The town of Dudley is facing a budget crunch. Voters have twice elected not to pass tax overrides to account for a raised school budget, leaving the town scrambling to find the money elsewhere.
The town has scheduled a special Town Meeting for July 24 to vote on a new, balanced budget. A third override vote is set for August 17, described by the town as a “menu-style” vote on which town services to fund.
Spectrum News 1 spoke with Board of Selectmen Chair Kerry Cyganiewicz Sr., who explains what the next several weeks will look like.
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The town passed a budget in May, but voters failed to pass a proposition to override. What happened there, where does the town stand now and how did we get to this point?
“We had passed an override in 2018. The school district benefited from that, as well as the town. At the time, that was projected to last about three years and we all know what happened three years later – the pandemic. In 2021, we didn't feel it was proper to ask again for another override during the pandemic, so what we did was we used ARPA funds to patch things up until now, and that money ran out.
“COVID money isn’t coming anymore, so we went back to the voters, and they voted no. In April they voted no, and again in June, and the [school] district took another vote following the last failed override meeting, and that increased their budget by $901,000 over Fiscal Year 23. The municipal side of the budget should have already been reduced by 10% when the override failed. We’re out of balance by $901,000, and that’s what this override that we have coming up [on August 17] will be looking to fill.”
That meeting that you have on July 24, is that what you're asking voters to take a look at?
“Yes, legally the town is required to have a balanced budget. If additional money voted by the school committee is not part of that assessment, meaning that the July 24 special Town Meeting voters reject the balanced budget, the district has the option, and they almost certainly will call something called the ‘super meeting,’ where Dudley and Charlton voters will decide on the school assessment number.
“If that happens, it’s likely that the additional $901,000 will easily pass. That money needs to come from somewhere, and it would come from the town side of the budget, and that would have a further crushing effect on public safety, public health and critical services that are already being funded at a dangerously low level as a result of the two failed override votes.”
There is a special election on August 17. Does that depend on what happens at the July 24 meeting, or will that election happen no matter what?
“What will happen [on August 17] is that the voters will decide the level of services they wish to pay for because of the cuts that we’ll have to impose on the budget. The additional amount voted for the school assessment, simply stated without exaggerating, will be dramatic. It will have a severe impact if it doesn’t pass.”
Can you explain what happens if you can’t get more funding? You’re already seeing impacts, what would happen if nothing does pass?
“We’ll have cuts across the board. To give you an example, the highway department is being funded mostly through the town’s stabilization account, which is our savings account. This will be depleted in Fiscal Year 24. We’d like the residents to strongly consider funding the highway and the rest of the departments to provide adequate levels of service during this time.
“If the override passes on the special election in August, our new tax rate will be $11.84, which is significantly lower than any town around us and it's among the lowest in the county and the state.”
Voters have been rejecting this, what are you hearing in terms of why this keeps happening from voters or residents who live in the town?
“Well, a lot of people purchased homes in Dudley because of the great school system. It’s a safe community and we have a low tax rate, and at this time, they seem to be valuing the low tax rate.”
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