Hatfield Boards Advance FY21 Budget, Flag $300,000 Town Hall Overrun

HATFIELD -- May 26, 2020, Hatfield Select Board and Finance Committee jointly reviewed a roughly $10.9 million FY21 budget and 25-article warrant ahead of a June 16 town meeting, with both panels agreeing to include a $28,500 cost-of-living adjustment for non-union employees and to pursue placing as much of $589,841 in certified free cash as state law allows, approximately $365,898, into a finance reserve fund. Select Board Chair Luke Longstreeth and Finance Committee Chair Diane flagged a roughly $300,000 overrun on the town hall construction project that must be resolved before fiscal year 2020 closes, and both boards stressed the urgency of educating voters on a $1.6 million Route 5 sewer debt exclusion that pairs with a $2 million state grant, warning that a failed exclusion would add an estimated $90,000 per year in debt service to the operating budget beginning in FY22. The school department's special education out-of-district costs for FY20 came in at $59,900, down significantly from earlier projections, with free cash identified as the likely funding source.