Hatfield Select Board and Finance Committee Narrow FY23 Budget Gap to $75,000

HATFIELD -- April 19, 2022, Hatfield Select Board and Finance Committee shave a $707,000 budget gap down to roughly $75,000 over the levy limit. The two boards worked through the fiscal year 2023 budget in a joint session Tuesday, moving a $198,000 one-time bond interest payment to free cash, trimming police and highway line items, and debating a 3 percent cost-of-living adjustment for non-contract employees estimated at $57,000. Select Board Chair Luke Longstreeth warned that "funding an operating budget with free cash is just not a great idea" and called for a ballot override in the fall to address structural gaps that include $450,000 in school funding and $181,000 for expanded fire and ambulance coverage. The board also heard a proposal from Fire Chief Flaherty and Captain Longstreet to build a $200,000 training structure at the West Hatfield well site, to be funded and built by the Hatfield Fire Association and donated back to the town. The board unanimously approved a one-season farm license at Billings Way to Harrison Bardwell at $50 per acre, on recommendation from the Agricultural Commission.