To the Honorable Board of Selectmen, Finance Committee, and the residents and taxpayers of Shrewsbury:
I am pleased to present this revised financial plan for fiscal year 2021. These revisions come after several challenging months of working through the challenges of the global Coronavirus pandemic. COVID-19 has not only challenged our operations but our ability to plan for fiscal year 2021 and beyond. Significant uncertainty remains with regards to both the virus’s impact on residents and on the Town’s revenues and future expenses.
With the above in mind, this plan details revenue and proposed expenditures for the Town of Shrewsbury for this period. The expenditures detailed in the plan total $148,946,189, which is $6,477,596 more than the expenditures planned in the current fiscal year. Included herein is the operating budget, Capital Improvements and various other charges and expenditures. All planned expenditures will be funded by the revenue sources detailed, thus a balance budget is presented.
In any given fiscal year, relatively minor changes are made to the financial plan, normally at a special town meeting in the fall. Because of COVID-19 the State has yet to pass a fiscal year 2021 budget in place. Given this and many other unknowns related to COVID-19, the revenue model used for this budget has a higher level of uncertainty than a normal budget. Significant changes to this financial plan are likely at some point in the fiscal year.
This financial plan illustrates the collaborative work of the Board of Selectmen, School Committee, the Superintendent of Schools and Town staff members to address the needs for current and future Shrewsbury residents. I want to thank the Board of Selectmen for its leadership and for its active engagement in this process. We look forward to working with the Finance Committee and Town Meeting members throughout the balance of this process.
I want to thank all Town employees and the residents of Shrewsbury for their extraordinary response to the challenges we have faced throughout this prolonged budget process.
Best Regards,
Kevin J. Mizikar
Town Manager