Last week Sudbury’s cost centers presented their 2013 level staff budgets to the Financial Committee.

I am sure there are some inaccuracies in my simple understanding of their presentations but my “take away” from the presentations was:

1. The Town Level Staff 2013 proposed budget is approximately $600,000 or 3.2% over the FY2012 appropriated budget. 
2. The LSRHS Level Staff 2013 proposed budget is approximately $1,100,000 or 4.27% over the FY2012 appropriated budget
3. The SPS Level Staff 2013 proposed budget is approximately $1,100,000 or 3.2% over the FY2012 appropriated budget. 

(The proposed budget numbers can also be found in Table 2 of Sudbury’s Preliminary Budget and Financing requests on the Town website)

Now, these numbers do not imply an override request is inevitable to maintain level services. We still have opportunity for cost center budget reduction when we include potential savings through acceptance of the state’s Group Health Insurance Program (not currently included in the above estimates) and any remaining cost center budget increases could be also be covered by reduced debt service on Town obligations. 

But we continue to spend more than we have. We continue to marginalize the knowledge we gained from our Budget Review Task Force Report in 2009:  “Structural deficits occur when systemic spending rises faster than sustainable revenues. Structural deficits require resolution by structural changes …   Structural changes to the tax base, cost centers’ organizational models and spending practices are necessary to address the structural deficit. In order to address the real problem a municipality must make structural changes, which will reduce the deficit on a continuing basis while maintaining, or potentially even increasing, the level of services to the town. Increasing the budget of a flawed model will not solve the problem.” 

In other words, throwing money at the problem is not going to fix the problem.  Come on Cost Centers! Stop throwing money at the problem! Give us recommendations for structural changes not just recommendations for throwing more money at the problem. No one in Sudbury will oppose spending money to solve problems. But many will oppose continuing support of the structural deficit. Sudbury, we can do better.

Dan De Pompei

Haynes Road