This Week's Winchendon News
Fire Chief Smith Answers More Questions from BOS and FinCom About Proposed Staff Increase and Ambulance Service Expansion
Chief Tom Smith addresses the BOS and Fincom
Photo copyright Town of Winchendon
On Monday, March 2, a follow-up Tri-Board meeting including the Board of Selectmen, Finance Committee and School Committee was scheduled to continue the discussion of the developing FY2027 budget. This discussion started at the Tri-Board meeting on Thursday, February 5 when Town Manager Bill McKinney presented his first draft budget. Due to questions about whether the agenda had been legally posted for the School Committee, members of that committee were not present.
The meeting began with taking the agenda item about the Fire Department's proposed expanded ambulance service out of order. Board of Selectmen Chair Andrew Beauvais said, "This is a continuation of the conversation that we had on February 5. I believe it was a rather lengthy meeting for any of you in the audience that attended or watched at home. It was an important conversation that we felt it was important to continue."
To give a quick overview, ambulance revenues come from fees paid for ambulance services by patients' health insurance. Fees are set by the Fire Department, which can increase or decrease them within a certain range. The Department bills for calls they respond to. The potential amount of revenue, therefore, is highly fluid, depending on the number of calls, and limited by the ability of the department to respond to calls. Fees can also be higher when the Department can respond to more calls requiring a higher level of expertise and emergency care administered immediately to patients. This is the difference between BLS (Basic Life Support) and ALS (Advanced Life Support) ambulances. BLS focuses on non-invasive care for stablizing patients and ALS can provide invasive, life-saving interventions for critical patients. BLS is staffed by EMTs, while ALS requires paramedics.
For FY2026 (the current year), the Fire Department's budget is $1,678,555. Budgeted (or projected) ambulance revenues are $650,000. For FY2027, the proposed Fire Department budget is $2,024,200, an increase of $345,645 or 20.6 percent. The two largest line item changes within the department budget are Housemen salaries (the regular shift crew who staff the station around the clock), which increases $273,780, or 35.4 percent, and budgeted overtime, which decreases by $90,000, or 47.3 percent. Meanwhile, projected ambulance receipts for FY2027 are estimated at $950,000, an increase of $300,000 or 46.1 percent. This would more than offset the increase in Housemen salaries.
Fire Department Chief Tom Smith came forward to address the boards. He began with a recap of the proposal, explaining that the department was looking at ways to both reduce costs and bring in more revenue for the town. "Looking at our scheduling, we decided to potentially do our scheduling different, but in order to do this, we would need to hire two additional full time people," he said. "By hiring two additional full time people, we can expand our revenues over double the cost that the two full time people are." He explained that they "need to run the ambulance service more like a business," and this would also provide better care for the communities.
The Department will be able to have three people on every shift and a per diem person as a fourth crew member in the daytime, so they could staff two ambulances every shift. By working out of Clearbrook Treatment Center, Chief Smith said, they could pick up 125 to 200 additional Templeton calls a year. Royalston may start paying $20,000 for transporting ambulance service, and Chief Smith is talking to the new fire chief in Rindge, NH. "There's many streets on the lower end or the southern end of 119 that we're much closer to than their responding ambulance coming from Jaffrey, and I'd like to discuss with him the possibilities of covering the lower section of that which would also increase our [revenue] about $50,000 a year," he said. (This area includes the Rindge homes on Lake Monomonac.)
Chief Smith said that actual receipts for FY2026 were projected to be $175,000-$180,000 more than the budgeted estimate.
FinCom Chair Tom Kane responded that the budget development process was different than a usual year because of the projected $1.4 million shortfall in the town's preliminary budget. He said he'd like to see a "level service budget...which would include all of your contracted services, but not additional monies or additional needs beyond what's budgeted this year, so that the beginning point would be that, then to see what the gap is between what we need to provide the services that we currently provide, and focus in on how we're going to close that part of the gap. So from my perspective, your proposal might be a good one. You said there's no good time to ask for an expansion of a program. And I have to say that I agree with that, but this is certainly one of the times that it just doesn't make sense."
