South Hadley Selectboard provides tax override updates during public feedback session

The Selectboard talks to residents about their concerns with a potential tax override vote in September at its June 16 meeting.
Photo credit: SHCTV15

SOUTH HADLEY — While the town mulls over the possibility of hosting another tax override vote on Sept. 1, the Selectboard hosted a public input session during its regular meeting on June 16 to hear people’s feedback about this possibility.

On May 5, the South Hadley town administration and Selectboard announced that they might set a special election for Tuesday, Sept. 1, to see if voters would approve a tax override to help save city services.

The discussions come after failed $9 million and $11 million tax override votes took place on April 14. Since then, the town and Selectboard have continued to look at options to save proposed positions and service cuts, and find ways to save money and balance the budget.

On June 16, Assistant Town Administrator Chuck Romboletti said the town has been working hard on the expense and revenue side to get the override number down as much as possible. One of the scenarios discussed is a $6 million tax override for fiscal years 2027 through 2029 to level fund all departments for the listed fiscal years. This scenario was recommended by the Budget Task Force.

The second scenario is a $3.5 million tax override to fund the schools and library, maintain expenses cuts and add to the Stabilization Fund.

The Selectboard has not made a final approval on whether to have a tax override vote on Sept. 1, but they have until July 27 to make that decision. The board can still discuss the recommended numbers and may choose an alternative that funds a different set of services.

Romboletti stated that the goal of public input was to “hear from people and think about a number that’s dependent upon level of service that the board, the public is looking for, and then talk about how long to have that last.”

The public input session lasted nearly two and a half hours with residents voicing their opinions about whether the town should attempt another override vote.

Residents who spoke argued that the town should stick to one override option, have more transparency from elected officials — including their stance on a potential override — and decide sooner rather than later to keep families from leaving South Hadley.

Town Administrator Lisa Wong said she would like to give parents and families as much certainty as possible, which is why the town is discussing a September election instead of next April.

“If we had the election next April, we would have to go through the same budget cuts and pink slip controversy, etc., that we went through this year, which would not give parents a lot of notice,” Wong said. “We’re hoping that by making a decision by the community on Sept. 1, it does give clarity for both where the community needs to go for the upcoming year for fiscal year [2028].”

Other residents argued that with the tight budget, the town should not pursue building a brand new elementary school. The South Hadley Elementary School Building Committee recently selected a preferred design for a new Mosier Elementary School on the existing site that reorganizes grade levels across the district. The project currently carries a preliminary price tag of $113 million, with the MSBA expected to reimburse approximately 61.3% of eligible costs.

Many residents also stated that with the cost of seemingly everything rising, they do not think the town should raise its taxes through an override vote.

Going forward, Wong said she and her team will work on the revenue side, including advocacy for increasing state aid. They also hope to launch a PILOT program, but they first wanted to have a public input session to see where residents stand on the situation.