HAMPDEN — The Hampden Selectboard met with department heads on Dec. 9 to discuss where the town’s finances stand and what is anticipated for fiscal year 2026, which begins July 1, 2025. The meeting was a key step in creating that year’s budget.
“I think the town right now is financially in good shape,” said Town Accountant Cliff Bombard.
Advisory Board Chair Doug Boyd said for the fiscal year 2026 budget, “We’re going to be asking for level service.” He also asked that town departments let the Advisory Board know of any capital expenses expected in the next few years to give the town an “early warning system.”
Selectboard Chair Donald Davenport said that the spring Town Meeting will likely have large capital expense expenditures for municipal building projects. The five-year state grant that paid for a portion of Hampden’s emergency dispatch assessment will expire, leaving the town to pay Wilbraham for 100% of the costs incurred for the service. He also said the town’s maintenance and building insurance costs would be likely to increase when it takes over responsibility for Thornton W. Burgess School.
Most departments reported that they were on track for being halfway through this fiscal year and expected no major increases for the year ahead. There were a few exceptions. Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District Superintendent John Provost said the district’s “main hiccup” was the resignation of former Assistant Superintendent for Finance, Operations and Human Resources Aaron Osborne, who took a job in the Berlin-Boylston Regional School District. HWRSD has since hired Douglas Slaughter, who is being onboarded and will assume the role in January 2025.
While the district’s budget for this year is “trending positive,” Provost said there is “greater uncertainty” about FY26 because contracts are under negotiation.
Most of the capital expenses that the district will request for FY26 are items that have failed to receive funding in previous years. This includes generators for some of the district’s schools. Provost said two schools in an area district lost heat due to a power outage and there is a chance HWRSD schools could be in a similar situation without generators.
Provost said that aside from some parking lot work, there were no major capital expenses expected for Green Meadows School, which is located in Hampden. Selectboard member John Flynn said safety concerns had been pointed out when he and Domina toured the building last year. Provost said safety items are the top priority when creating the list of capital projects, however, the improvements at Green Meadows may be requested in FY27, rather than in the upcoming year. Flynn said that as the financial responsibility is solely on Hampden, whether to pay for the items in FY26 was the Selectboard’s decision.
Addressing a recent issue in the district, Davenport asked Provost about the solar array on the Minnechaug Regional High School roof. The superintendent explained that the array stopped functioning in November and a power inverter was found to have failed. Similar to a separate electrical issue that plagued the school beginning in 2021 and resulted in the lights being on nonstop for 18 months, Provost said the power inverter was original to the building and the company that made it was no longer in business. However, unlike the previous issue, maintenance staff were able to source a replacement part and fix the solar array after about two-and-a-half weeks.
Davenport also asked Provost about the ongoing shortage of bus drivers. The Lower Pioneer Valley Educational Collaborative, which provides the district’s buses, has been unable to attract enough drivers to staff the current bus routes, despite recruitment efforts. Provost said the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education was asked for assistance and has sent someone to help LPVEC address the issue but expressed doubt that recruitment could solve the problem. Instead, the district is exploring a three-tier bus schedule, with each bus running three routes. He said that HWRSD was still examining what that schedule would do to school start and end times, but the needed buses would then match the number of drivers available. As a benefit, the district would save money by using fewer buses.
Highway Superintendent Mark Langone expressed concern that state regulations from 2021 may soon be enforced. Of the state, he said, “They want to eventually be going off diesel,” in favor of electric vehicles. The changes in municipal vehicles would be phased in as trucks are replaced, so Langone said it will not likely impact the town immediately. However, he said, “[Vendors are] going to be passing on those costs,” and he speculated that in a couple years, a mile of paved road that costs $100,000 now will likely cost $400,000. Aside from that, Langone said he may be looking to purchase equipment for plowing.
Town Clerk Eva Wiseman said the primary elections were costly this year and the state does not reimburse municipalities for mailing ballots or staffing. On the other hand, she said there are no statewide elections in 2025, so the department should save money on the line item in FY26.
Police Chief Scott Trombly said that his department has had staffing difficulties. A reserve officer who was hired earlier this year resigned and another who has been out for medical reasons is not expected to return. This leaves four reserve officers to cover the full-time police force during vacations or leave. Trombly said he would like to add to his department’s training budget and will need to replace a police cruiser next year.
Water Commission Chair John Plaster estimated the department’s operating expenses will double due to the new homes connected to the water district.
Tax bills
On a related topic, Flynn asked for clarification on the 8.51% increase to the average residential tax bill for FY25 that was estimated by the Board of Assessors. “I just don’t see the budget going up 8%,” Flynn said.
Town Treasurer Richard Patullo explained that, aside from new growth, the budget increased by about 5.3%. Meanwhile, the town used $450,000 to subsidize the $3.5 million water project, which represents about 3% of the tax bill increase.
Patullo said, “We’re not collecting 8.5% more in taxes.” Instead, the average residential bill went up by that much, while commercial tax bills did not increase and tax bills for personal property fell. He said, “It seems to be a matter of strictly valuations. We had an extreme increase in the values of residential properties,” while “personal property apparently depreciates every year.”
Boyd said, “At its core, this is the result of inflation. Inflation drove up these values artificially, skewing the assessment of the tax burden on our residents.”