Chief Smith explained that having three staff per shift was a requirement in the contracts. Mr. Kane said, "so we have a contract that calls for more men than we actually hire, which is why we're $100,000 over overtime last year and will be $100,000 over overtime this year too, because we have to find three additional shifts that we don't have because we don't employ that many people." Chief Smith said yes, and the FinCom told him he had to reduce his overtime, so he put this plan together, which does that. "It'll reduce your overtime, but it'll increase your Housemen salary by 30 percent," Mr. Kane said. Chief Smith said yes, but it will bring in approximately $300K-$500K more to the town.
"See, I'm not convinced of that," Mr. Kane said, going on to argue that if the department looked at the budgeted amounts in the Housemen, overtime and Spare Housemen line items, it might be able to squeeze out enough to hire one additional person. He added, "because it's a new service, I'd be very interested in it, but not this year."
Chief Smith said, "You told me to try to find more revenue. So that's how you get more revenue. I don't know what else...and improve service."
Mr. Kane said that he could see from looking over the last three years, that the ambulance service had consistently brought in more revenue that the budget projected. So there was staff there to be bringing that in, he suggested.
"That's your opinion," Chief Smith said. "I don't think you figure out the staffing correctly. However, that's how you figure it. Now I figure it very different. On the scheduling, I'm trying to do what you had suggested last year as a Finance Chair, to reduce the overtime and increase the revenue, which is what I have in front of you. And this, I respect your opinion on it. I disagree with it, but I respect your opinion."
Mr. Kane asked, "Am I wrong to say that the reason we spend so much money on overtime is we have to pay for three additional shifts a week, every week?" Chief Smith said, "Yes, you are."
Mr. Beauvais said that he wondered whether the consistently higher revenues than projected was a problem with underestimating the projected amounts. He added, "One concern that I have is the collectibility of some of those funds we've had to write off in years past, more than I'd like to admit, and I don't think anyone here would like to say that we're happy with writing off revenues...How would you ensure that we're actually collecting what we're billing out?"
Chief Smith explained in some detail about the write-off of past-due ambulance receipts. There had been a large lump sum that included unpaid bills going back before 2012, he said, and the auditor wanted them just cleaned off the books. Unpaid bills should be closer to $5,000-$11,000 in a year. The Chief is working every month with the town accountant to make sure they're up to date.
Mr. Beauvais asked if the town should look at other vendors to handle the billing. Chief Smith said, "The collectability is through Coastal Medical Billing right now, they've consistently been the best billing company out there, as far as medical billing-wise, as far as departments using them. They don't get paid anything unless they do collect the revenue. We don't pay them. They're not on a retainer. So they have every reason to collect, they don't make any money if they don't pursue collections." If they can't find a patient--sometimes people give wrong information or disappear--eventually they will turn the account over to the collection agency used by the town, First Financial, who can pursue the debt more aggressively.
Mr. Beauvais asked, "Historically, say past two or three years on average, what percentage of ambulance calls required mutual aid that we missed out on?"
Chief Smith said, "Currently, this year, we missed out on approximately 69 calls. We called mutual aid for 49 of these, which were EMS that we could not send a second truck out for that. The fact that 61 percent of our calls are ALS and 39 percent BLS...just in those calls alone, we lost over $100,000 in revenue." That's affected by whether the call is private-pay insurance, Medicare, Mass Health, and so on. He explained that when he projected the revenue numbers, he adjusted for the likelihood that a certain percentage of them would end up not being collectible. He added, "We don't collect anything when we go mutual as far as when mutual aid comes in for transporting, the transporting agency is the one that would bill on those calls."
Board of Selectmen member Erika Eitland said, "I think there's also other costs to the town that we need to be mindful of. What I mean is there's potential burnout. If you're running a group that doesn't have enough coverage, you have safety concerns. We have legal fees that might be associated with those. So when we're talking about investing in the firehouse, the investment in the firehouse is also about retention and staffing. Those things are not actually discrete. So if we're not going to be moving quickly on figuring out the firehouse, this feels like a much more doable cost to invest in, so that we aren't taking that toll on burnout safety, legal fees that could be incurred...we're not sending in firefighters who don't have coverage, and somebody can pull them out if they get smoke inhalation."
