Municipal Council approves $51.37M budget

AMESBURY — More than 100 people crowded into Town Hall auditorium last night, asking for no more cuts to schools and the library ,while urging residents to communicate their concern about shrinking local aid to legislators on Beacon Hill.

The standing-room-only crowd gathered outside Town Hall before moving into the auditorium at the public hearing for the 2010 budget.

The Municipal Council voted unanimously to approve the $51,370,388 spending plan, roughly $100,000 lower than the one Mayor Thatcher Kezer had recommended prior to the bill's vetting in Finance Committee meetings.

Faced with mitigating an $800,000 decrease in state aid for 2009, Kezer made the decision in February to shave staff and services early in the budget season and now doesn't anticipate having to make any more cuts.

Councilor Alan Neale, chairman of the Finance Committee, which is composed of the nine-member council, said the budget process gave him confidence in the town's financial position.

"The Finance Committee held six nights of investigation into the mayor's budget, and we had every department before us to tell us about their budget, and we questioned them and went over each item line by line," Councilor Alan Neale, chairman of the Finance Committee, said. "We feel good about how the process took place, and all of us believe the folks representing their budgets were very thorough and very responsive to our questions."

During public comment on the budget, mainly school administration, teachers, union leaders and parents spoke, urging the council to keep the school department level-funded.

Soon-to-retire Cashman School Principal Peter Hoyt thanked the council for its work analyzing the budget.

"One of the things we teach at the Cashman School is to do the right thing," Hoyt said. "Over the past five years we have put together a budget that is responsible, quite transparent and that has incurred a significant amount of reductions. We hope you, too, do the right thing and unanimously endorse the fiscal year 2010 budget for the school year."

Amesbury mother Gail Brown spoke of how important the schools and the town library are in her family's life.

"The library is central to our family life," Brown said, saying her kids spend time there, and her husband used it to start his own business.

High school teacher Cindy Yetman urged the council to pass the budget, warning any cuts would directly impact students.

"I'm not asking for any more," Yetman said. "But we can't do our jobs with any less. We are sensitive to your needs and have done our part. We ask you to do yours and please support Dr. Chaurette and the budget in full."

Retiring Superintendent Charles Chaurette spoke of increased student achievement in the midst of cuts to the budget over the years and told the council they must do their part to keep achievement up.

"It is critical the intact budget be passed because the reality is we are going to sustain cuts to Chapter 70 down the road," Chaurette said. "If the budget gets passed, we will deal and deal effectively with whatever reductions occur to Chapter 70. We won't be coming back to the council for additional appropriations."

Amesbury High School Principal Les Murray said his own daughter chose to go to school at Amesbury High School over Salisbury schools because of the variety of programs offered. He noted the school department's budget is lower than it has been in the past, and with the strong personnel present in all the schools, the town's school system will continue to move forward.

Suzanne McLaughlin's comments were rewarded with applause as she detailed her attendance at each of the six budget hearings, though she had no vested interest in anything other than her property taxes.

"I believe you can't complain unless you understand it," McLaughlin said. "In 2009, no one anticipated the cuts they have now made, no one can anticipate the cuts that are going to happen. It's going to be another bad year, and I'm sorry you have to deal with it. That said, I don't think we are powerless. We need to tell our state legislators that they have to be responsible and spend our money like it's their own and come through with the promises they have made to cities and towns."

Councilors reiterated McLaughlin's comment to write, call and voice concerns about local aid to local legislators, especially in light of impending sales tax increases.

"We are cutting into the muscle, and we don't have anything left," Councilor Stephen Dunford said. "Our state representative has voted for a lot of things that have not been good for Amesbury and for special interests. He voted for a holiday for state workers paid by me and paid by you. Write to Costello, Sen. Baddour and the governor. Do your part to get state representatives and Beacon Hill to do what they said they were going to do."

Before voting to approve the 2010 budget, Neale voiced his feelings of empowerment coming out of the budget process and warned of looming tax increases.

"The council's job is to take and create a balance around providing services to citizens and the need to raise taxes to provide those services," Neale said, noting a 4 percent increase in taxes will occur next year. "The state took a lot of money away from us, and our job is to balance the needs. The only way to do this with this level of services is to increase taxes."

Neale noted out of all the e-mails and calls he received over the last several weeks, no one has said they wanted services diminished to prevent a tax increase.

"We can't stop educating our kids in hard economic times, we can't stop providing library services to help people in times of need," Neale said. "I feel empowered to not have to cut services and that to the populous, it is no matter that taxes are high, they are willing to pay for the lifestyle we enjoy in Amesbury."

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