The town of Hanson is facing a substantial budget shortfall, and a $1.85 million dollar override was added to the ballot for the Annual Town Election.
If the override were to fail, town officials say cuts to personnel would be made across all departments. A public forum was held last night. The override is needed due in part to a change in the Whitman-Hanson Regional School District assessment to a statutory method.
Fire Chief Jerry Thompson says they would go from 16 to 12 firefighters if the override were to fail. The budget would be cut $485,000. Audio is courtesy of Whitman-Hanson Community Access.
With already strained budgets, the Council on Aging would lose a van driver, the library would lose state aid, meaning that programming and borrowing from other networks would be cut. A position would be eliminated in the highway department, along with two positions at Town Hall.
While uses from the stabilization fund and free cash were considered, the budget issues would persist without the vote.
Police Chief Michael Miksch says they’d lose seven officers – six would be cut and one would be lost to retirement. That budget would be cut by $615,000.
Officials say the average tax bill in town would see an increase of about $460.
Budget information is posted on the Hanson town website. The Annual Town Meeting is May 3rd. The Annual Election is on May 15th.