Asked about the town's insurance rating as impacted by the fire department's capabilities, Chief Smith said, "ISO is figured in on your response time and the amount of people you have and how much water you can have on a scene at the same and within a certain period of time, and we don't fall anywhere near that. We're never going to fall perfect on the staffing model. They want us to have six to eight people on per shift. It's not going to happen." The best they can do is work up toward that goal a step at a time. He spoke about Paramedic Home Care in which paramedics can respond to calls in a patient's home, such as an elderly person, and provide medical care without transporting them. That is a billable service that could help add revenue down the road. But right now, the staffing model isn't in place for it.
Board of Selectmen member Melissa Blanchard asked if the station had capacity for even one additional Houseman on shift? Chief Smith said that there is a single bunkroom, with four beds, and the staff would have to adapt to it in exceptional situations like the recent big snowstorms. A staff person could sleep in a chair if necessary.
Asked whether they might try out the additional Housemen for one year and see if the revenue generated actually did cover their salaries, Chief Smith said it would be very hard to hire qualified people on that basis. They'd be asking staff to relocate to Winchendon without knowing if the position was lasting more than a year. The standard contract is three years.
BOS, Town Manager and FinCom Discuss FY2027 Budget Shortfall
Members of the Board of Selectmen and Finance Committee listen to Town Manager Bill McKinney explaining adjustments to the draft FY2027 budget numbers
Photo copyright Town of Winchendon
At a joint meeting of the Board of Selectmen and Finance Committee on Monday, March 2, to continue the discussion about the FY2027 town budget, Town Manager Bill McKinney, FinCom Chair Tom Kane and other board members more or less "workshopped" the shortfall dilemma without making any firm decisions. The School Committee was not able to attend the meeting due to questions about whether its agenda had been legally posted, so some ideas tossed on the table wait for more input and information.
Mr. Kane was especially concerned about the deficit of $1.4M in the first draft budget presented by Mr. McKinney at the Tri-Board meeting on February 5. In response to Mr. Kane's questions about the town doing a "level service" budget, Mr. McKinney said, "Aside from [Fire Chief Tom Smith] asking for the two new employees, which the [increased ambulance revenue] would more than cover, and the DPW expenses, which just continue to grow, other than that, there's no other new positions in the budget. There's really nothing else. In years past, we've said, Okay, what would it really take to run [your department] and that's where we end up with a larger deficit this year. We're just going forward with a level service budget, just so the public could see what the gap is. And this is the gap.
"So the revenue number for the ambulance will go higher. So that will close some of that gap. And then we're going to go through it again, squeeze some other things out, but again, squeezing it out really puts hamstrings to departments, because it's not going to come from the salary side. It's going to come from expenses. So it ends up squeezing expenses so things don't get replaced, repairs don't get made. That's the problem that we have to be aware of, because then things just break, and now it costs even more to fix. Especially from the DPW, they're repairing vehicles all the time, and that gets expensive, and he's already over on those. So it means now we're not going to be able to pave as much as we wanted to, because we have to put a lot of money into the repair of vehicles. So the higher number is in there for that.
"But we have to cut back on materials and supplies, which means less work gets done around town. So that's the challenge. So that's what I want to throw out there. This is not anything really more than the level service budget. So when you ask what the level service budget looks like--this is it."
The public wants to know why potholes aren't filled or sidewalks repaired, Mr. McKinney said--it's because they can't afford the materials.
A "level service" budget keeps services and staffing exactly the same and increases only to cover the increased expenses for those same services and salaries imposed from the outside. A "level funded" budget keeps funding at exactly the same amount and cuts services, salaries and/or staff to what can be afforded for that amount, given that their costs have risen.
