$440M Newton Budget: Cuts, But Not 'To The Bone'

NEWTON, MA — Newton Mayor Ruthanne Fuller presented her budget for fiscal 2021 — which begins July 1 — to the Newton City Council Monday night via video from her office at an empty City Hall. The $439.54 million operating budget had to be retooled during the past few months as coronavirus has swept across the state. The budget is a $9.3 million increase over the previous year and includes fulfilling the Newton teachers union contract.

"The operating budget is $9.3 million or 2.15 percent more than the FY2020 Budget but $9.6 million lower than the one I had expected to present 10 weeks ago," Fuller said in her address. "This is a realistic budget and takes into account a lot of bad news."

In addition to the General Fund of $439.54 million, some $57.4 million is set aside for water, sewer and storm and another $4.7 million will go to Community Preservation Act Funds, bringing the total budget to: $501.6 million next year.

Read: Newton Mayor Fuller's full FY21 Budget Address: Dark Shadows, Solid City

Local revenue is down and the state is facing its own budget crunch because of a multi-billion dollar drop in revenue.

Newton was expecting a boost in revenue this year from local taxes and more local aid from the state. Each year about 7 percent of the budget depends on that revenue. This year, the city is bracing for those two streams to be much lower.

Fuller expects revenue will be reduced by about $9.55 million this year because of those drops in state aid, combined with fewer number of parking tickets issued and lack of growth in things like vehicle and hotel taxes.

"That's serious money," Fuller said. "That really changed what we planned to do for FY21."

To patch the revenue hole, Fuller wants to use $2.5 million in cash that would have gone to roads and sidewalks to stabilize the budget.

The rest of the $7.1 million cuts came from several places, including the Newton Public Schools, which reduced its budget by about $1.5 million last week. The school budget is still $6.8 million more than it was in fiscal 2020, or 2.9 percent higher.

Another chunk was taken from the pension funding. Rather than the 9.55 percent pension system funding increase of $2.8 million, the pension administration agreed to lower the funding to $1.4 million or 4.8 percent this year.

Fuller said the pension fund is still on track to steadily increase by 2030, a promise she campaigned on.

"In this recommended budget, important initiatives and investments are postponed but the city of Newton’s financial situation remains strong and resilient," she said. "We did not have to cut into the bone."

No layoffs

The budget factors in the nearly 100 temporary furloughs and includes the cutting of 22 positions. Four positions are on "hold" for this year to be reevaluated later, according to the mayor. Seven positions will not be filled for a year and 11 positions that have been historically vacant or considered high turnover, such as a contract position for heavy machinery equipment operator in the Department of Public Works, according to the mayor, have also been trimmed.

Fuller stressed that there have been no salary reductions nor layoffs of permanent full-time employees. The city employees about 940 people.

"In total, these personnel decisions have yielded approximately $1.3 million of the $4 million in budget adjustments by the municipal departments," Fuller said.

The city has trimmed the use of consultants, reduced overtime opportunities, deferred buying vehicles — such as for the fire department — and other equipment. The mayor said Sunday hours at the library this year will be reduced. New playground equipment that was set to be installed at Horrace Mann, has been put on hold and the city will not spring for the flower pots this year.

"A whole range of line items were touched," Fuller said.

Capital investment projects will be put on hold unless they already have funding, such a couple school projects.

"This budget defers investments and initiatives until revenues rebound. But these are dreams deferred, not dreams dashed."

Schools

The school budget is going up this year by $6.8 million compared to last year.

"It's the biggest financial increase in the budget, and translates into a 2.9 percent increase," Fuller told reporters before her address. "Ten weeks ago the budget had called for an even larger increase, by $1.5 million."

The school was able to have "substantial" savings, of at least $1 million, when they ended in-person teaching and learning, the mayor said. And to garner more savings, the district is holding off on about $500,000 worth of maintenance projects.

In the meantime, a project that will add three classrooms to Oak Hill elementary will continue.

"That school absolutely needs those classrooms to address enrollment," Fuller said.

But the $13 million plan to move the Newton Early Childhood program, which was slated to start construction in the fall is on hold, rather than having the city bond the money, Fuller said.
And that has had a domino effect on other projects.

Because the NECP is situated at 150 Jackson Rd. and that's the anticipated new home for Lincoln Eliot Elementary school, it effectively stops those projects. The preschool would have moved to the Horace Mann school so Lincoln Eliot could have work done, but Lincoln Eliot work is now delayed. The plan to add new sinks and renovate classrooms at Horace Mann Elementary continues, Fuller said.

Rainy day fund

The city's rainy day emergency fund was not touched.

"We know it is raining and it is raining very hard, but we do not know yet what is ahead of us," Fuller said, adding that if the city had to face a protracted health crisis, the city wanted to maintain the fund to allow the city to absorb any other financial blows that might yet come in the years ahead.

Beyond 2021

Fuller said she expected that the financial impacts of the coronavirus crisis would likely last beyond the current budget. To that end, she said she was committed to protecting core municipal and educational services, helping vulnerable residents and businesses and keeping the community safe.

As for the Newton Senior Center and community center? "We'll continue to look at our financial situation and make a decision in the coming months [on that]," Fuller said.

The budget now goes to the Committee of the Whole for discussion.

Previous Newton operating budgets:

• FY19 $412 million
• FY18 $388 million
• FY17 $379 million
• FY 16 $362 million
• FY 15 $345 million
• FY 14 $331 million

RELATED:

• Newton Mayor Fuller FY21 Budget Address: Dark Shadows, Solid City
• Fiscal Year 2021 Budget: Revenue Takes A Hit
• Newton Mayor Delivers $495 Million Budget Speech (2019)
• From Newton's Mayor: 'I Made Choices, Hard Ones For Budget' ... (2018)

Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).Have a press release you'd like posted on the Patch? Here's how to post a press release, opinion piece.