WESTFIELD – Acting Mayor Ralph J. Figy said last week that Westfield’s free cash has been certified at $4,201,725.
“The way I look at it, that’s good news, that we have a positive number,” Figy said.
Former Mayor Brian P. Sullivan and Mayor-elect Donald F. Humason Jr. both agreed.
“It’s more than we thought,” Sullivan said. He said out of that number, $500,000 is from last year’s budget, from positions that were not filled or programs that were postponed. The rest is due to conservative estimates on collections, including the meals and hotel taxes, which came in higher than predicted.
Sullivan said that’s good news, too, because it means that people are stopping in Westfield and spending their money.
He said some of the money is also from settlement payments from court. “The Law Department did a lot,” Sullivan said, adding, “I’m very appreciative of the administration we had working with these numbers. This is a positive thing for the new mayor. Westfield is in a very healthy financial situation.”
“It’s a healthy number for the city,” Humason agreed, adding, “There‘s no shortage of places to spend it, if we will.”
Humason said the first expense will be on snow and ice for this winter, which is an unknown. Sullivan said traditionally the city has spent about $1 million on snow removal, including $400,000 earmarked in the budget.
Humason said there may be other one-time expenses to use with the rest. He said it’s good to have a healthy number available for things like upcoming increases in recycling costs. He also said he is aware of some cities with negative free cash.
“When you get $4 million in free cash, it’s not by mistake. It’s a sign of many positives,” Sullivan said.
