Mayoral Candidate Sees Flaws in Water and Wastewater Budget Fees

To The Editor:

This is a letter dealing with Indirect Costs being allocated to the Water and Wastewater Departments in the Mayor’s FY2012 Budget. It is apparent that the procedure used by the City to develop these numbers is a deeply flawed one with the result that these costs are overstated in the City’s FY2012 budget by an amount that exceeds $400,000.

Specifically, the FY2012 Budget amount of $1,200,000 is based upon a report which was prepared for the City by MAXIMUS, Inc. at the close of FY2004. This report has never been updated since then but is still being used as the basis to calculate Indirect Costs. Both Maximus and the Mass. Department of Revenue strongly recommend that the data used be updated on an annual basis because of fluctuating costs, organizational changes and special projects. Not performing this updating is a serious flaw which has led to significant overstating of indirect costs allocated to the Water/Wastewater Departments each and every year since FY2004. The updating of this data should be a part of the City’s annual budgetary process.

In fact, using the FY2004 report as the starting point along with the city’s actual and budgetary departmental data for the years FY2005 through FY2012, it is apparent that the indirect costs that have been allocated have been overstated on a cumulative basis for the FY2005-FY2012 period by an amount approximating $2,000,000.

This in turn has resulted in increased Water/Wastewater fees in the same amount over and above the amount needed to fund the Water/Wastewater budgets for this period.  Where has this money gone? Answer: It has been transferred each year to the City’s general fund where it has served as a yearly “slush” fund for the Mayor and City Council. I assure you, the voters of Attleboro, that, if elected Mayor this will not be the way I will conduct the people’s business.

Ronald M. Churchill