Pepperell Restores Police and Fire Positions in Line-by-Line FY2020 Budget Review

PEPPERELL -- March 28, 2019, Pepperell selectmen and Finance Committee restore police and fire positions while scrubbing FY2020 budget to near-balance without a tax override. At a March 28 special joint meeting, Town Administrator Andrew Dresser walked both boards line by line through a draft budget carrying $1.4 million in cuts and eight layoffs, presenting a non-override scenario that draws $600,000 in free cash and leaves the town with under $200,000 in reserves by July 1, less than one half of 1 percent of the annual budget. The board restored a police officer position, a $300,000 police overtime line, and a paramedic-firefighter position, and reversed a $25,000 library cut that Library Director Deb Spratt said would force a state compliance waiver; the Finance Committee's $70,000 reserve fund was eliminated entirely to help offset the restorations, with capital outlay cut to approximately $241,000. The override request now stands at $1.356 million, down roughly $100,000 from the prior week after North Middlesex Regional School District returned a $225,000 reduction and the town's assessor certified new growth at $200,000. The Board of Selectmen will vote the final budget and supplemental override warrant on April 8.