Tom "TR" Rimoshytus said it happens every year at budget time.

The longtime Barrington resident said it has become routine for the town's municipal budget to get trimmed back, while the school department's budget remains intact.

This year, the town's municipal budget, which includes funding for the police department, fire department, public works, recreation, senior center and other departments, has been recommended for some minor reductions. Officials on the committee on appropriations are calling for the elimination of approximately $145,000 that would have paid for two additional public works department employees. The COA is also calling for the elimination of $19,000 that was earmarked for a part-time senior center worker.

"The municipal budget takes a beating every year," Mr. Rimoshytus said.

Mr. Rimoshytus said he plans to file an amendment to this year's proposed budget which would reinstate the money for the DPW positions.

"And I'm going to put in to cut the school budget," Mr. Rimoshytus added.

He said the school department is requesting (and officials are recommending) a $2 million increase to the district's budget, in addition to an expected surplus. Officials are anticipating a surplus of between $1 million and $2 million in the current budget — a COA official said the school department had approximately $2 million in unencumbered funds at the end of May, while the district's finance director said he expected more bills to come due.

Mr. Rimoshytus said the two DPW positions will cost taxpayers very little compared to the proposed school department increase.

Kevin Braga, an official with the union representing DPW workers and a longtime DPW employee, was happy to hear about Mr. Rimoshytus's plan. Mr. Braga said the town's department of public works has seen its workforce reduced over the years, but continue to provide nearly the same amount of services.

He said the DPW had a workforce of 32 people when he was hired in 2005. In 2010, the town contracted with a private vendor to handle the rubbish, recycling and yard waste collection, and reduced the DPW staffing by eight positions. Now the DPW is down to 21 workers, Mr. Braga said, with one employee splitting time between the public works department and the town hall.

"Besides trash and recycling, no other services have been removed," Mr. Braga said.

He said trash and recycling collection requires about six workers, which means the department is still short manpower to complete its other tasks.

The town manager ordered a manpower study to see if the DPW was under-staffed, and the report showed that the department needed additional employees.

"We didn't need a study to know that we're short-handed," Mr. Braga said. "It's obvious… we do need more bodies."

Town officials have mentioned tree-trimming as one of the services that has been overwhelmed and currently has a backlog of jobs; residents have said that there are significant delays to getting town-owned trees trimmed or removed when they are deemed dangerous.

Mr. Rimoshytus has heard the same information and wonders if the town would not be saving money by hiring more workers and avoiding potential damage to residents' homes and vehicles by downed tree limbs.

Mr. Braga said there is so much work, so many jobs, that employees are often moved from one task to another to try to keep up. The challenge gets even more difficult during the summer months, he said, when employees take their scheduled vacations.

"Every day is a different battle," he said.

Meanwhile, DPW union officials believe the budgetary cuts rarely target the school department.

"It's always us that seems to take the cuts," Mr. Braga said, careful to add that his union also represents some school department workers.

Members of the town's committee on appropriations have said they understand the need for additional workers at the DPW but believe the current economic situation cannot support an increase in the town's workforce.

Mr. Braga said he is not sure whether Barrington taxpayers will rally behind an amendment to add $145,000 to the DPW budget to afford the additional workers.

"I don't know how the taxpayers are looking at it," he said. "The pandemic is really throwing a wrench in things."

Financial town meeting

The town will hold its annual financial town meeting on Saturday, July 18 at Victory Field. The time is yet to be determined, but early discussion has mentioned a start time of 10 a.m.

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