FITCHBURG — The City Council on Tuesday approved Mayor Stephen DiNatale’s recommended $26.6 million continuing appropriation budget for Fiscal Year 2021, which goes into effect on July 1.
The council approved the budget on a 10-1 vote, which will allow the city to function into July and is by definition one-twelfth of last year’s budget. Councilor Paul Beauchemin opposed the budget.
In DiNatale’s letter to the council, he said the state has yet to clarify local aid allocations for the upcoming year, and so it was not possible to submit a budget.
“Without that knowledge, we are not able to predict what changes will have to be made in the FY21 budget,” he said. “Will there be a reduction in local aid? Will that reduction be a few $100,000 or millions?”
The state outlined in Section 5 of Chapter 53 of the Acts of 2020, that if the crisis prevents a city’s adoption of an annual budget by the end of the fiscal year, which is June 30, then it can appropriate a budget for July “of not less than 1/12 of the total budget.”
The budget approved by the City Council contains adjustments month-to-month to account for expenses like pension contributions.
“The purpose of a continuing appropriation budget is to keep city government funded and functioning until an annual budget is approved,” DiNatale wrote. “As such, this continuing appropriation budget offers no major changes in city operations.”
The budget includes $20.7 million in the general fund, $2.3 million to the Water Enterprise Fund, $3.5 million to the Wastewater Enterprise Fund, and $105,000 to the Airport Fund.
A new continuing appropriation budget will be presented to the City Council in August and then again in September.
Beauchemin took issue with a $50,000 payment to the Johnny Appleseed Visitors’ Center, which is operated by the North Central Mass. Chamber of Commerce.
He said the allocation was a significant amount of money and argued that the city shouldn’t be spending it right now.
“Why give money away, if we’re going to need it down the road,” Beauchemin said, referring to a potential second wave of COVID-19.
City Auditor Calvin Brooks said the payment is made regularly every year by the city.
“This is no time to be leaving the Chamber in the lurch,” said DiNatale. “This is a time for us to join together.”
City Council President Michael Kushmerek echoed that sentiment, saying the city needs to do everything in its power to keep the economy on track and support local organizations.
