Although Rochester has managed to maintain its staff, service and programs for the past four years, an ever tightening budget due to rising education and health care costs may force the town to make tough decisions in 2012, Town Administrator Richard LaCamera said.
“This is going to be most challenging year the town has had in a long, long time,” he said, noting that these difficulties are shared among towns across the commonwealth.
He said education costs for Old Rochester Regional and Rochester Memorial School continue to pose problems in keeping the town’s balance sheet in order. The school is struggling with spikes in special education costs – and added utility costs associated with the RMS’s expansion also is putting more strain on the elementary school budget. The RMS budget subcommittee has been holding additional meetings recently to find ways to cope with these unplanned expenditures.
“We have not had any increases in state aid for four years, we are down 27 percent,” Mr. LaCamera said, noting that Governor Deval Patrick’s budget set for release this month will offer a clearer idea of what budgeting challenges are in store. “We just can’t sustain budgets without increases in state aid, when they non-funded budgets… The state is not fulfilling their requirements to fund special education costs and the school systems have to endure,” Mr. LaCamera said.
Health insurance costs for the town continue to rise while the budget fails to grow at a concurrent rate, he said. “In the last four years, increases in health insurance have been between 40 and 50 percent,” he said. Currently employees contribute 50 percent towards their health care costs.
Mr. LaCamera said he has disseminated budget forms to department heads, which are due at the end of January after the governor’s budget is released, and will do his best to meet their needs in a tough environment. He said no staff has been added to any departments in the past four years – but maintaining the current staff will be difficult.
In addition to this, he said is working with department heads on a five-year plan to look at “what we can do and can’t do.”
To help offset costs, the town does regionalize services, in particular sharing some trash and recycling contracts with Mattapoisett and Marion. In addition, the town shares a Town Planner with Wareham, and its Building Inspector and Board of Health Director with other communities. “We have many part-time people,” Mr. LaCamera said.
Despite budgetary challenges, Mr. LaCamera said it is still important to think long term about upcoming needs the town faces.
One issue he plans to address is the need for a revamped town hall or use of a new building to house town officials. He said a plan to put an addition on the Town Hall was put forward eight or nine years ago – before he became Town Administrator – and now it has reached the point that the issue needs revisiting. Currently town services are administered at the Town Hall and Annex – but the lease on the latter building is set to expire in 2013.
“You find when you try to keep all staff, services and programs going, you get to the point that the Town Hall is the last thing to get addressed. I think it’s time to put a plan together in 2012, looking at the long term and short term to renovating existing facility, or looking at getting a new Town Hall on Dexter Lane near the Police Department.”
Mr. LaCamera said that in 2012, the town needs to look at its road maintenance plans. He said $750,000 is put aside every year for such a purpose – but with the cost of oil and asphalt prices – “it doesn’t go every far.” He estimates that $4 million of road work needs to be done in Rochester.
“It won’t happen in the next couple of years – but there has to be a plan,” he said.
In the meantime, Mr. LaCamera is gearing up for a tough financial year ahead.
“Our goal next year has been what we have done in the previous four years – try to maintain all the staff and services that we have… but it is going to be a major challenge,” he said.
By Laura Fedak Pedulli