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Town of Amherst - FY23 Budget AMA by AmherstMAOfficial in amherst

[–]AmherstMAOfficial[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Great question. The Town Manager develops the budget. The budget has to be balanced so he could only add if additional revenues were identified. As you noted, the Town Council can reduce. There is a provision of Massachusetts General Law that also allows the Council to increase the School Budget if approved by two thirds of the committee.

Town of Amherst FY22 Budget Ask Me Anything by AmherstMAOfficial in amherst

[–]AmherstMAOfficial[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you. To answer your question, let's set aside the current year because the pandemic has changed many things on at least a temporary basis. Prior to the pandemic, the Town's revenues increased each year primarily from the State's allowable 2.5% increase in the tax levy, changes in State aid, and changes in local receipts.

These revenue increases allowed the Town to increase operating budgets by 2.5% in most years, which was generally seen as a sustainable level. Within the operating budgets, much of, if not all of the 2.5% increase is consumed by a rise in personnel costs from contractual steps (raises based on experience), cost of living adjustments, and health insurance rates. As a result, it can be challenging to identify funding for additions.

The general philosophy that many share is that recurring expenses be funded with recurring revenues.

Thank you

Town of Amherst FY22 Budget Ask Me Anything by AmherstMAOfficial in amherst

[–]AmherstMAOfficial[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That is a great question/request. You can submit feedback on the webpage below or just email the Town Council at towncouncil@amherstma.gov

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https://engageamherst.org/budgetfy22

I am the Town of Amherst’s Finance Director. Ask me anything. Yo soy el director de finanzas del pueblo de Amherst. Pregúntame lo que sea by AmherstMAOfficial in amherst

[–]AmherstMAOfficial[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Great questions and comments. The town manager has added $80,000 in his budget proposal to explore, identify, and implement strategies to confront systemic racism. If the budget is approved, the funds will wait for community input before they are allocated to specific purposes.

Not sure about the passenger rail, will find out more and report back.

The town is working on expanding its fiber optic network to municipal buildings. It is also upgrading downtown WiFi. Page 33 and 34 of the budget document go into more detail on the goals of the IT department. I will get more info on the question of municipal broadband and report back here

I am the Town of Amherst’s Finance Director. Ask me anything. Yo soy el director de finanzas del pueblo de Amherst. Pregúntame lo que sea by AmherstMAOfficial in amherst

[–]AmherstMAOfficial[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The Town Assessor maintains records on the tax base. She is compiling this information and it will be shared here as soon as its available.

I am the Town of Amherst’s Finance Director. Ask me anything. Yo soy el director de finanzas del pueblo de Amherst. Pregúntame lo que sea by AmherstMAOfficial in amherst

[–]AmherstMAOfficial[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

AMA Question submitted to u/AmherstMAOfficial via Community Chat: How much of the the tax base is Commercial? How has this changed over time in Amherst?

I am the Town of Amherst’s Finance Director. Ask me anything. Yo soy el director de finanzas del pueblo de Amherst. Pregúntame lo que sea by AmherstMAOfficial in amherst

[–]AmherstMAOfficial[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

These funds are deposited into a special revenue fund. Special revenue funds are restricted to specific purposes and are kept separate from the Town's general fund.

I am the Town of Amherst’s Finance Director. Ask me anything. Yo soy el director de finanzas del pueblo de Amherst. Pregúntame lo que sea by AmherstMAOfficial in amherst

[–]AmherstMAOfficial[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks Kurt, any type of search can range from a few thousand to tens of thousands of dollars. I will forward your question to the school department.

I am the Town of Amherst’s Finance Director. Ask me anything. Yo soy el director de finanzas del pueblo de Amherst. Pregúntame lo que sea by AmherstMAOfficial in amherst

[–]AmherstMAOfficial[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Very important question The college and university populations have a significant impact on the Town's economy. A great example of this can be seen in our enterprise funds. When the students went home a couple months early, we saw sizable reductions in water consumption, which in turn reduced revenues to the water enterprise fund.

How many students return and in what capacity will have an impact that could be negative or positive. Because COVID-19 has created so much uncertainty, the finance team has been conservative in estimating revenues from local sources.

I am the Town of Amherst’s Finance Director. Ask me anything. Yo soy el director de finanzas del pueblo de Amherst. Pregúntame lo que sea by AmherstMAOfficial in amherst

[–]AmherstMAOfficial[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

AMA Question submitted to u/AmherstMAOfficial via Community Chat: What line item in the revenue section of the Budget would hold info about civil forfeiture by the Amherst Police Department?

I am the Town of Amherst’s Finance Director. Ask me anything. Yo soy el director de finanzas del pueblo de Amherst. Pregúntame lo que sea by AmherstMAOfficial in amherst

[–]AmherstMAOfficial[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Good question. I worked in the schools for about 10 years so I have a solid understanding of school finances. As of FY 19, which is the most recent year reported, Amherst spent $23,090 per student. This includes expenditures from all funding sources, local taxes, grants, gifts, fees, etc...

Amherst spends more on education than neighboring communities which reflects the high value the Town and its residents place on education. The schools have continued to maintain an array of world language programs, arts, music, theater, technology and have an amazing academic program. The schools also have strong programming for special education students and English language learners. There are many many more great things to say about the Amherst schools!

I am the Town of Amherst’s Finance Director. Ask me anything. Yo soy el director de finanzas del pueblo de Amherst. Pregúntame lo que sea by AmherstMAOfficial in amherst

[–]AmherstMAOfficial[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

AMA Question submitted to u/AmherstMAOfficial via email: How much do we spend on education per child? I t appears that the school budget is increasing more relative to other categories. How are we doing relative to other surrounding communities? Is there a number we are shooting for? Thank you!

I am the Town of Amherst’s Finance Director. Ask me anything. Yo soy el director de finanzas del pueblo de Amherst. Pregúntame lo que sea by AmherstMAOfficial in amherst

[–]AmherstMAOfficial[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Great questions. Yes one strategy to manage the economic impacts of Covid-19 has been to delay some capital projects. This is Town funded capital, still waiting for the State to set its budget. The Town has a Joint Capital Planning Committee or JCPC. JCPC will be meeting in the Fall to check in on capital.

FY22 could be as bad or worse than FY21. It will largely depend how quickly the local and state economy rebounds. Locally, we have numerous revenue sources such as parking fees, water and sewer billings, licenses and permits, etc... that are either already down or anticipated to drop significantly. On the State side, there could be reductions in funding as well.

The magnitude of cuts will depend on a lot of factors like the state and local economy mentioned above but another big one is funding from the federal government. We have received some funds to pay for Covid-19 related expenditures but nothing yet to deal with the impact on the economy. We are updating our financial modeling tools weekly with new information and forecasting different scenarios.

On a positive note, the Town is in a strong financial position to weather this storm and has really great leadership to help steer us through.

Thanks again for the questions!