STEFAN CZAPOROWSKI,
Westfield Public Schools Superintendent
WESTFIELD – Superintendent Stefan Czaporowski presented the FY22 budget of $64,396,647 to the City Council on June 10, which he said had been through a public hearing and several meetings with the School Committee, who had passed the budget with no cuts.
After a lively discussion, the City Council also passed the budget with no cuts, on a vote of 10-2. Also passed with no reductions were the Law, Assessors, Treasurer and Collector’s budgets.
Prior to the start of the Finance Committee meeting of the whole at 7 p.m., a public hearing was scheduled at 6 p.m. Westfield Taypayer’s Association president Lisa Okscin sent in a letter, read by At-large Councilor Dave Flaherty, the only public comment on the budget at the hearing.
Okscin expressed concern about the increase in new spending of $6 million in the city budget. She said while everyone supports the schools, a $2.3 million increase is a big number, and she was disappointed that the mayor did not make a cut to the schools. Humason had asked the district to cut $1 million, which was rejected by the School Committee.
Okscin listed other needs in the city including a plan for capital projects, more serious annual contributions to OPEB, funding for levee and dam work, funding for a water source on the north side and a grants position, among others. She also asked the city to present a budget with pie charts and graphs that is easier for the public to understand.
“We look forward to watching department presentations. It is tough to compile meaningful public input before budget presentations,” Okscin said in the letter.
After reading the letter, Flaherty gave his own commentary. He said he felt that the format this year makes it difficult to review and vote on individual department budgets without seeing the big picture.
“I’m going to make a motion to table the vote on all these departments. If that doesn’t happen, I’m going to be a no vote on the budget,” Flaherty said.
Ward 1 Councilor Nicholas J. Morganelli, Jr. concurred, saying with the public hearing scheduled first, the public doesn’t have time to listen to all of the department heads. “We can’t get feedback from the public. There’s no avenue to do that, because we’re asked to vote on it right after we hear from the department heads. I don’t think it’s fair for the public,” he said.
Ward 2 Councilor Ralph J. Figy, who chairs the finance committee and set up the schedule, said he set up meetings of the whole in order to allow all councilors to give feedback during the budget reviews. “That’s why we did it last year, and it received rave reviews. I would welcome anyone who would like to change this to become chair of finance next year,” he said.
During the question and answer session on the school budget, Czaporowski said the increase to the city of $2.3 million over last year is not as high as it appears because of the CARES Act funding of $1.14 million that the district received to offset last year’s budget. He also said that the city cut the school budget last year by $2.5 million.
Czaporowski said the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding available this year to address the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic cannot be used to offset the budget.
“I’m going to be asking for a cut of $300,000, and I would like that money to go back into Flood Control. I think Flood Control should be given an administrator- – it’s being managed by a chairman who makes $900 a year. I’m looking at the big picture for the entire city,” Flaherty said, before making the motion to cut $300,000 from the School Department budget.
.
The motion failed 9 to 3, with At-large Councilor Kristen Mello, Flaherty and Morganelli voting in support of the cut.
Flaherty then made a motion to table the vote until after the Council reviewed the rest of the city budgets and heard more from the public. That vote failed 9 to 3, with the same three councilors in support.
At-large Councilor Richard K. Sullivan Jr. then made a motion to approve the district budget as presented.
“I have to say after that last vote I’m very disappointed. It wasn’t too much to ask for the taxpayers to allow a little extra time, and we’re not even doing that. Councilor Flaherty offered a very small, not even cut, but a reduction of the increase. I don’t know what else to say, I’m in disbelief,” said Morganelli during the discussion.
“As a parent, I’ve seen first-hand how difficult the pandemic was on our children,” said Ward 3 Councilor Bridget Matthews-Kane, adding that this is not just a Westfield issue. She said recent studies have shown that 55 percent of children in the Commonwealth need to catch up academically. “This is not the year to cut the school budget,” she said.
“I want to thank the School Department especially for the visuals with their budget. I think that this is one of the budgets where money could be found in other places, particularly with special needs funding. I completely support the budget, but I need to support the Flood Control budget, which is why I voted the way I did,” said Mello.
At-large Councilor James R. Adams said he was hoping for a little bit of a cut, because he knows how much the cost of the new elementary school is going to be.
A vote on the school budget as presented then passed on a vote of 10 to 2, with Flaherty and Morganelli voting no.
