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Advisory committee warns Hampden faces cuts or override as FY27 costs outpace revenue
Summary
At an April 21 public hearing, the Town of Hampden Advisory Committee outlined a roughly $974,000 taxing capacity against department and school requests and warned that rising health insurance and retirement assessments mean next year may require service reductions or a voter‑approved override.
Doug Boyd, co‑chair of the Advisory Committee, opened the April 21 public hearing by explaining the committee’s timetable and printing deadlines for the town’s 'green sheets.' He told residents the town’s immediate taxing capacity—the 2.5% levy increase ($400,122), an estimated $150,000 in new growth, and $424,335 in excess levy capacity—adds up to roughly $974,000 available without an override.
"Let this serve as an early warning," Boyd said. "If trajectories hold, we’ll either have to reduce services or we’ll have to pass an override next year." He attributed the pressure to a combination of modest revenue growth and faster‑rising expenses.
Advisory members flagged several major cost drivers: an 11% increase in health insurance premiums from the Scantic Valley regional trust, higher county retirement assessments (a ~37% assessment plus an 8% supplemental charge tied to past underfunding), and regional school district demands. Town staff said the town pays 75% of employee health premiums and cited a typical family plan contribution rising to about $24,021 a year for the town’s share.
Regional school leaders described their FY27 request of $9,424,428 and said they had already trimmed a level‑services budget by roughly $2.9 million—eliminating 10 positions—and issued 19 additional layoff notices as a contingency if the full request does not pass. School officials warned further cuts would raise class sizes and reduce programs.
Advisory urged voters to remember the committee makes recommendations but that final decisions will be made by voters at the annual town meeting on May 11. "The voters at town meeting will decide the budget," one advisory member said, stressing that the advisory column in the green sheets reflects recommendations, not final action.
Next steps: advisory will finalize and print recommendations; town meeting is scheduled for May 11 at 6:30 p.m. and will be the forum for the final budget votes.
