It isn’t often that fund raising makes me laugh out loud. But that’s what WCAI, the local public radio station, has accomplished over the past few weeks with their on-air pitch for their upcoming fall campaign.
The ad pretends to eavesdrop on a pair of would-be fund raisers brainstorming about what they can celebrate this time of year on the Cape and Islands.
“Let’s see,” the first says. “November ... decay ... everything dies off.”
“That's good,” the second agrees. “The days get shorter, too. It’s the coming of the long, dark, winter.”
Then they cue a famous dirge, The Song of the Volga Boatmen, and remind people that, even in gloomy times, they still need financial support.
There is still much that is beautiful on the Outer Cape as November begins, of course. That is one of the great attractions for those of us who live here year-round ... along with the ability to turn left on Route 6. At the same time, however, it is hard not to be struck by the somber mood as the sunlight wanes, the tourists depart, and the last leaves fall.
That’s particularly true at Town Hall this time of year. November marks the beginning of the annual budget development cycle, when department heads have to balance their hopes and ambitions with the town’s purse, and we set to work figuring out how much money we’ll need for the next fiscal year, and just how we’re going to raise it.
Truro has been financially fortunate for decades. Our tax rate is among the lowest in the state, while the quality of our municipal services is high, thanks to the careful stewardship of town government and the hard work of dedicated town employees and volunteers. We’re also blessed with a large number of non-resident taxpayers, who pay the same taxes as year round residents but require far fewer municipal services. Even during the current recession, which has hit the town hard, we’ve been able to avoid the draconian cuts in staff or services which other communities have had to consider.
Today, however, our financial future seems a little more clouded. Truro’s property taxes have been rising steadily for the past 8 years, while non-tax sources of income have been declining. Furthermore we face significant financial hurdles in the year ahead -- and even more vexing challenges over the long term.
According to Phil Smith, chair of the town’s Finance Committee (FinCom), real estate taxes for the median single family house in Truro have increased by an annual average of 5.3% over the past 8 years, rising to an annual average increase of 6.1% over the past 5 years. Costs have gone up because the budget has gone up, principally in spending for wages and benefits, while town meeting has generously approved debt and capital exclusions for such long term expenditures as the community center, new public safety vehicles, and new equipment for the Department of Public Works. Compounding the problem has been the increasing dependency on the property tax for town revenue, as the roughly 1/4 of the town’s income that comes from fees and grants has been declining steadily.
Costs are sure to increase in the years ahead. In the next year health insurance for town employees will rise 12%, as will the town’s liability, marine, and vehicle insurance. The town’s retirement assessment will rise 14%. In addition we face a $30,000 cost to upgrade the town’s computer system, a $50,000 cost to rebuild the Corn Hill culvert that drains the Little Pamet watershed, and a $100,00 to $200,000 cost to develop a mandated comprehensive wastewater plan. Within the next 3 years we will have to negotiate a new waste removal plan, likely to raise our costs from $32 per ton to $77 per ton. In the long run we will face even more significant fiscal challenges, as our currently unfunded retirement commitments come due.
Unlike WCAI, we can’t just ask for money. Instead we’ll have to find ways to cut costs and increase revenues -- a challenge that has increasingly absorbed the attention of the Board of Selectmen (BoS) for the past few years.
Our most effective tool has been the budget task force. Combining two members of the BoS, two members of FinCom, Town Administrator Nolan and Town Accountant Brazil, the task force meets regularly from November until the budget is ready to present to Town Meeting for approval in the spring. Starting with an overall budget target, set by the full BoS, we look at each department, one at a time, and at each expenditure. No costs are accepted as givens. And any new expenditure or new hire requires a defense of the action by the specific department head.
The town’s budget target has been the same for the past 3 years: level funding. That level funding target excludes cost of living increases and benefit cost increases for staff, however, which means that the town’s two most significant expenses will automatically increase each year unless the BoS insists otherwise.
Beyond the efforts of the task force, the town is working in other areas to trim expenses. Energy is the town’s third biggest budget expense, a cost the town’s Energy Committee is determined to prune. This year they began an ambitious long range plan aiming to cut our energy costs by over 10%, which will have a significant impact on the budget’s bottom line.
At the same time, the Town Administrator and the BoS are involved in the second year of discussions of regional opportunities for both cost savings and performance improvements. Last year, working with our neighbors in Eastham, Wellfleet, and Provincetown, we made significant steps towards shared purchasing and began discussions of ways to increase the coordination of our police departments. This year the focus has moved to “back office” functions, looking for ways the four towns could combine elements of assessing, inspectional services, and human resource management.
All of these are small, but critical, steps as the Town searches for a balance between the need for services and the need for financial prudence. It is demanding and time consuming work. But it gives us one more answer, beyond “turn left on route 6,” when outlanders ask “what do you find to do here all winter?”
Sincerely,
Curtis Hartman
Chair, Board of Selectmen
eNewsletter@truro-ma.gov
(508) 349-7004