Hatfield Finance Committee Endorses Two Budgets, Tables Tennis Court Article

HATFIELD — April 25, 2023 — Hatfield's Finance Committee endorsed two competing fiscal year 2024 budgets ahead of a May 9 town meeting and a May 16 Proposition 2.5 override vote. Select Board Chair Luke Longstreeth and members Edmund Jaworski and Julia Frisby, sitting jointly with the Finance Committee, unanimously backed both the balanced budget — which requires 2.5 percent departmental cuts and would eliminate teaching positions — and the override budget, which would require voter approval of a tax increase. Updated cherry sheet figures placed projected FY24 local aid receipts at roughly $767,000, down from $793,000 in the current year, with charter school tuition assessments reduced to $295,906. A $20,000 Town Hall HVAC upgrade was pulled from the warrant after the board concluded no decision had been made on the long-term use of the second floor space. A Community Preservation Commission article seeking up to $400,000 for tennis and pickleball courts was flagged for location-language revisions, with Frisby arguing the "Town Center" designation had not been adequately vetted with the community or abutting property owners. The board scheduled a public budget forum for May 2 at 6 p.m. at Hatfield Elementary School and set a May 9 town meeting start of 6:30 p.m. at Smith Academy.