Skunks, Dogs, and Budgets, Oh My!

Ahhhh, the sickeningly sweet aroma of skunk outside my window late this night brings to mind all the joys of summer.

When we first adopted our rescued black Labrador retriever, Rodney, he was hit by our rather unfriendly, neighborhood skunk one night while sniffing around bushes that I’m sure, on hindsight, he rather wished he hadn’t.

The poor dog, having previously survived being a stray in Alabama and a gunshot wound to his right rear leg, was rubbing his face rather hard on my concrete patio. I suspect our skunk was not of a fan of traditional doggie greetings, if you will.

Yes, our skunk is skulking about and our gardens bloom. No, faithful reader, the rather masculine looking, stinky mushroom has not yet made an appearance but our dandelions are looking quite smart smack in the middle of our lawn.

Now that Memorial Day is past I have hauled out all my white shoes, filled the propane tank, dug out my gardening gloves, made camp plans for my children, and pestered all my neighbors with pools for invitations. School is nearly out. And I swear the ice cream man has my neighborhood on dinner-hour radar.

I did not think that, come late June, Tewksbury would still be without a budget. The budget is a bit skunky, stinking like the anal glad emissions of that crepuscular animal.

The School Committee, having given lists of 5% and 10% cuts to the Finance Committee, seems reluctant now to actually decide upon which cuts. And who can blame them? Without a number, the committee cannot decide what needs cutting. Without a number, the finance committee cannot make a recommendation.

Yet, Town Manager David Cressman announced the projected $3.5 million budget shortfall in October of last year. So how is it that we find out in October, just three months into the fiscal year, that the town is effectively skunked for the upcoming three years at least, and still eight months later we’re relying on a last ditch effort from the legislature to save our Braunschweiger.

We could blame the creation, and rather pallid execution, of the Blue Ribbon Committee. Or panel. I forget. And frankly, that is the hallmark of the Blue Ribbon Committee…it was forgettable.

The Committee, made up of smart business-people, took four months comprised of twenty hours of meetings, to conclude what the Board of Selectmen already knew. Without a significant source of new growth or an override, Tewksbury’s budget outlook was pretty skunky. The Committee validated the projected shortfalls, recommended that the schools try to be preserved, and that the town search for sources of new growth.

To borrow a phrase… well, duh.

I can’t help but think the Board of Selectmen effectively twiddled its thumbs while the fiscal dam in Tewksbury sprung a leak. And then another and another.

And once again, here we are ready to hand most of the problem to the schools. Here’s news, the schools are not actually supposed to be revenue generators for the town. The Town needs to raise revenues to support services.

Jack Dunfey got up at town meeting Tuesday and said something no one wants to hear, and I’m pretty sure he was not entirely happy to say. That an override is necessary, if not imminent. The override picture will become clear over the next few months as the new Budget Task Force gears up.

In the meantime I’m anxious to hear some fiscal creativity from the candidates for the fifth seat on the Board of Selectmen. Dennis Francis, another U-25 alum, is the first to pull papers for the job. I’m sure we’ll hear soon from David Gay of the planning board and Ed Doherty, who has no shortage of ideas or creative ways of expressing them.

The next election, in September, will likely sparkle even more than the last. And the way this town is going, we may not have an answer about the budget before then, though I’m hopeful.

The new board seems to have a healthy sense of urgency and the task force is made up of motivated residents with necessary expertise. We’re all in for a hot, skunky summer. And the lack of budget resolve really makes it stink.