Thursday, May 11, 2000 Older Editions

Three debt-exclusion votes May 23: What will be cut if the safety center vote fails?

By Neil Fater

If residents vote against Question 1, a debt-exclusion of Proposition 21/2 to pay for the town's new safety center, some supporters say Andover will see notable cuts in town services.

But officials aren't revealing exactly what these cuts will be.

In fact, neither the selectmen, Finance Committee nor town manager have a plan outlining what programs or positions will most likely face the ax if the safety-center debt-exclusion effort fails.

"Should it fail, every department would be affected in some way," says Town Manager Buzz Stapczynski. "What I don't want to say is, 'We're going to lay this person off, or that person.' What I'm looking for is a safe answer."

So, all voters will know when they head to the polls May 23, is approximately how much money will be needed each year, between 2001 and 2021, to pay for the safety center debt. If voters defeat Question 1 on May 23, this money will have to come out of the town's operating budget.

If Question 1 is approved, the town can raise taxes by more than 2.5 percent plus growth, specifically to pay for the safety center construction.

Officials say the first annual payment on the safety center, of $273,000 in fiscal year 2001, can be handled without cuts. But they say it appears budget paring will be needed in subsequent years.

Between 2002 and 2004, the annual cost of the safety center project will be more than $1 million. Between fiscal years 2005 and 2021, the yearly bill will be between $995,000 and $559,000.

Stapczynski says town and school departments will have to share the burden, at a time when the school department may be trying to staff two new schools.

"There would probably be some massive battles at Town Meeting," says Brian Major, selectmen chairman.

But there is some difference of opinion over how painful the cuts will have to be.

"I'd say it's a significant impact (if Question 1 fails)," says Stapczynski, "particularly when it's spread over a number of years, and we have rising labor costs, and the costs of goods and services going up. We know there's going to have to be belt-tightening in the years ahead, and this means (cuts) in even the modest growth we planned."

However, FinCom Chairman Don Schroeder says that because the real effects won't be felt until FY '02, it's difficult to project what kind of cuts will be needed. The town's tax base has been growing in recent years, and if that were to accelerate, or stop, it could significantly skew any projections, he says.

Though Schroeder can't say what the exact effects of defeating Question 1 will be, he acknowledges there will definitely be "some cutback of some level."

After all, the Finance Committee told Town Meeting that if Andover continues its current spending, it will face a $1 million shortfall by 2003.

"You would probably have some service cut or you couldn't expand some service," says Schroeder. "Either you wouldn't be able to operate some facility, or staff some position."

But compared to the town manager's remarks, and assuming the town would need an approximately 1 percent annual budget cut, Schroeder seems to downplay the effects. "You wouldn't see services drastically cut with a one percent cut. But the definition of 'drastically' (is subjective)," he says.

The Finance Committee has not taken a position on Question 1, because of time constraints around preparing for Town Meeting, he says. Schroeder says he individually cannot take a position either.

"I really can't," he says. "We didn't take a position because we didn't have all the information. We recommended approval of the public safety center at Town Meeting (1999), but that didn't specify a funding mechanism."

Selectman Lori Becker has suggested a possible fall-back plan if the town finds itself in a monetary jam.

"If Question 1 doesn't pass, we could at some point try to override the operating budgets when they're at their crunch time," she says.