Not Much Optimism, as Legislators Brief Selectmen on Budget Forecast

It was billed as a meeting between the Board of Selectmen and the members of Tewksbury’s legislative delegation.

It came off as a gathering of the “Fellowship of the Miserable,” as selectmen and outlined the challenging fiscal situation the town finds itself in thanks to cuts in state aid and the legislators explaining that the situation won’t be improving in the near future.

, and state Reps. and , each spoke before the board and answered questions. Each expressed doubts that Gov. Deval Patrick would be able to limit cuts in unrestricted state aid to just 7 percent in FY 2012.

“I’ve got a little problem with his math, especially in the area of Medicaid,” said Miceli.

Adams advised the board to go after the “low-hanging fruit” as a possible area of cost-savings. He specifically singled-out union contracts as something municipalities needed to et control over.

“(These contracts) are just not something we can afford,” said Adams.

said the issue isn’t so much union contracts in general as it is the rapidly rising cost of health insurance premiums, in particular.

“(This) is going to cost people jobs eventually,” said Johnson, while asking the Legislators to make healthcare reform a priority. “We value what (municipal union workers) do and we need them. They have been great partners. But we need to look at this in a macro sense.”

While Finegold painted a grim picture of the state’s fiscal outlook in FY 2012, he said the news wasn’t all bad. According to Finegold, the state’s revenue projections look very strong for the coming year, a trend which could help stabilize the local aid issue in FY 2013.

Montuori’s proposed $77.8 million operating budget for FY 2012 is based on an expectation that Ch. 70 aid to schools will be cut by 5 percent and unrestricted local aid will be slashed by 10 percent.

Finegold said those estimates should prove to be fairly accurate.

In other business:

• Selectmen approved the appointment of Dennis Sheehan to fill a vacancy on the Conservation Commission and approved the appointment of Sandra Brindquinto to a seat on the Scholarship and Education Fund Committee.
• The board approved a recommendation by Montuori to disband the Town Hall Renovation Committee, with a letter of thanks for all its efforts. Montuori also provided an update on the status of the