Easthampton mayor warns of $3.8 million budget shortfall, says ballot override may be required

Mayor Dustin Derby told the Easthampton City Council on April 8 that a review of the city’s finances turned up a near-term shortfall of roughly $3.8 million, and he asked the council to prepare for either deep cuts or a voter override.

Derby said delayed certification of “free cash,” higher-than-expected debt and interest figures, and steep health-insurance and contractual cost increases drove the gap. “We’re going to potentially either have to make $3.8 million in cuts or we’re going to have to go to the community and make a case for the important work that our departments do and ask voters for an override,” Derby said.

The mayor said the council previously used $4 million from stabilization to plug a budget gap; after department-level reductions and using reserves the administration can cover part of the shortfall but still faces the $3.8 million gap. He described proposals to trim departmental budgets, target one-time uses of stabilization, and seek additional grant and revenue opportunities, but he said few options remain.

Derby stressed the scale of the challenge for municipal operations: preserving teachers, firefighters, police and core services would be difficult without additional revenue. He said the administration will coordinate with the council and department heads and begin building a public case if an override is necessary. The mayor noted other Western Massachusetts communities are confronting similar pressures driven largely by rapid increases in health-insurance costs.

Council members and the mayor agreed to pursue a collaborative approach. The administration plans to present options and timelines to the council’s finance committee in coming weeks; councilors requested follow-up briefings and additional detail on cuts versus a proposed override timeline.

What’s next: The mayor said staff will finalize budget options and meet with council leaders and department heads to weigh cuts, reserve use and the feasibility of an override; a detailed schedule and any override question would require further council votes and public outreach.