By Drake Lucas
Staff writer
April 30, 2008 06:00 am NORTH ANDOVER — The Finance Committee recommends taxes be raised to pay for a new police station and preschool building rather than obtaining the money through the general budget. Chairman Douglas Swatski said committee members are worried that debt from borrowing money for the projects and paying it back over the next 20 years would have a severe impact on the budget, possibly leading to layoffs and cuts in services. "We would like to avoid that," Swatski said. "We feel that services have been reduced over the years." Selectmen, however, want the money for those projects to stay in the general budget as planned rather than ask the town to support a $7.7 million Proposition 21/2 override that would raise property taxes above the state limit of 2.5 percent. The two buildings are part of the town's capital plan. Town Manager Mark Rees said establishing the police station in the former Merrimack Valley Credit Union building on Route 125 would cost $5.7 million. A 10-room preschool next to Atkinson Elementary School that the School Department has requested to free classroom space at the elementary schools is estimated at $4 million, with about $2 million coming from money already available. Residents would have to authorize the town to borrow the money this year and start paying it back through the fiscal 2010 budget. Rees said the Finance Committee is being too conservative with its projections as it looks ahead to what the budget will be in the next few years. Under his plan, he said, debt service costs would remain under 5 percent, allowing the town to replace outdated buildings and keep up with maintenance, such as road work. The Merrimack Valley Credit Union is available for the town to buy, but Rees said the building could be sold to someone else if North Andover doesn't take advantage of the opportunity. "It is a balancing act as to how to allocate funds," he said. "But if you ignore your infrastructure, you are going to pay more in the end." The Finance Committee voted unanimously last week to eliminate the cost of the police station and the preschool from the budget. The committee then recommended a motion be made at the May 13 Town Meeting to ask for a debt exclusion override for the police station. Swatski said the committee will decide on the preschool building after hearing from the School Committee at its meeting Tuesday. A debt-exclusion override raises taxes above 2.5 percent until a particular project is paid off. Swatski said the Finance Committee agrees that North Andover needs a new police station, but explained paying for one through the operating budget could mean the town can't meet all its expenses in future years, especially with rising costs such as those for employee health care. The committee will reconsider its decision before Town Meeting if new information comes forward that will change panel members' minds. "We need to balance the needs of the town and what we do financially," he said. Selectmen against override Selectmen Chairman Mark Caggiano said the Finance Committee's plan to take the police station and preschool building costs out of the budget is the same as voting against them. He said because residents approved a $1.65 million override to raise taxes last year and a $7.3 million override for a police station was voted down in 2005, it is unlikely the town will vote for an override this time around. "We think this is all workable without an override," he said. "The Finance Committee is being fiscally prudent, which is their job, but we can do this in the existing budget." Caggiano said costs are being kept as low as possible for both the station and the preschool building so they will fit in the town's budget. He said other projects have also been eliminated for now, including the planning of a new fire station and some road work in town. Selectmen are the only ones who can put a debt-exclusion override on the ballot. Even if Town Meeting approves the override, selectmen would have to decide whether to put it to a townwide vote. "I'm not recommending it," said Selectman Daniel Lanen. "We just had an override. We are finally trying to get things done within the operating budget." Selectman Rosemary Smedile said the Police Department needs a new station, and she would rather go back and work within the budget than ask residents for an override. She said that in the current financial climate, with the cost of everything rising, asking residents for an override would just be one more hit. "I cannot express how bad it is," she said of the current station's condition. "We can't just keep ignoring our infrastructure." Police have said the station, built in 1978, is outdated, cramped and deteriorating, with mold, one bathroom for employees, and no locker rooms for women. The School Committee has also advocated the need for a preschool building because of overcrowding at the elementary schools, some of which are using libraries and other spaces for classrooms. School Committee Chairman Barbara Whidden said seven classrooms at two of the elementary schools are being used for preschool, leaving the schools short on space. The music room, art room, library and computer room are all being used for classrooms at Thomson Elementary School. The School Department is mandated by the state to provide integrated preschools for students with special needs. Whidden said she was concerned that if the preschool is taken out of the budget, an override won't be approved. "It takes time to put an override together," she said. "We need to get this preschool built quickly."
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