Proposed FY2021 Grafton budget: $68,223,870

Town Administrator Tim McInerney has proposed a $68,223,870 town budget for Fiscal Year 2020, a figure driven by increased need in the schools, upcoming changes to the Fire Department, and an increase in debt service.

The complete 464-page budget document can be found here. Key charts, including the complete line item budget, can be found in the gallery above.

The budget is a 4.6 percent increase from FY2020. While a Proposition 2 1/2 override vote for the spring has yet to be set, the Select Board, School Committee and Finance Committee have been discussing an additional $6.5 million override to fund school and town operating budgets over the next five years.

The largest proposed increases in the FY2021 budget include:

• A 7.6 percent increase in debt service ($466,709), driven by cost of Wastewater Treatment Facility, DPW and Library projects.
• A 5.6 percent increase in Public Safety ($183,052), driven by the need for a full-time fire chief. Current Chief Mickey Gauthier is close to retirement age. McInerney is hoping grant funding will help pay for the department changes.
• A 4.13 percent increase for Grafton Public Schools ($1,510,380).

Fifty-three percent of the new available revenue to the town in FY21 will be dedicated to education funding. While the bounce in funding for Grafton schools makes up the bulk of it, there has been a 7 percent increase in the number of students attending Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical School, increasing that line item to $62,706.

The overall assessed value of the town increased 7.45 percent from FY2019, McInerney said, the largest increase in assessed values in a decade. The
increase in value for the average single-family homeowner in Grafton was
approximately 5.27 percent over last year, or $365. New growth in FY20 exceeded estimated expectations by $343,293, giving the town the opportunity to raise additional funds at October Town Meeting. The town will have $111,842 in excess levy available in FY21.

Members of the Select Board acknowledged that they could not ask detailed questions about the budget since they had only received the 464-page document at 4 p.m.

They did have concerns, many centered around projected increases to Municipal Center salaries in an override year.

McInerney pointed out that some increases are to bring salaries up to a competitive level. The town clerk, for example, earns $59,303 in the FY2020 budget but the proposed budget increases her salary to $71,000, an increase of about 19 percent.

“She was underpaid in comparison to neighboring town clerks,” McInerney said, noting she is fully accredited.

“I wonder about the message that we’re conveying with this document as it is now,” Select Board member Ed Prisby said. While he supports retaining talented employees, he added, “we are in an extraordinary situation.”

Select Board member Peter Carlson noted that the town has not been approved for a grant to fund the new full-time fire chief position.

“So what do we do if we don’t get that grant?” Carlson asked. “Do we not get a fire chief?”

“The short answer is if we don’t get it, in October, we still need a chief,” McInerney said, indicating fall Town Meeting would be asked to vote on additional funds.