SHREWSBURY – While many residents are celebrating the joys of the holiday season, Town leaders and elected officials are beginning the budget season, a period of often intense late night meetings in which the town crafts its operating budget for the upcoming fiscal year.  This is prepared by the Town Manager, with input from the School Committee, Financing Committee and Board of Selectmen, after taking into consideration the incoming operating revenue, estimated tax levy, state aid and other sources of income – and balancing that against the fiscal needs of the community.

This year will pose one of the greatest challenges we have ever faced as a community.  With the state in budget crisis, and further 9C state aid reductions, we as a community narrowly missed a bullet this fiscal year as the Governor’s recent cuts pretty much spared Shrewsbury. Additionally, the School Budget, which had been drastically cut last year, was propped up artificially thanks to the Federal Stimulus Funds, a one-year settlement with the Teacher’s Contract, and a decrease in transportation costs due to a contract provision with AA TRansportation that tied our contract to the Consumer Price Index, which had fallen in the last fiscal cycle.

The upcoming fiscal year will be much more difficult for us, as the stimulus funds are nearly exhausted, several contracts are up for renewal, and insurance costs are expected to rise – as always.

The Board of Selectmen have already announced that there will be no operational override on the ballot, and so getting through this year will require sacrifices by all.

As a result, some tough decisions will need to be made – and this will require hard work by our town leaders, and input from members of the community.

Keep your eyes open for announcements of public hearings which will allow all citizens to speak on issues of concern to them, and present ideas for ensuring a balance budget and an open process.

The Town Manager has put together a great document called the citizens guide to the budget, and you can pull it up at the following link