Fiscal Year 2025 Proposed Budget

Published on May 02, 2023

Fiscal Year 2025 Operating Budget

Please find attached the Town’s Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25) proposed budget. Our goal in creating this budget, as with all our past budgets, is to provide a quality service at an affordable price. Over the past eight years through the budget process, we have worked to identify areas to cut, while improving efficiency. We have also pursued alternative, innovative sources of new revenue, though not all have been accepted. At this time the proposed budget request includes an increase to taxes amounting to 4.9%.

In creating this budget, I asked all departments to identify both areas that could be cut to achieve a level funded budget with contractually required increases, as well as any additional spending requests for consideration. We discussed these areas in detail during each individual department’s budget meeting. The goal of this endeavor was to determine what is truly required to provide our community with a quality service at an affordable price.

Budget priorities continue to include investment in our schools, infrastructure, and public safety. These three areas are critical to the high quality of life experienced in our community and have suffered the most since the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, we have made some additional investments in municipal modernization to improve our constituents’ ability to access services without necessitating an in person visit.

My FY25 proposed budget is balanced, funding recurring operations through the use of recurring revenue sources. These revenue sources include: taxation, state aid, and local revenues. In an effort to protect the Town in the future, my budget request also includes funding to continue to build our reserves. I have requested an appropriation of $250,000 to our OPEB Trust Fund. However, this year, I have not requested an appropriation of our Stabilization (“Rainy Day”) Fund as interest earned has ensured our fund balance is at least 10% of our total operating budget.

In a continued effort to provide quality services, inclusive of adequate funding for the advancement of our schools and for public safety, it was necessary to make gains in efficiency via proper placement of personnel and sharing of resources. I continue to work closely with our department heads that provide creative ideas to enhance operations and better serve the public. Through this cooperative effort, I am able to offer a budget that continues to provide quality services to the residents and businesses of West Springfield at an affordable rate.

I look forward to working closely with the Town Council during the budget process to adopt this fiscally sound budget for the upcoming year that puts forth the best interests of the residents and businesses of the Town of West Springfield.

Please contact me at your convenience with any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

William C. Reichelt

Mayor