Fir the record, Stoneham passed a balanced budget on May 5th and utilized $1.2M in free cash to accomplish that goal, but did NOT touch stabilization funds as stated in your article. And although budgets for the library and senior center were cut, these departments were NOT closed.
I found a document for the May 5 town meeting, and it looks like over $2 million in free cash was requested. $1.2 million that would have gone into the stabilization fund was diverted for other costs. So, while no money was touched, the fund itself was impacted.
Thank you for this very thorough and enlightening article, Sandy. I appreciate the clarification from Patricia Walsh too.
Thank you for your service, Sandy! I will share this widely.
Thank you so much for this very clear and helpful summary, Sandy. Such sobering news that I hope reaches every member of the community!
Fir the record, Stoneham passed a balanced budget on May 5th and utilized $1.2M in free cash to accomplish that goal, but did NOT touch stabilization funds as stated in your article. And although budgets for the library and senior center were cut, these departments were NOT closed.
I found a document for the May 5 town meeting, and it looks like over $2 million in free cash was requested. $1.2 million that would have gone into the stabilization fund was diverted for other costs. So, while no money was touched, the fund itself was impacted.
Thanks for the clarification, I'll update the article!