Plainville Board Warned of $2 Million Budget Gap Heading Into Town Meeting Season

NORTH ATTLEBORO -- February 3, 2020, Plainville selectmen hear warning of a roughly $2 million structural budget gap for the coming fiscal year. At the February 3 meeting, finance officials told Chairman Jeff Johnson, Brian Kelly, and Stanley Weidek that retirement costs are up more than 7 percent (about $140,000), health insurance is projected to rise 8 percent (roughly $225,000), and approximately $400,000 in general fund debt previously covered by gaming revenue must return to the operating budget. The reserve fund, which should exceed $2 million for a town Plainville's size, holds just $250,000. The board also heard from Veterans Services Director Rebecca Jennings, who reported that 130 VA claims processed since May 2019 have delivered about $159,000 per month in compensation to local veterans, with cumulative benefits topping $1.2 million. Superintendent Dave Raich detailed mid-year school cuts including one fewer kindergarten classroom and eliminated specialist positions, and warned that a third year of Green Communities grant funding, previously worth $250,000, was lost after the state gave districts just two weeks' notice of a February 1 completion deadline.