeting, gathering more votes than other items on the warrant. The BAC also recommended that the selectboard accept a $100,000 economic development warrant article requested by Yennerell. One article will ask taxpayers to adopt the “Springfield Revitalization Fund,” which will fund the cost of current and future development plans, including seeking qualified investors, market analysis, and consultation. A second warrant article will ask for $100,000 to be appropriated to that fund. “We feel the taxes go up because the revenue goes down,” said BAC member Mike Martin. An increase in the Springfield grand list, from revitalization efforts, would help reduce taxes in the long run, he said. The $100,000 fund generated discussion among audience members on what the funds will be used for. In addition to investment and marketing, that fund will go toward hiring a consultant, a company that has a “track record” in helping communities such as St. Albans and Barre turn their economic development around and make progress in a five-year span, according to Selectman Walter Martone, who with Selectman Peter MacGillivray has visited several cities in Vermont to assess their economic development strategies. Martone said that if Springfield is going to be considered a “full service town,” those services need to be funded, which in turn will help grow the grand list. The fund will help bring in new investors and create new funding sources, he said. “If we don’t do something, we’re going to continue to nickel-and-dime people for the foreseeable future,” Martone said. “This is not shelf candy,” Selectman George McNaughton said. McNaughton also said the fund will not be used for conceptual plans, but will be action-oriented. For the planning to be successful, the selectboard must remain involved, he said. “We’ve planned this to death. What we haven’t done is actually do it,” McNaughton said. “If we’re going to take the next step, then this is the next step.” Springfield resident Dick Andrews said on Monday that, while it may not be pleasant to see taxes go up — even a small amount — he was pleased with the town’s initiative in dealing with blight, and said he thinks it will lead to an increase in development and revenue in the future. The BAC also recommended a proposed warrant item to re-appropropriate $40,000 of the original $100,000 appropriated for the demolition of unsafe buildings; to consider non-resident payment for access to the Springfield transfer station; and to work on raising the grand list and look into negotiating with the state for payment in lieu of taxes for state buildings in town. Another warrant item will ask voters to approve proposed amendments to the Town Charter. Those proposed changes will be discussed at public hearings on Jan. 30 and Feb. 6 in Springfield, and are also available for view at the town office and on the Springfield municipal website, Other warrant articles will address annual stipends for the town moderator and selectboard members, and standard items such as receiving and acting on committee reports, expending grants, and any other business. Another change to this year’s budget is a $146,000 increase for the Springfield Fire Department. The department is seeking to replace a fire truck this year, a replacement that has been delayed for more than five years, Morris said. Other increases are minimal, however, with the fire truck allocation the largest increase by department, he said. The Springfield Annual Town Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, March 7, 2017.