EASTHAMPTON — While some residents offered support for a $6.9 million Proposition 2½ override at a tension-filled City Council meeting on Monday, others who oppose raising their property taxes blasted officials for letting the city fall into such a deep financial crisis.
“I am adamantly opposed to the 21⁄2 override … Easthampton citizens did not cause the $8 million gap,” said resident Chris O’Connor. “Elected officials are required to make the cuts necessary to balance the budget just as we do in our own budgets at home. That would take care of the current crisis created and allowed by our elected officials by our city processes.”
Others, however, acknowledged the need for the override. Resident Mateusz Marcinowski said he was inspired to speak for his son, who receives special education services in Easthampton.
“My hope is that both the city and its residents will ultimately make the right decision,” Marcinowski said. “In my opinion, that means supporting the override. At the same, time I also recognize that there are no real winners here.”
After hearing from many more members of the public and questioning Mayor Salem Derby about the override request during the nearly four-hour meeting on Monday, councilors ultimately placed the override on the ballot at a municipal election on Tuesday, June 9. Between now and then, several councilors along with Derby pledged to do everything they can to find savings in the fiscal 2027 budget.
“In full honesty, I don’t know the right answer and that’s why this is so difficult for so many of us because we don’t know what the right answer is,” City Council President Koni Denham said. “But I am committed. I’m going to do everything that I possibly can to cut that even more and I know that our department heads have been working tirelessly to get those numbers down.”
Denham, other councilors and certain residents acknowledged that deciding the override amount and whether to vote “yes” or “no” is a difficult situation for all to reckon with.
Councilors said it is a reality that lower-income residents may be priced out of Easthampton if the override passes. The median assessed property for Easthampton homeowners is $418,000 this year. Based on that value, if the override passes it would increase property tax bills by approximately $1,200 a year.
“I’m very much against it,” resident Karol Brodeur said about the override. “I’ve had to cut out so much. We all have to pinch our pennies and I think the city should start doing that as well.”
William Joss also weighed in: “As one of the people on fixed income … you should consider what the Social Security increase is per year and it’s nowhere like this. You did explain that we didn’t have a treasurer. Can someone explain how we could have gotten to the point of not having a treasurer and getting ourselves in this hole?”
Derby said even if the $6.9 million override passes, personnel cuts will still need to be made but they would be much fewer compared to a failed override scenario. The city’s current budget is approximately $62 million.
Specific cuts have not yet been determined in the event the override fails, but Derby described the scenario as “catastrophic,” saying that the larger portions of the budget, especially the school system, would be hit harder than others.
Derby said Easthampton’s projected $5 million deficit for next fiscal year is driven by several factors, including the city’s reliance on reserve accounts and free cash to balance budgets in recent years, a nearly $1 million increase in health insurance costs this year alone, and inflation driving up expenses for everything from gravel to road salt.
Special education and out-of-district placements for Easthampton schools are also cost drivers, as are city employee contractual obligations.
Derby said an override of more than $8 million would be needed to provide financial stability for more than three years, and that would still require “conservative budgeting.” But a $6.9 million override would provide a “cushion” where cuts would be made, but the city would not have to return for another override next year, he said.
If the city does not pass an override this year, Derby said since revenue sources are not increasing at the rate of inflation, the deficit will grow larger to $7.9 million in fiscal 2028, and then up to $15.1 million in fiscal 2029.
“At the end of the day, this is going to be a personal decision for the people that are going to go to the polls and decide how to vote on this,” Derby said.
Residents weigh in
This did not satisfy several residents who opposed the override, several of whom feel the city has not done a good enough job budgeting in the past.
“I commend the city councilors for their sternness in discussing this; it’s unfortunate that you spent so many years pandering to the last mayor and not pushing for the appropriate discipline in the budget that should have occurred,” resident Cathy Wauczinski said.
Several residents said they would vote “yes” on the override, including former City Council President Dan Rist.
“If this override fails, it is real. You’re going to lose a lot of teachers,” Rist said.
The councilors found the decision to ask for an override difficult. The longest-serving City Councilor James “JP” Kwiecinski proposed an amendment that was shot down by councilors, which would have created two override questions: one for $6.9 million and one for half that amount, at $3.45 million.
Several councilors wondered if a multi-override option would be a good idea, but the amendment was rejected in a 7-2 vote. Kwiecinski said he wanted to bring a cheaper option for residents.
“I think we need to give this city every chance possible to move forward and our citizens the right to move forward with options,” Kwiecinski said.
Rist also recommended that councilors only choose one override number. He said school programming like sports and art might be lost, and there will be longer emergency response times if the override fails.
“That’s a lot. I’m willing to pay that but if you go with a smaller one, maybe that’s more appealing to people,” Rist said about the override amount. “Just take that into consideration, but a ‘no’ vote is extremely dangerous.”
Councilor Amanda Newton also questioned why Derby and the task force are asking for a larger override than the current deficit the city faces, wondering if there could be an override to provide stability for just one year.
Derby said there were several factors that went into the decision to propose only one override option and its amount. The $6.9 million override was decided with guidance from the state Department of Revenue, to provide stability over the next three to four years while not having to return for another override next year.
“We don’t want to get ourselves in a position where we ask people to pay more, but don’t really give them a lot for that investment,” Derby said. “We’re going to end up back here” if a smaller override passes.
Derby said the city’s budget task force, consisting of several city officials, also considered other neighboring communities’ failed or successful override attempts, mainly South Hadley’s failed override which gave two separate options of $9 million and $11 million.
Derby and Councilor Thomas Peake said they had heard there was voter confusion around the two override options in South Hadley, some thinking that if they voted “yes” both options would pass which is not the case. As chair of the finance committee, Peake said that long term the city will have to find ways to produce revenue while hoping that there is a change in state aid.
“We are going to have to realize some ways to bring in new revenues and we’re going to have to pray that the commonwealth of Massachusetts decides that maybe they should find some ways, given that they’re the ones imposing a lot of restrictions on what sort of revenues we can actually raise, that they maybe are going to help us out,” Peake said.
The city is currently assembling two budgets: one considering the override passes with certain cuts and one with severe cuts, if the override does not pass. The budgets will be presented to the City Council at its May 6 meeting.
