Mayor asks for help from City Council to address budget gap
WESTFIELD — Mayor Michael McCabe asked the City Council on April 17 for help in addressing a $16 million gap in the fiscal year 2026 budget over last year.
McCabe, who referred to a spreadsheet he had sent the councilors, said some of the cost drivers are outside of the control of the City Council or of the city itself. 'Health care costs are 36% higher, which includes costs to the city side of $5.8 million, and inflation rate costs are roughly at $5 million.'
He said in the School Department, contractual obligations have increased by $1.8 million to Units A, B, D and E. There is a transportation increase of $1.3 million and a special education increase of $1.1 million, both of which he said are mandated and 'not funded as they are supposed to be.'
On the city side, trash collection and recycling are up by $300,000, and he also expects a utility cost increase of 15 percent or $100,000 across the board, McCabe said.
'The school budget came in at $80 million, with a real budget of $74 million — we cut back $5.2 million. There are 43 positions in those cuts from the School Department,' he said.
McCabe asked for the councilors help for anticipated city budget cuts of $3 million, including $1.5 million in free cash from the engineering department.
'In FY26 there is $1 million work to do on sidewalks — we have a bunch that aren't in good shape. We lose the sidewalk contract in October, which means their rates are set from now to October,' he said, adding that as soon as October hits, the costs are expected to move from $175 per square yard to $460 per square yard. He said the other half a million in engineering was to complete the work on the Little River Levee.
McCabe then called Proposition 2 ½ 'a sticky wicket.'
'It's always good to lower taxes from the point of view of a politician, but you can actually lower taxes so much it hurts you. Over the last three years of my administration, we have never raised taxes. Last year, we had a net decrease — $3.5 million not used in the budget,' he said.
'Year after year for a decade, we were told the closer the gap to the levy ceiling, the more dangerous. Over the past three years, we've seen that gap increase from $4 million to $12.5 million.'
McCabe said the problem with increasing the gap between the levy limit and the levy ceiling to $12.5 million is when he goes to the Statehouse or asks the Legislature for help him understand why Westfield doesn't get more money in Chapter 90, Chapter 70 and Chapter 74, 'They say to me, 'What's your gap?' They're telling me, you have a $12.5 million gap — that means spend your money — because you have more of your own money that you should have been spending all along.'
'I am suggesting in this budget that we tax 2.5% — that's $2.2M. I am also suggesting that we spend another 2.5% and reach into that gap, which brings it down to $9.5 million. Then we can ask [the state] for more money,' McCabe said, adding that it drives School Committee member Bo Sullivan 'crazy' that Pittsfield, a similar-sized community, gets so much more money than Westfield does.
McCabe also talked about the shortage in revenue for trash services, which he said has been undercharging customers for years. '12,000 residences, all paying $85 a year — nowhere close to the expenses,' he said, which are closer to $265 a year.
He recommended several fixes, including having the department establish an enterprise fund for trash services, making it a revenue account. He said $65 a quarter matches the actual costs. 'I don't think we should keep paying them through taxes.' The City Council recently voted to continue to set the rate for trash services two meetings ago, voting against sending that responsibility to the DPW.
McCabe said local receipts are forecasted to bring in $900,000 in the next fiscal year, and new growth, only $500,000.
McCabe said he will present his budget to the City Council on May 5, after which they will have 45 days to review it. In the meantime, he said he is open to ideas.
After the meeting, Ralph Figy, who chairs the Finance Committee that will be in charge of the budget review for the City Council, said the mayor came to the council to explain how he is going to finance the budget.
'The mayor is open to solutions right now. Once he finalizes the budget, the council cannot add anything to the budget, we can only take away,' Figy said.
'We're really in a tough spot, and it's been coming. Every year, we've been using free cash to balance the budget, and it catches up on you. Last year, we used $4 million [in free cash] to balance the budget, and another $1 million to set the shift.'
'Taxes have to go up,' Figy said, adding that new growth, anticipated to be $500,000 next year, keeps going down. 'He is in a very difficult position. This fiscal crisis has been building over the years. Every time a new business that wants to come into town is not permitted — If you don't have the commercial basis, it's going to fall on the taxpayers.'
Figy said the mayor is proposing a 5% increase in taxes, the 2.5% allowed by Proposition 2 ½, and an additional 2.5% from the levy limit, for a total of $4.4 million 'We are allowed to tax up to our levy limit,' he said, adding that is how he is proposing to close the gap between income and expenses.
'The state's not going to help us because of potential revenue we're not accessing,' Figy said.
'If we don't want to do the [2.5%], we're going to have to come up with $2.2 million worth of cuts on top of the cuts that have already been made. That would mean positions. That means people. We're already cutting 43 out of the School Department, and I have no idea how much we're cutting on the city side.'
Figy said the mayor is trying to get away from using free cash in the budget, which is what creates the problem. 'We're all in this together. We've got to put our heads together and come up with solutions. This isn't going to go away easily,' he said.
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