The proposed override & debt exclusions: What will they provide?

The proposals for an operating override and two debt exclusions — to be decided by voters in the March 14 Special Election — are designed to address a broad range of services and capital improvements.

Operating Override

The operating override, if approved, represents a permanent increase in the tax levy of $9.175 million, increasing by an expected 2.5% each year. This can provide funding for both one-time and recurring expenses. The amount provided in the first year must be used for the purposes outlined in the proposal as stated on the ballot. While the amounts in future years may be used for any purpose determined by the Mayor and City Council, Mayor Fuller has committed to using override funds in future years as they are allocated in the proposal, as her administration has done with funds from the 2013 override.

The City’s allocations and intended purposes for the funds from the proposed override are shown below – in bold as stated on the ballot, with additional information from the City’s presentations and other documents.

• $4.5 million into the Newton Public Schools operating budget for student needs: This allocation is aimed at helping NPS maintain the same level of service as this year — what Interim Superintendent Kathy Smith often notes as a premier education.
  • In January, she presented two preliminary budgets to the School Committee, one including this $4.5 million override allocation and one without. At that time, she said that without the override, the City’s planned allocation to NPS for next year would be $6-8 million short of what would be needed to maintain services the same as this year — and that with the override, that gap would be $2-4 million. She said that to close the gap, cuts would be implemented first in non-personnel areas, then administration and operations, extracurricular activities, and classroom and school personnel, in that order, and that if the override did not pass, 40 to 50 educator positions could be eliminated. 
  • This week, she told Fig City News that since January, with further budgeting work and more certainty about this year’s expenses, she has some confidence that the $6-8 million gap could now be $6 million without the override – and under $2 million with the override – and she is no longer speaking in terms of eliminating as many as 40 to 50 teachers. At tonight’s School Committee meeting, she intends to provide more details about how NPS plans to close a $6 million gap with reductions across the board if the override does not pass. 
  • As she planned for last night’s meeting with parents of incoming kindergarteners, she said, “Not passing this override has an impact on incoming kindergarteners, not just for this budget year but for years to come, in terms of class size, opportunities, and support services.”
• $1.4 million for street and sidewalk paving and safety improvements: To maintain existing improvement schedules in the face of significant inflation in order to continue:
  • Increasing the average index of pavement quality from 72 to 80 by 2030
  • Reducing the share of roadway surface needing rehabilitation from 51% to 6%
  • Installing traffic-calming projects
• $1 million for park and recreational facility improvements and maintenance: A 27% increase over the FY23 budget for:
  • Parks: Village centers, performance stages, swim facilities, trails, community spaces & gardens, and plantings
  • Fields: Mowing, aerating, seeding, irrigation, fertilizing, and synthetic turf to address a doubling of field sites and acreage since FY19.
  • Courts: Resurfacing 10 courts per year of Newton’s 100 courts for tennis, pickleball, basketball, and bocce. Next up: Cabot, Pelligrini, Memorial Playground.
  • Playgrounds: Repairs, surfacing, and replacements of playgrounds.
• $775,000 for improvements to Horace Mann Elementary School (the former Carr School building): This will complete the renovation of the former Carr School, adding a wing with six additional classrooms and providing more adequate space for auditorium/cafeteria, library, and special education. Once this project is completed, this funding in future years may be used for similar capital improvements.
• $500,000 for tree planting and maintenance: A 25% increase over the FY23 budget for:
  • Planting up to 8,000 new trees by 2030 (a 60% increase in trees planted)
  • Caring for 3,500 young trees to improve their longevity
  • Pruning every mature street tree every five years (4 times the current rate)
• $500,000 for sustainability and climate resiliency actions: To
  • Reduce fossil-fueled floor space from about 93% of all public buildings today, down to about 50% in 2030, to about 25% in 2040, and to 0% in 2050.
  • Convert all municipal and school buildings to electric heating by 2050. 
• $500,000 for Senior Services programming and operations: A 57% increase in the Senior Services budget for:
  • Expanded programs in fitness, art, music, and education
  • Expanded access to social/emotional programs and Medicare counseling
  • Transportation – support for NewMo ride service
  • Potentially increasing weekly hours from 22 at Senior Center to 55 at NewCAL
  • Expanded operations in the NewCAL building that will be 3 times larger than Senior Center

Debt Exclusions

The two debt exclusions will cover the financing and construction costs for capital projects to renovate or replace two elementary schools – Countryside and Franklin. These projects are similar in scope to previously completed elementary school projects for Angier, Zervas, and Cabot. Several more of Newton’s 15 elementary schools await renovation or replacement to bring them to the quality of Newton’s newer schools, and Countryside and Franklin were determined to be the highest priority for the next projects.

• Renovate or replace the Countryside Elementary School: Estimated at $2.3 million per year (which is less than the Franklin project because the Countryside project is expected to be subsidized by state funding). The current Countryside school was built with 13 classrooms in 1953, and over the years 12 more classrooms were added with minimal additions of common space or supporting facilities. Much of the lot is below the water table and subject to wetlands restrictions. The project is currently planned for 465 students, and one option being considered is for the school to manage a district-wide special-education program. The construction schedule will be published after local funding is finalized.
• Renovate or replace the Franklin School Elementary School: Estimated at $3.5 million per year. Several options for addition/renovation or new construction are being considered, and any of them would make the new facility ADA compliant, energy efficient, and secure, with modern technology and furniture and well-sized, well-lit classrooms. Construction is being considered for 2025-27.