SOUTH HADLEY — While most Western Mass. voters will head to the polls for statewide races, South Hadley residents will also see a question on their ballot asking if they would approve a $3.5 million tax override.
The vote will come almost two months after the Selectboard voted 3-2 to ask the town to approve the override raised over three years.
That decision came three months after the town’s voters decided against $9 million and $11 million overrides to save a bevy of city services.
The question voters will now see come Sept. 1 reads: “Shall the town of South Hadley be allowed to assess an additional $3.5 million in real estate and personal property taxes for the purpose of operating the municipal government and public schools for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2026?”
According to previous reporting by Reminder Publishing, a $3.5 million tax override would fund the schools and library, maintain expense cuts and add to the Stabilization Fund.
At the most recent Selectboard meeting on Aug. 11, Town Administrator Lisa Wong gave a presentation with fiscal year 2027 updates, regional staffing comparisons and the town’s budget planning for FY28.
Wong said that a $3.5 million tax override would stabilize the budget from FY27-29. She explained that a FY28 budget with no override may force the town to use up to $2 million in reserves. She also said there might be a $1 million cut to the schools and a $500,000 cut to the town.
A successful override assumes that the town would increase the School Department by 3% in FY28 and FY29. If there is no override, the schools would likely yield a $1.9 million deficit and be level-funded.
“This is basically, increase the school budget from their current levels this year, so their elevated levels this year with free cash, add 3% on top of that and then cut that by about a million. So, essentially, what that means is we might have to keep their budget relatively flat for next year,” Wong explained.
According to a 10-year staffing review from 2017 to 2027 that Wong shared, most town departments have had a reduction in positions. DPW had the largest decrease, going from 19 positions to 13 positions over 10 years, while Public Safety went from 37 positions to 29 positions.
The presentation then illustrated what proposed/potential changes would look like with and without an override from FY27 to FY28. Wong acknowledged that they are early in the budget process and the projections can still change.
Most departments would either stay the same or lose a position without an override. An override, on the other hand, would help maintain or increase some department sizes. The School Department was not included in Wong’s presentation.
If an override passes, the DPW could add one or two positions.
Wong compared South Hadley’s population, average single-family home value, budget, tax base, new growth, enrollment, school budget and department sizes to neighboring communities.
“I do want to say, if folks are like, ‘well, our taxes are too high, we’re being mismanaged, we have a lot of fat,’ I just want to provide some data points that might counter that to say, ‘well, we actually have the lowest tax rate of these comparable communities,’” Wong stated. “Our tax rate is relatively low. Maybe you do want to look at Easthampton, but they just passed a $7 million override just to have cuts still in [FY27].”
The Department of Local Services is currently analyzing the town’s finances this summer, primarily to study staff operations. The town will look to implement a finance director to replace the retiring town accountant. DLS will also look at the government structure and the difference between having a Finance Committee or an Appropriations Committee.
The full presentation can be found at southhadley.org and is linked in the Selectboard’s most recent agenda.