One area where changes might be made, board members floated, might be school bus routes. The town pays for regular school busing, it is not part of the school district's budget. The budgeted amount for FY2027 is $1,856,000, an increase of 5.8 percent. Mr. McKinney said, "I've asked [the School Committee] for all the numbers of students that are taking the bus where they live. Unfortunately it comes out of our side of the budget, but it's really up to the school department how they do that. A couple years ago, they had nine bus routes. They increased it up to ten. If we went back to nine, that would save over $70,000 a year per bus route. State law requires that anyone who lives outside of two miles up through sixth grade, we have to transport. Right now, I think they have a lower standard. So if the school committee were to raise that standard, we'd be able to save some money there."
Board of Selectmen Chair Andrew Beauvais said he thought the limit was one mile. He suggested that the town might start charging fees for bus rides for students between one and two miles away from the school. Consolidating bus routes was also mentioned. Mr. Beauvais firmly clarified, "And for the record, I do not agree with having kindergarteners and first graders walking two miles to school. That's not the answer to this. The answer is more complex, but it is certainly up for discussion." Mr. McKinney said he will be talking to Superintendent Charlotte King about all this.
Health insurance did not go up quite as much as Mr. McKinney expected, he said--about 8.5 percent rather than 15 percent. This, along with the projected additional ambulance revenues, reduce the FY2027 shortfall to about $900,000. On the other hand, the Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School assessment and liability insurance both came in higher than Mr. McKinney's placeholder amounts in his first draft budget.
There was discussion about how the tax takings work for properties and how much the town can realize from a tax taking. "So what happens is, at the end of a fiscal year, if a real estate bill is unpaid, we send a demand notice, so we charge the $15 demand fee and also 14 percent interest, per state law, that is sent out to the homeowner," Mr. McKinney explained. "They have 14 days to pay. If they don't pay, then we can start the tax taking process, which is putting it into tax title, which puts a further lien onto the property. The tax title process means advertising in a newspaper, sending a certified letter that we are going to be putting a lien on the property unless it's paid. It becomes public information at that point, and so that's where the tax title is. It's just a further lien.
"So if the property is ever sold, the town gets the money back, or if we end up having to go through Land Court, which is so once it's in tax title, that doesn't mean we just get the money. We still have to invoice the homeowner for the payment that's due. And if they don't pay, then we have to take them to court. Sometimes the homeowner might pass away. So there might be a trust involved that you have to figure out, who are the multiple heirs, or trustees. So a lot of different issues in it, and that's why each tax title property is unique. So they could take a couple years to go through Land Court."
Massachusetts changed the law a few years ago, Mr. McKinney said, in favor of property owners and making it more difficult for municipalities to foreclose on delinquent properties. "The tax title used to go from 14 percent interest rate, and then once it went into tax title went to 16 percent. But the Governor and the legislature, for some reason, changed it to going to 8 percent so once it goes into tax title, we actually collect less interest or accrue less interest on the property." In addition to this, if towns complete the foreclosure, take possession of the property, and sell it, the town cannot keep the proceeds from the sale. The town can only keep the total amount of taxes, interest and fees that are owed, and all the rest of the equity in the property is returned to the original property owner.
Other revenue sources that might have potential to increase were discussed. Mr. McKinney remains untrustful of cannabis sales, fearing that New Hampshire will legalize recreational marijuana and end the flow of traffic across the border to Massachusetts retailers. The industry itself is stagnating with a glutted market.
A question about Medicaid reimbursements for Special Education students would have to be explored with the school district and/or the School Committee.
BOS member Erika Eitland said, "The reason this is valuable is that when I see a number like that, I hear 'please don't tell me you want to override,' that's not what we're saying. And I think we're in a really nice place for it, to not have to worry about something like that. So it's more to reassure other people that we're working our way towards something much more manageable. Because I look at that number and go, Oh, cuts. And I think there is some maybe, but not a huge issue."
"Yeah, I think we'll be okay this year," Mr. McKinney said. "There was a plan for it, but I wanted to show where we started. And I think last year, where we started with a $4 million deficit, and that was very alarming, and the town needed the override to keep the services going, this year, it was a much smaller deficit."
