Hadley Finance Committee hears budget warnings from police, fire, and assessors offices

HADLEY -- March 26, 2025, Hadley Finance Committee hears across-the-board warnings that the fiscal year 2026 budget will not hold without fall free-cash relief or a Proposition 2½ override. At the March 26 session, outgoing Building Commissioner Tommy Quinton said a $2,000 cut to his training line leaves mandatory state continuing education underfunded for his successor; new Town Assessor Cheryl warned that a $3,000 gap in software maintenance funding will leave her office unable to pay for the Vision billing system by year-end; and Police Chief Scott told members "I can tell you right now that I probably will not finish it balanced," citing the governor's doubling of police academy tuition, roughly $9,000 per recruit, against a professional-development budget of about $15,000 for the entire department. Fire Chief Mike said the town has spent $937,307 to build its ambulance service to date, and that eliminating it would yield a net savings of only about $200,000 per year after accounting for lost revenue and the ongoing ALS intercept contract. Town Administrator Linda, who prepared the budget book with Finance Committee Chair Amy Feiden, told the committee that $552,000 is being drawn from stabilization to balance the fiscal year 2026 budget, and that updated ambulance revenue projections show the service will cover only about half its own operating cost even at full ALS staffing levels.