Committee Recommends Slicing Framingham Budget To $3 Million

FRAMINGHAM, MA—The Finance Committee of the City Council has spent the last three weeks reviewing the budget submitted by the Mayor Yvonne Spicer on May 1, and ultimately opted to chop it down by more than $3 million by cutting expenses and appropriations.

The committee met extensively with the CFO, heard department presentations, and asked many questions, according to the announcement. The council only has the power to reduce appropriations, not add to them.

"There is no question the first time through this process is a learning experience for all parties," said the city in a release. "The committee has only been meeting for four months total and had to absorb a phenomenal amount of information to evaluate this budget. Over the next year the Committee will have the opportunity to spend time understanding the operations of the City and its entities in much greater depth and detail to inform future budget processes. Such understanding may allow the budget review to more specifically review operations and programs in a more comprehensive manner."

The committee focused this year on general areas such as budget changes. The budget being presented has been reduced by $838,570 in operating expenses and by $2,200,000 in reserve appropriations for a total of $3,038,570.

According to the announcement, the major focus areas were new programs, new positions, large budget increases, departmental consolidations and reserve accounts, among other items.

"The committee spent considerable time on understanding the revenue which funds the budget and the challenges each significant revenue provides in terms of consistency," said the release. "The report will highlight the important part of revenue in this budget and the significant recommendations the Committee is making in terms of revenue. Also, the report will describe the work the Committee intends to undertake in the future to enhance our role in budget oversight and efficiency."

The budget is the first since Framingham became a city, and the first in the era of Proposition 2 1/2 to feature no tax levy increase.

"This is a significant step designed to bring economic benefit to all taxpayers," said the committee.

Click here to view the Finance Committee Report to the City Council on FY 19 Budget.