Winchendon Resident Jane LaPointe Named "Person of the Year" by North Quabbin Trails Association
From left, honoree Jane LaPointe, NQTA Founder/Director Bobby Curley, and NQTA Board Chair Linda Styles, a Reiki teacher and healer who runs Lynrose Farm and Wellness Center in Warwick MA
Photo copyright North Quabbin Trails Association
At the meeting of the North Quabbin Trails Association's Community Coalition Celebration on Saturday, February 28, Winchendon resident Jane LaPointe was given NQTA's first "Person of the Year" award. Ms. LaPointe has been part of NQTA for more than ten years and has served on its Board of Directors for three years. "Through her dedication and leadership, she has played an important role in helping strengthen NQTA's mission of becoming a lasting legacy trail organization for our region," reported the Winchendon CAC.
During the ceremony, Ms. LaPointe was also given a copy of The Natural Healing Handbook by John Kennedy Toole, aligning with her passion for learning and sharing the wisdom of nature.
The Courier reached out to Ms. LaPointe to learn more about her work with NQTA.
Ms. LaPointe said she'd been given a heads-up about the award in advance. "I hope [the Person of the Year award] does continue. It would be a very good way to recognize the growing number of partners/collaborators who are working together to strengthen the wellbeing of various community members, especially veterans, first responders, their families, and families/caregivers with members who have disabilities and various health needs," she said.
"I think the most important contribution I've made to NQTA is collaborating with [NQTA Founder/Director] Bobby Curley as a thinking partner and coach, as he expanded his vision for NQTA. I met Bobby back in 2013 when I first moved back to Winchendon. I went to a fall celebration at Red Apple Farm where various vendors had displays. Bobby was there with a collection of trail maps. That's what caught my interest--I was hoping to get back into hiking and exploring nature and here was someone with places I could go--and he also offered a monthly Tuesday Trekkers hiking group. I was in. We just started talking--I learned about his background, why he got into the trail work. Because I have a history of helping people who run organizations consider their long term value and sustainability, we just started talking about where this could go--NQTA, through its stewardship work had make many miles of trails available and accessible.
"So the question was: what to do with it--how to get people using the trails? I am familiar with the healing power of nature--as is Bobby. He's a great connector (or as he says, sales person. He's also a veteran) So he started making connections within the Veteran community, and then within the community of health care, traditional and alternative. As we learned more, I helped him and others see how the various interests, needs, pieces could come together. This continues to unfold, as new partners/collaborators get engaged. It's been very exciting and there's a lot of possibilities unfolding for 2026 and beyond.
"I think my role/accomplishments in this is to help weave all the threads together and to provide a strategic perspective on how to move from opportunities and ideas to realities...how to do this through actions and communication."
Asked what Winchendon can learn from the work NQTA is doing, Ms. LaPointe responded, "Interesting question. A lot of my work and ideas with NQTA have actually been informed by what is happening in Winchendon--the collaborations that inform HEAL and that we continue to try to build and strengthen across the community, particularly as more people and organizations get involved. I'm very excited because I see how this can be amplified this year by the Bridging Ideas & Building Futures Community Conversations underway at the Library and also through the Livable Winchendon intiative that is being launched through the Council on Aging and the CHNA9's Age-Friendly Initiative, which has broad implications across our town.
"What I hope to see happening across Winchendon is more collaboration focused on shared goals and outcomes for our town and its people. To me, this doesn't mean organizations changing their goals and actions--it means seeing where and how our efforts are serving common ends, and thinking to gether about how we could amplify the impact of our work, and engage more of our community in these endeavors.
"Actually, there is a lot of synergy between the way I think about NQTA and about my Winchendon community and in the ways I get involved."
Ms. LaPointe added, "If I were to be very literal, what I'd like to see Winchendon add is the health and wellness perspective of access to nature. We've got wonderful natural outdoor resources here. First, make sure people know about them and how to safely access them. Then develop programs and relationships/partnerships with people who can help to deliver programs that get people of all ages out in our natural world--exploring, relaxing, enjoying. A few years ago, I took some programs in "Forest Bathing," a different way to be in nature, with a wonderful focus on just noticing. And then use various avenues to engage with families, children, first responders, and veterans (we've got that new veteran's housing coming to town--an opportunity for partnering).
