By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — Fiscal year 2023 is going to be a tight financial one, Town Administrator Rob Dolan said during the recent Budget Summit.
Select Board Chairman Dick Dalton said creating the town’s operating and capital budgets is “never easy.”
“The town has limited resources and it is our job to allocate them judiciously,” said Dalton. “It’s no different than a simple household budget, but it impacts thousands of people and costs tens of millions of dollars. Priorities have to be established in each department and the town as a whole.”
Dolan said department heads are responsible for making sure the town’s fiscal health is in a good position over the short- and long-term.
“If that team-focused and holistic approach to municipal management is embraced, it will maintain and advance all of the departments and the town well into the future in both good and challenging times,” said Dolan.
Dolan recalled that he and Town Accountant/Assistant Finance Director Julie McCarthy presented a three-year budget analysis to the Select Board three years ago.
“The town had benefited from the fruits of the MarketStreet Lynnfield development in terms of new growth and local receipts,” said Dolan. “That led to incredible investment in several areas. Those unprecedented revenue increases are now over. The three-year analysis predicted a trend of operating deficits, increased needs and shrinking capital budgets. The charge of maintaining the fiscal health of the community was at a legitimate crossroads. After making hard choices and managing differently over the last three years, we not only avoided these deficits but we have advanced the town and the schools in every way.”
Dolan and McCarthy will be presenting a revised three-year budget analysis to the Select Board next year.
“As we develop a new budget analysis going through 2025, we see continuous challenges but also see strong performance in the coming years,” said Dolan. “Unfortunately, we cannot go back to MarketStreet levels of spending. It means quite the opposite. It reaffirms the belief that there are needs in our community that must be acknowledged and invested in. But in order to meet our responsibility, every budget must be sustainable. There must be careful spending at every turn and contracts must be fair and fiscally responsible. Reform and innovation must come before budgetary requests. Conservative revenue assumptions must happen yearly and we must maintain our capital budget.”
Dolan also stressed that the town has to avoid using one-time funds in order to balance the operating budget.
“Responsible debt management must be paramount,” added Dolan. “We have to keep an eye on fixed costs such as insurance and we must continue to save for a rainy day. We need to avoid destabilizing budget surprises.”
Dolan noted that the town has received $3.8 million from the American Rescue Plan Act that will be spent over four years. He also said the town will be receiving additional funds from the infrastructure law that President Joe Biden signed into law recently.
“The town will have many one-time federal and state funds that are highly regulated and have use restrictions that will advance the community and town departments in many ways,” said Dolan. “Under the leadership of the Select Board, the money will be used wisely and responsibly.”
Dolan said fiscal restraints established by Proposition 2 1/2, declining new growth and stagnant state aid will make the FY23 budget challenging. While local receipts are anticipated to improve in FY23, Dolan said inflation will be a new challenge facing town officials.
“Inflation is a concern that will affect each department,” said Dolan. “Local government is the only government in the United States of America that by law must approve a balanced budget. The state Department of Revenue and an independent auditor must audit that budget. The leadership team and the town’s dedicated employees who have performed incredibly during this pandemic are prepared to develop a budget that speaks to the community’s priorities and values while ensuring the town of Lynnfield’s fiscal health is sustained.”
Dalton said he hopes department heads will think about ways that can improve the delivery of services to the community in “a more efficient manner.”
“I want to thank all of our department heads for everything they have done over the past year-and-half,” said Dalton. “They were presented with challenges that none of us could have anticipated and they all stood tall. I want to thank them on behalf of a grateful Select Board and community.”
Dolan also noted that Spring Town Meeting will be moved to Monday, May 16.
“With the state budget always influx, it will give us more time to see what the town will be receiving in state aid,” said Dolan.
