Civic leaders in North Adams, Massachusetts are preparing for their budget process to begin before fiscal year 2021 starts on July 1st. The planning comes at a time when revenues are sharply down during the coronavirus pandemic. WAMC spoke with City Council Vice President Jason LaForest after Tuesday night’s meeting to get a sense of what Berkshire County’s second city can expect.
LAFOREST: I think there is a great deal of concern, both in the administration and the council that we will be facing some very tough times. About 44% of the city budget is dependent on state aid in any given year. Over the last couple of decades, really, every ounce of fat has been trimmed from the budget. So there's really nothing left to spare if we're going to ensure the safety and viability of the city. So there is significant concern. However, we want to begin the budgeting process and be apprised of worst case scenarios so that when we do have to vote on the budget in the coming weeks, we'll have a sense of how dire the situation is, and we won't be able to increase the burden on the local taxpayers given the demographics in play in North Adams.
WAMC: Should cuts be made to the budget, what sort of sectors would be the first to receive reductions?
The mayor indicated last night that there wouldn't be cuts as much as streamlining which I realize are cuts in effect. However, we would look to streamline operations rather than cutting those operations. As I said, we're really operating on a skeleton budget, a skeleton crew and operations at City Hall and across the city. But we do need to maintain safety with our police and fire departments, our public works department, and our school system. So you know, we'll have to look to streamline rather than cut.
School departments are always a big topic of conversation in Berkshire County. Would the North Adams school system receive a level funding, cuts to its budget? How would that be impacted?
Well, I think it's really too soon to know for sure until we have a better sense of what the level of state aid and chapter 70 funding will be for the school department. So I don't want to comment, you know, on the, you know, raise the specter of fear or a red flag, suggesting that educators and ancillary staff in the school department might be cut. That just wouldn't be fair right now.
Given the unprecedented nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, are there any areas of the North Adams budget that might be shored up or increased in response to this sort of, very out of the ordinary experience that we're having collectively?
Well, I can tell you, both as a resident, as a father, and also as a nurse that absolutely, we're facing unprecedented fears and realities around the COVID virus. But I think when it comes down to it, people want to know that their government, whether it's local, state, or at the federal level, is keeping them safe and ensuring that they have access to health measures, health care, and that they have access to employment. Because right now the unemployment rate is topping 18% to 20% in North Adams and across Berkshire County. So I think people want to be safe and they want to know that they're going to have jobs to go to.
