Town Meeting: Budget decisions turn into referrendums on Town Clerk and EDC

Last night, Town Meeting voters were asked to approve the FY18 Town Budget. Getting through the Town’s budget article took more than an hour and twenty minutes of last night’s meeting.

The decisions came down to calls by the about 3% of Southborough voters who turned up. The result was a $51,548,662 budget, projected to result in an estimated 1.52% tax increase.

Two budget items “held” for discussion turned into debates on more than just spending: 

• A significant raise for the Town Clerk was hotly contested, then overwhelmingly approved.
• A motion to eliminate the Economic Development Committee’s Coordinator was considered. But the EDC convinced the majority of the hall to keep funding the job.

The budget included a salary raise of 65.19% for Town Clerk Jim Hegarty. That will bring his salary up from $50,284 to $83,064. The Advisory Committee approved the bump but asked for a 6 month delay to keep down the increase to this year’s budget. That still increased his salary budget over last year’s by 32.59%.

Bill Boland is running against Hegarty for the Clerk position in the May 9th election. Last night he questioned Hegarty’s proposed raise.

Boland moved that a 10% raise to $55,000 would acknowledge Hegarty’s good performance. He pointed to the Town Clerk’s requested budget as being higher than surrounding towns. 

Boland said he wasn’t a believer in putting yourself up for a big raise and summed up the department’s costs as “a little out of control”.

Desiree Aselbekian supported Boland’s motion. She told the room that she had planned to ask for a 3% raise, in keeping with other non-union personnel raises. Aselbekian said that higher salaries in larger surrounding towns and cities are associated with full time appointed positions.

Aselbekian furthered that Southborough’s elected Town Clerk isn’t a full time job and doesn’t have a set hours. Elected officials are just required to get the job done. She suggested that if the Town wants to pay for a “40 hour per week” Clerk, then there should be a set of duties “set by Town Meeting so we know exactly what we’re getting for our money.”

Marty Healey rebutted that he didn’t want a 40 hour requirement for Hegarty “because I do not want to cut his hours that dramatically.” He was one of several speakers who spoke in passionate favor of Hegarty’s performance and supported the raise. 

Residents spoke about Hegarty’s long hours, nights, weekends, and quick responses to queries at all times. They referred to improved technology replacing old computers.

Claire Reynolds told voters that he brought the office into a newer age and “he’s made things easier for the residents.” Paul Carter spoke to the importance of having a full time Clerk and his amazement at what Hegarty had managed to do in his short time in the job.

Hegarty explained a raise had been previously recommended by Advisory. He pushed it off last year since he was completing the previous Town Clerk’s term. Then he went back to Advisory with a salary based on averaging figures from surrounding towns.

The current Town Clerk told voters: 

If you want this to be a full time position with someone to do the best job they can for you, then I think you should compensate at a fair price. It’s as simple as that.

If you don’t want that, then you should vote differently, and you should consider that in your choice as to who you elect.

Boland’s motion was soundly defeated with only a few voter cards raised. Voters then overwhelmingly approved the Advisory recommended motion for a full raise, delayed by 6 months.

As for the EDC Coordinator, former Advisory Member John Butler moved to eliminate the position’s salary. He claimed that his research found towns’ spending on economic development to attract and grow business doesn’t work.

Upon questioning, Advisory explained that they had recommended the job be eliminated. But they changed that vote based on other budget compromises reached with selectmen. 

[Note: I watched that discussion. Even when Advisory supported eliminating the salary, the vote was split. Some members were unconvinced EDC’s work makes a difference. Some seemed to believe it does. In the end, a requirement to secure more votes was EDC’s promise to return to Advisory to work on ways to better measure success.]

Prior to Butler, Marnie Hoolahan said she was unhappy with lack of metrics showing success measures. She then pointed to other boards and committees in Town as seeming to need support. She advised that the position be held for a study of Town-wide staffing needs. Hoolahan posited that it might make more sense to have someone full time who supports multiple departments, like Conservation and Open Space. 

Over a call to move the question, EDC quickly presented that the committee does important work for residents. And they said that EDC is the car and the Coordinator is the engine that makes it work.

The vote to eliminate the salary was opposed 97 to 78.