HADLEY — A $23.07 million budget for fiscal year 2026 that uses more than $300,000 from the town’s stabilization account, but will likely result in the loss of several municipal positions unless voters approve a Proposition 2½ override, will be brought to annual Town Meeting on May 1.

The Select Board and Finance Committee, in a joint meeting Wednesday, approved the spending plan developed by Interim Town Administrator Michael Mason and Treasurer Linda Sanderson. The budget is up $1.11 million, or 5.04%, over this year’s $21.97 million budget, but for now depends on taking $320,304 from the stabilization account.

While the Select Board was unanimous in recommending the budget, the Finance Committee voted 3-2 in support, with members Amy Fyden and Peter Matuzszko voting against. Both expressed concern about the use of stabilization money to balance the budget, even though Mason characterized it as “a paper request” because the money will not actually be used, whether an override passes or fails.

“If the override fails, you won't need that stabilization number, because we'll be laying off employees,” Mason said.

And if the override passes, Mason said this would provide sufficient money to cover the salaries of those positions.

Sanderson said the idea is to get a balanced budget and hope for the best later in the summer, when more is known and an override vote would be scheduled. That includes better estimates on free cash and whether the Legislature gives cities and towns the right to increase meals, hotel and excise taxes, which could bring in $500,000 to the town coffers.

“We need to know what the picture looks like in August or September,” Sanderson said.

The budget proposal, already reduced from one presented in March, is about getting a budget passed at Town Meeting that holds town, school and library services together until voters decide the override.

The amount of stabilization to be used is already down from the $552,906 in stabilization in earlier drafts, where it was to be applied for the ambulance service.

Mason said he understands the appetite for using stabilization money is very low. The budget also is built by applying income from the town ambulance, free cash and reducing Other Post Employment Benefits contributions, and only giving partial cost-of-living adjustments that the town has committed to.

Sanderson said the budget aims to keep the increased staff associated with operating an ambulance, but not actually running the ambulance program and replacing private contractor Action Ambulance. The town determined that the revenues, in a transition, wouldn't cover the program, and the payback for the town would be insufficient.

Fire Chief Michael  Spanknebel said his department will continue to have two full-time around-the-clock personnel, but would only respond to second calls at the Basic Life Service level. 

"We're still operating as is, and we're still going to be rolling an ambulance out the door," Spanknebel said

Finance Committee member Paul Benajmin, who joined Shardool Parmar and Andy Klepacki in supporting the budget, said Hadley has a lot to protect and needs a plan that will give residents the opportunity to support that.

An override failure would mean cutting positions and services, Select Board Chairwoman Molly Keegan said.

Sanderson said in 40 years there has been no operational override in town. Benjamin said they aren’t common in Hadley, as elsewhere.

"I used to live in Northampton," Benjamin said. “(They were) like every week, it seemed like."

Select Board member Randy Izer said Hadley would still have one of the lowest tax rates, but also one of highest level of services. “It's catching up to us, is what's happening,” Izer said.

The exact positions lost is an arbitrary list for now, Mason said, mostly made up of positions that are currently vacant.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.