Pepperell Faces $500,000 Deficit as Police, Highway Warn of Layoffs Under Budget Cuts

PEPPERELL — March 3, 2011 — Pepperell joint budget session reveals $500,000 structural deficit and layoff risk in police and highway departments. The Board of Selectmen and Finance Committee met jointly on March 3 to hear departmental FY12 budget presentations, with Chairman George Zakarakis warning that a projected school assessment increase of more than 3 percent — against a $500,000 structural deficit composed of $300,000 in operating shortfall and $200,000 in free cash — could force across-the-board reductions in municipal services. The police chief said a 1 percent budget cut would amount to a net $58,000 reduction when combined with contractual raises and the loss of $19,000 in expired grant funding, likely requiring a layoff from a force of 16 already operating without a lieutenant or 24-hour supervision. Highway Superintendent Peter said flatly of a 1 percent cut: "I have no other place to go." Library Director Deb Spratt reported computer use up 1,400 percent since 2000 and warned that any cut would trigger a second furlough week. The boards unanimously approved a $10,000 reserve fund transfer to Veterans Services for Chapter 115 benefits, the second such appropriation of the year, with 75 percent reimbursable by the state and the FY12 veterans budget set at $30,000.