Promoting a Sustainable Easton - PASE

06/09/2025

It’s time to vote! The override passed by majority vote at Town Meeting on May 19th, but will only go into effect with a majority vote at the ballot tomorrow, June 10th. The PASE Committee recommends a ‘Yes’ vote for the override based on its members’ learnings through months of research. Learn more about why PASE recommends the override here: www.easton.ma.us/pase

06/04/2025

Just 6 days away! Your vote on June 10th will make an impact on our future as Easton residents. Here’s a one-stop-shop of online resources to educate yourself on the override request you’ll see on the ballot.

Easton’s Operational Override website puts all the override info in one place, including a tax calculator: https://www.easton.ma.us/override/

Promoting a Sustainable Easton (PASE) website has many helpful resources for understanding Easton’s budget deficit: https://www.easton.ma.us/boards_and_committees/promoting_a_sustainable_easton_(pase).php

Annual Town Meeting 5/19 Recording, in case you missed it, a great way to hear from Town and School leaders and PASE Chair and Co-Chair on the current and future state of Easton with and without an override: https://youtu.be/JrlTpLJkBaA?si=Eo-P-f7LtIO4KZcq

06/02/2025

Hear Dr. Cabral’s full message to residents and parents of Easton Public School students at the Annual Town Meeting held on May 19th: https://youtu.be/JrlTpLJkBaA

05/30/2025

📣 TOMORROW! Can’t vote June 10? Or just want to vote early? Cast your ballot at Town Offices tomorrow, Saturday, May 31. See details below.

Special Town Election
Early Voting in person
Saturday, May 31st from 9AM to 3PM
Town Offices – 136 Elm Street
www.easton.ma.us/earlyvoting
www.easton.ma.us/sampleballots

05/29/2025

The realities of a non-override scenario were stated at Town Meeting. Watch Chief Alexander’s full presentation to residents at the Annual Town Meeting held on May 19th: https://youtu.be/JrlTpLJkBaA

05/28/2025

Watch Chief Boone’s full presentation to Easton residents at the Annual Town Meeting held on May 19th: https://youtu.be/JrlTpLJkBaA

05/18/2025

📣 TOMORROW! 📣 Attend the Annual Town Meeting tomorrow, Monday, May 19 at 7pm at Oliver Ames High School.

➡️ Childcare is provided!—details and registration for childcare here: https://www.easton.ma.us/newsdetail_T1_R1224.php

➡️ Link to read PASE’s quick summary for tomorrow:https://cms2.revize.com/revize/eastonma/boards_and_committees/Promoting%20a%20Sustainable%20Easton%20(PASE)/PASE.Double.Sided.Summary.ATM%20Handout.pdf

➡️ Link to the Town’s override page to learn more about the topics discussed at this meeting before you arrive: https://www.easton.ma.us/override/

Annual Town Meeting is this Monday, May 19 starting at 7pm!

Voter check in starts at 6pm. We are expecting a large number of voters, so we strongly recommend arriving well before 7pm to ensure you're checked in before Town Meeting begins.

We also encourage voters to learn about the articles they will decide on at Town Meeting, including the override-contingent and non-override FY26 budgets. Voters will make important choices about the future of Easton, so it's important understand options available.

Details about Town Meeting: www.easton.ma.us/TownMeeting

Details about the FY26 Budget: www.easton.ma.us/FY26budget

Info on the proposed override: www.easton.ma.us/Override

FAQ on the Town's finances: www.easton.ma.us/PASEfaq

05/17/2025

Easton simply does not make enough money to cover all its expenses. You might think “then spend less” and yes, Easton will have to spend less if the override is rejected—which means cuts to staff and services across the Town and Schools. That decision is in the hands of the voters on May 19th and June 10th.

Why doesn’t Easton make enough money to pay for its staff and services? Easton has limited revenue primarily due to the nature of the town itself—a residential community with 32% non-taxable land (local and state preserved land and Stonehill College) and a small commercial presence.

The Town has been working to mitigate the structural revenue gap for nearly twenty years by growing recurring revenue, winning grants, and more. You can learn more about Easton’s revenue in the Budget Hearing presentation and Budget Book linked below.

