Seekonk to Vote on $66M Town Budget

A number of financial matters, including salary increases for town officials, will be decided at the Spring Town Meeting on May 9.
The proposed $66.5 million town budget for 2023 is a 4.95 percent increase over FY’2022. $30.8 million is designated for the Seekonk School Department. That figure is a 2.6 percent increase over the current fiscal year which ends June 30. Chapter 70 funds have increased by $431, 257 for a total of $7.2 million. 77 percent of the funding ($23.6 million) is coming from the town. Foundation enrollment is 2,087.
School Superintendent Rich Drolet said the budget “makes major strides toward attaining goals in the following areas: New Programming for Students with Individualized Education Programs, New “Pathways” & Additional Courses at Seekonk High School, and Lower Class Sizes.”
“After achieving our primary goal over the past few years to reduce class sizes, particularly at the elementary level, we are reducing the number of classroom teachers by two at Martin Elementary School,” Drolet explained. “This year’s FY22 Martin enrollment went down by 42 students due to redistricting. Reducing these positions will allow us to provide classroom space at Martin for music and art. Class sizes at the elementary level were in the high 20’s, and even low 30’s in a few instances, when I first arrived here in 2018.”
“The past three years we utilized a combination of a level-service and needs-based budgeting process,” Drolet continued. “This year, we intentionally decided to utilize a zero-based budgeting approach to further delve into our budgeting processes to maximize efficiency. We looked at how each line was being spent- this helped us to see if there were any items in our budget which we could do without, or to reduce lines. In some cases we also needed to add new lines; for example, on July 1st we will begin our new 18-22 year-old Seekonk Transitions Academy. Applying this zero-based budgeting methodology, we looked for opportunities for funding initiatives within our current budget.”
The Police Department budget is $4.9 million, which represents an increase of four percent. That includes salaries for 40 full time employees including the Police Chief, Deputy Chief, one captain, three lieutenants, seven sergeants, and 27 officers.
The Fire Department budget is $3.9 million, a two percent increase. That includes salaries for 40 full time employees, including the Fire Chief, Deputy Chief, two captains, eight lieutenants, and 28 firefighters.
The Department of Public Works budget is $1.8 million, an increase of eight percent. That includes salaries for 24 full time employees and four new employees to be hired over the next three years.
$2.9 million is designated for debt and interest. That figure is a 29 percent increase over the current fiscal year and includes the bonds for several building projects, such as the Aitken School expansion, Senior Center Phase Two, and the South End Fire Station.
Town Administrator Shawn Cadime’s budget presentation to the Board of Selectmen can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcO_vkWPkTM.
There are also fund transfers and other expenditures in the town warrant. The full warrant can be viewed on the town website: www.seekonk-ma.gov.
The meeting will begin at 7 pm in the auditorium at Seekonk High School, 261 Arcade Avenue.