5 minute read
Park in “Curbside Pickup” area and call 508-366-1943 to let us know you are here
Northborough officials discuss impact of COVID-19 on town
By Dakota Antelman Contributing Writer
NORTHBOROUGH - Town meeting is postponed. Revenue will fall. And taxes may rise as Northborough contends with the economic ripples of the coronavirus pandemic over the coming months, officials now say. Speaking in a two hour public input session, May 7, department heads from across town government offered a new portrait of the local COVID-19 crisis, urging adherence to social distancing measures, projecting calmness and understanding, but also warning little is certain about the future. “This is a situation that will unfold through the rest of the year, well into the fall,” Town Administrator John Coderre said, later adding, “We don’t have all the information we need.” As the coronavirus has sickened 155 across Northborough, businesses remain closed. That means, by extension, that the flow of tax revenue into local coffers could, and likely will, continue to ebb. By the time all is said and done, Coderre said he and his staff are expecting to face more than $600,000 in lost local tax revenue in addition to an anticipated $1 million cut in state aid. “That’s not insignificant,” he said of the state aid in particular. The true impacts of those hits, however, remain to be seen. Mainly, Coderre and others speaking alongside him said they have their eyes on federal stimulus money currently tied
Marlborough City Council approves Mayor’s recommended budget
By Vicki Greene Contributing Writer
MARLBOROUGH—The City Council approved Mayor Arthur Vigeant’s recommended $173 million budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 that goes into effect July 1 at its April 27 meeting. The budget represents a 2.9 percent increase over the current FY 2020 budget. The budget passed by 6 – 5 vote.
In Vigeant’s letter to the Council, he stressed that while many communities are holding off on their 2021 budgets due to “unknown local revenues and state aid” in the current FY 2020 year, he is “considering this a base and does not expect this to be a final product when we look back at FY 2021.”
According to Vigeant, the current state models show up to a four percent shortfall for in state aid for this year and as high as 15 percent for FY 2021.
“With our cash reserves and Rainy Day Fund, we have positioned ourselves for just this time,” Council President Michael Ossing said. “We can absorb this if we have to.”
This budget includes a slight decrease in the FY 2021 residential tax rate for the average homeowner, according to Ossing.
The FY 2021 budget includes increases due to hiring for the new elementary school and a 4.2 percent increase in health insurance costs. Vigeant said in his letter that several positions will be eliminated in the Building Department: a part-time local inspector/code enforcement hour and a 19-hour per week part-time senior clerk.
Ossing said the mayor may look at hiring and salary freezes as well as layoffs “depending on how things go this Fiscal Year.”
Vigeant plans to send his capital improvement plan to the Council “but it will not be as large as in previous years due to the impacts of COVID-19.”
The five Councilors who voted against approval of the budget all said they wouldn’t change anything in the budget but thought they should allow more time for the public to review the document and hold a public hearing moving a vote to Monday, May 18. According to Ossing, the state does not mandate a public hearing to approve the budget.
“Marlborough continues to have the lowest residential tax rate among all neighboring communities,” Ossing said. The city is currently planning to continue with no fees for services including beach use, trash, recycling, school buses and sports. up in red tape that forbids it from being used to replace lost tax revenue for municipalities. Depending on how much of that aid Northborough gets, if it gets any, Coderre did indicate the town could raise property taxes. 1980s state legislation known as Proposition 2- ½ caps annual increases at 2.5 percent. As many towns have jumped their rates by that maximum number every year, though, Northborough, Coderre said, has not.
That means, Northborough could now simply raise its tax rate to the legal limit, breaking with precedent, but avoiding the Proposition 2- ½ override process. “We don’t want to do a tax increase any more than we need to,” Coderre said. “Clearly businesses and residents are facing a very difficult time.” Concerns don’t end with budgets, however. Thus, the
May 7 meeting strayed far beyond finance talk. The currently scheduled May 27 Annual Town Meeting meeting, Coderre said, will almost certainly now be pushed into June if not beyond. Town Fire Chief David Parenti, meanwhile dug into COVID-19 data, revealing that the vast majority of town residents currently sick already live in area nursing homes. He and Police Chief William Lyver, meanwhile, added that they’re seeing lower call volumes these days, despite responding to at least 33 COVID-19 related calls last month, a spike from just 12 such calls in March. “Those numbers are pretty good for us to have,” Parenti said of the new infection data. “We’re on top of it every day.” Addressing concerns about local adherence to new facial covering requirements, Lyver simply asked the public to comply with government orders. He’s even directed officers to hand out masks to those without them in lieu of issuing tickets. “My direction to my officers is to put their focus on education and awareness,” he said. “We’re not interested in penalizing our residents.” As the COVID-19 crisis continues to play out, officials from Lyver, to Parenti, to Coderre, say they’re fighting for local safety and security. As they do so, and as the pandemic enters its third month of local impacts, they’re simply urging the public to keep updated. For more information on the latest local responses, visit https://www.town.northborough.ma.us/covid-19-coronavirus-information
HomeGoods
Marshalls
Westborough Shopping Center
CONVENIENT TO ROUTES 9, 495 AND THE MASS PIKE
Office tenants may select from a variety of floor plans and rental options in and adjacent to the Westborough Shopping Center.
Stop & Shop
Staples
Tatnuck Bookseller & Café Subway & Starbucks Three Gorges & Mayuri Mandarin Mexicali Cantina Grill
NOW LEASING
1,695 - 13,383 SF available For leasing information call Dona Colangelo, RPA
