Reduced 2014 Budget Proposed

The City Council opted to not pass a $132,922,877 budget Monday night that would cut $741,000 from the budget proposed by Marlborough Mayor Arthur Vigeant.

"I think we should let it sit for two weeks," said City Councilor Matt Elder who along with Councilor Joseph Delano voiced the need to let residents review the budget.

The original budget received proposed cuts from recommendations made by the Finance Committee. The newly proposed budget represents a 4.3 percent increase over the 2013 budget, said Councilor Michael Ossing.

Among the cuts were $250,000 from the $55.3 million proposed school budget. The Finance Committee voted for the cut citing an 8.7 percent increase over the previous year. School officials will wait until surplus figures for the current school year are available in June until any cuts are assigned for the budget.

Before the cuts, the average household in Marlborough would have seen a $69.12 increase in taxes. Following the cuts, that figure drops below $69, said Finance Committee Chair Ossing.

Former Ward 2 Councilor Paul Ferro was the only person who spoke during the public hearing, called for deeper cuts to the School District's 55.3 million dollar budget than the $250,000 proposed by the Finance Committee.

“Why is it up to you to fix the screw ups and incompetencies of the school committee?" Ferro asked of the City Council during a public hearing on the proposed FY 14 budget as he referenced a vote last year for a supplemental school budget.

Ferro took to task the 8.7 percent increase over the previous school year's budget. These increases carry on into the future, he explained, and the budget has grown greatly over the last 10 years. Ferro has pulled papers to run for Ward 2 City Councilor.