Finance committee revises Hubbardston FY27 budget, flags $31K shortfall and options to balance warrant

The Town of Hubbardston Finance Committee on May 26 released a cleaned FY27 budget worksheet and identified a roughly $31,000 shortfall in one draft, recommending technical corrections, selective use of free cash and potential cuts to specific warrant articles to balance the budget before town meeting.

The finance committee member presenting the document said they “emailed everyone today” with a version that ties every line back to Department of Revenue reports and follows account-number order so the town accountant can process bills more quickly. After reconciling revenues, the presenter said a debt exclusion originally omitted from the warrant backup (a fire-truck exclusion) adds about $25,329 and narrows the gap created by some formula errors in the original workbook. “So ours match. I just basically put them in the right buckets,” the Finance Committee member said.

Why it matters: the committee found that Shawn’s draft included numerous small line items and spreadsheet formula errors that undercounted some expenses. The corrected totals show the committee’s numbers are still short — roughly $31,971 — compared with Shawn’s $32,280 shortfall, leaving the body to choose whether to use free cash, ask the town administrator for further cuts, or reallocate amounts among warrant articles.

Key details and committee recommendations: the finance committee noted a free cash starting balance of $345,000. The presenter identified Article 17 (capital; roads, computers and a cruiser) as the easiest place to trim — proposing, for example, delaying or downsizing one of the three items to recover about $30,000. The committee also recommended reconsidering two stabilization-account articles (retiree and facilities stabilizations) as lower-priority or reduced-dollar options to preserve free cash for the town budget. The committee’s working plan would leave approximately $52,000 in free cash after the proposed adjustments.

Personnel and classification changes were a major part of the review. The presenter said they moved several wages and accounts into clearer cost centers (town administrator, accounting, town clerk, police, fire, facilities) to improve transparency and monthly oversight. The committee added a part-time accounting salary line and a separate audit purchase-service line to avoid burying costs in large purchase-service totals. “Bringing these things out will let us monitor monthly and quarterly,” the Finance Committee member said.

Points of contention: the committee flagged a newly created facilities director salary that, when combined with DPW stipends and winter operations, pushed that role’s compensation above the police chief and fire chief. The presenter urged the select board to review the change and negotiate if necessary, noting potential pay-equity concerns across public-safety leadership.

Next steps: the committee will meet the town administrator for outstanding numbers before Thursday’s meeting and expects the Quabbin superintendent to attend Thursday to address school-assessment questions. The finance committee plans to present revised motion documents at town meeting and, if necessary, recommend using free cash or trimming Article 17 to balance the warrant.