Weston Budget Vote Explained

Weston Town Crier, May 13, 2021
The following was submitted by John Sallay

A Town Crier article three weeks ago provided “A Layperson’s Guide to Weston Town Meeting.” In addition to describing the specific items to be voted, the article encouraged all residents to participate in this year’s annual Town Meeting, which will be held outdoors this Saturday May 15, at 2 p.m. at the Weston High School football field.

The earlier article only briefly mentioned the most important agenda item – Article 2, the proposed FY2022 town budget – so that it could be more fully discussed by itself here. Very few residents are comfortable with, or have the time to go through, all the budget detail presented in the Warrant booklet, let alone the line-by-line minutiae on the town website.

So, the intent here is to summarize the key budget items, highlight the accelerating rate of spending growth, discuss the implications for your property taxes and, in turn, the risks to the future value of your home, and consider the implications of voting not to approve the budget at Town Meeting.

The proposed budget implies a property tax increase for the typical Weston resident of about 5.4%. The Finance Committee voted narrowly to support this year’s proposed budget, but the budget and tax increase will ultimately be voted on by the Weston residents who attend this Town Meeting.

Budget Overview
Weston’s general fund budget totals about $100 million annually, including about $10 million of interest and principal payments on our town debt.

Weston’s public schools account for about two-thirds of the operating budget, or about $44 million of the $68 million operating expenses (excluding employee benefits and insurance). Most of the rest is police and fire protection, public works such as road maintenance, the public library, and various town government activities. All told, people costs – such as employee compensation and retirement and healthcare benefits – represent about 80% of all of Weston’s total expenses.

Property taxes pay for about 90% of this annual town spending, with the rest almost evenly split between state aid (mostly for schools and roads), and other local taxes like excise taxes and permit fees.

Proposed Budget Increases
Last year, the Select Board and Finance Committee agreed to defer certain expenses due the pandemic. Those are being restored this year, so it is useful to compare the proposed budget to both this previous year (FY2021) and the year before (FY2020). The Town Manager and Select Board are proposing a budget for FY2022 up 4% versus FY2021, and up 7% over the past two years (versus FY2020). The two major components are School spending, which would be up 2.1% (up 5.7% versus FY2020), and the balance of town expenses up 5.4% (up 8.2% versus FY2020).

While the 2.1% increase (5.8% versus FY2020) in proposed school spending may not seem unreasonable in a 2% inflation environment, school enrollment is projected to be down about 9% over the two years (FY2020 to FY2022). Consequently, per pupil spending would be up about 15% over this two-year period. According to the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Weston’s per pupil expenditures in FY2019 were already 26% higher than comparable towns, for performance metrics which are similar to those other towns.

Implications for Your Property Taxes
On the revenue side, state aid is expected to be up about 1.5%, but other local receipts are projected to be down about 8% next year. So, to cover the 4% total budget increase, Weston’s property tax levy will need to increase by over 6% next year. Additional tax revenue from projected new construction and major additions will cover less than 1% of this required increase.

With this proposed FY2022 budget, then, property taxes on existing homes will increase about 5.4% next year, some more and some less, depending on how rapidly the assessed value on individual homes increases.

It’s Your Vote
The Finance Committee, which plays an advisory role to residents and the Select Board, has for years expressed “concern” about the rate of Weston’s budget growth and budget management generally. But then paradoxically, Fincom has annually supported the budget, usually unanimously. This year, the vote was close, 5-3 to support, with the swing vote by a new member cast “reluctantly” in favor.

Ultimately, the power to approve this proposed budget or not rests with the Weston voters who attend the Town Meeting on Saturday. Weston voters have historically rubber stamped the budgets, but maybe this year will be different, as voters recognize that spending must be better controlled.

No Vote – Next Steps
If you feel that voting down the proposed budget is unthinkable or that it would bring Town and School operations to a grinding halt, think again. If the budget is not approved, it will be up to the Select Board to propose a different, reduced budget. That could be at the same town meeting on the same day, or after an adjournment of a few days, or at a subsequent special town meeting a few weeks later, after everyone has had a chance to sharpen their pencils.

The Select Board and Moderator may be tempted to propose slight changes and ask for a revote then and there, to get it over with and move on. That would be unfortunate, however, since that approach would prevent the Select Board and School Committee from reflecting on what the voters are saying, and consulting with the Finance Committee. While a budget for next year must be passed by June 30, there would still be 6 weeks for further reflection, discussion, and revision.

Residents have a very real opportunity to influence the budget process in a positive and constructive way, and I hope that you will choose to participate, in person, on May 15th.