"I think Parks & Rec may be moving in this direction, which is great! And, anything we can learn from or with NQTA will be good."
Bobby Curley, Ms. LaPointe said, did the initial work in cleaning up the trails at the Winchendon Community Park.
A native born Toy Towner who returned to settle in Winchendon in later life, Ms. LaPointe has devoted many years of service to her community. She is a Trustee of the Beals Memorial Library and a member of the Winchendon CAC Advisory Board. She served on the town Master Plan Committee, the Toy Town Community Partnership, and the Winchendon Community Park Committee, and still serves on the Community Heart & Soul committee and the CCAP Transportation committee. She frequently attends other town board and committee meetings as a member of the public, attends many local events, and is involved with HEAL Winchendon.
The North Quabbin Trails Association is based in Orange, MA, and you can learn more about them at their website, www.facebook.com/NorthQuabbinTrailsAssociation. Follow them on Facebook at nqta.org
Rural and Declining Enrollment Schools Across MA Mobilize to Sound the Alarm on School Funding and Policy
Week of Action Planned March 9 to March 13
(BOSTON, MA) - More than 30 rural and declining enrollment school districts across the Commonwealth--from Cape Cod to the Berkshires--are sounding the alarm about the destructive consequences of underfunding and policy inaction. They are organizing locally and they are traveling to bring their message directly to Governor Maura Healey, Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll, and members of the Legislature.
The March 9 to March 13 Rural and Declining Enrollment Schools Week of Action is being organized by school committee members and municipal officials who have long called for the state to fully fund Rural School Aid at $60 million, while also demanding that the state pass the 2022 policy recommendations outlined in the Commission on the Fiscal Health of Rural School Districts (PDF)--provisions that would help both rural schools and school districts with chronically-declining enrollment.
More information on the call to action may be found at www.ruralschoolsma.org/.
"Deerfield and most other rural communities across the Commonwealth are facing wrenching FY27 budget choices, and the main culprit is the woeful lack of equitable school funding from the state," Deerfield Selectboard member Tim Hilchey said. "Our school committee just voted to eliminate Frontier Regional School's librarian to save money. When school expenses make up almost 70 percent of the entire municipal budget, barring major school funding increases from the state, the wheels are going to come off the bus."
"Across Massachusetts, rural schools and schools with chronically-declining enrollment are in a death spiral. This week of action is our SOS to the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and their Administration; the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE); and the Legislature. The state is not ensuring that students in our districts have equitable access to excellent public education," said Mohawk Trail Regional School Committee Chair Martha Thurber. "We need both short and long-term solutions and we need them now. In the short-term, we need full funding of rural school aid at $60 million, which is the amount that a Special Commission indicated was necessary in 2022. In the longer-term, the state must initiate a Foundation Budget Review Commission while passing key provisions enumerated in the rural schools report. We also anxiously await the findings of the working group initiated in the FY26 budget, targeted with reviewing the Target Local Contribution--a formula which has not been updated in approximately 18 years."
The following are sample actions:
- On March 9, Civics students at Mohawk Trail Regional School will travel to the State House to share their concerns about inadequate rural school funding.
- On March 10, members of the Shutesbury community will encircle Shutesbury Elementary School.
- On March 11, fifth grade students from Buckland Shelburne Elementary School will visit the State House to advocate for Rural Aid.
- On March 12, the Frontier Regional Student Council will lead a school rally for Rural Aid.
"When rural schools are continually underfunded, it is rural Superintendents and their staff members who are on the front lines--trying to do more and more with less and less," said Sheryl Stanton, Superintendent of Mohawk Trail. "It is crucial that legislators recognize the growing impact of inequitable funding and act now, before rural districts--and the towns that support them--become totally unable to adequately educate our students. All students, regardless of zip code, deserve to receive the same high-quality education and breadth of opportunities they need to succeed in school and life."