A brief summary was presented at the Budget Hearing on April 29th, seen here on slides 12-17:
https://cms2.revize.com/revize/eastonma/departments/town_administrator/Budget/FY26%20Budget%20Docs/FY26%20Joint%20Meeting%20Master%20Slides%204.29.25.pdf

A robust summary is provided in the FY2026 Budget Book, at the link here starting on page 11:https://eastontownma.documents-on-demand.com/document/253939eb-5124-f011-a448-000c29a59557/Annual%20Budget%20for%20Fiscal%20Year%20Starting%20July%2001,%202025.PDF

05/16/2025

The Warrant for the Town Meeting outlines, in detail by department, the two budget options Easton residents will vote on at the May 19th Town Meeting. Article 2.B contains a column for ‘Contingent Override Budget Approval’ that lists the override dollar allocation for each department. The Warrant is a legal document and the Town cannot spend outside of those department limits set by Town Meeting. Then, each quarter, the Town publishes quarterly income and expense reports showing the year-to-date spending and collections across each department and revenue category. Additionally, each year the year-end reports are audited by an independent firm. Read the Warrant here:https://eastontownma.documents-on-demand.com/document/7fa6eed0-c226-f011-a449-000c29a59557/ATM%20Final%20Warrant%20May%2019,%202025.PDF

There is also a way to view exactly how those allocated dollars will be spent within each department. The Town departments and School presented how they would spend those allocated override dollars at the Town Budget Hearing on April 29th. These public statements are recorded through the slide deck shared online and recorded session on ECAT. View the recorded session here on ECAT: https://youtu.be/VLR3zubl88I?si=ht9VViUDKzeLhsrJ or the slides presented at that meeting:https://www.easton.ma.us/departments/town_administrator/Budget/FY26%20Budget%20Docs/FY26%20Joint%20Meeting%20Master%20Slides%204.29.25.pdf

05/15/2025

The PASE committee found that Easton is transparent with every dollar spent and runs extremely lean compared to neighboring towns. Why does a comparison to neighboring towns matter? It’s just one of the ways to show that the town is spending responsibly. For details on the community comparison:https://eastontownma.documents-on-demand.com/document/6b124f05-50c1-ee11-a3ec-000c29a59557/Easton%20Community%20Comparison%20Report%20for%20FY22.PDF

Another way is to look at Moody’s rating of Easton. Moody’s is one of the leading global credit rating agencies in the world who assess the credit worthiness of bonds issued by public and private institutions, including municipalities. The stronger a credit rating, generally, the lower interest rates the institution (Easton – and therefore its taxpayers) pay when bonds are issued. Here’s what Moody’s said about Easton:

• Moody’s Feb 2023 – “Healthy local economy characterized by high resident income and growing property wealth…. Conservative budgetary management has supported positive operations & maintenance of healthy reserves and liquidity”
• Moody’s Sept 2024 – “Easton’s strong budget management and policy credibility & effectiveness are reflected in its healthy financial position & trend of balanced operations”

This sounds great, so why is Easton in this budget deficit now? The position only weakened in the current FY2025 due to insurance and other fixed costs exploding, not a change in the budget management posture.

Easton has also won awards with the Government Finance Officers Association, as recent as last year, which advances and advocates for public budget best practices and excellence. They say Easton’s “staff did an exceptional job outlining each revenue stream for the entity and how those funds were utilized. Really showcasing how funds were to be spent and being judicious with funds to maintain the balance budget. Really excellent job.” For more on this, see pages 161-163 here:
https://eastontownma.documents-on-demand.com/document/253939eb-5124-f011-a448-000c29a59557/Annual%20Budget%20for%20Fiscal%20Year%20Starting%20July%2001,%202025.PDF

Need to see Easton’s spending for yourself? Similar to a publicly traded company, each quarter Easton publishes a detailed financial report which shows line-by-line how much money has been spent and on what. The PASE committee did not find any misappropriated funds or obvious places to cut. See for yourself by reviewing the public information consistently made available to you online. View the latest financial report here: https://www.easton.ma.us/departments/town_accountant/quarterly_financial_reports.php

05/14/2025

This community compact reflects key commitments to the residents of Easton should an operational override for the FY2026 budget pass. The commitments are structured around six primary objectives aimed at encouraging fiscal responsibility, promoting sustainable growth, and protecting the well-being of the Town’s residents.

1. No Debt Exclusion for at least Five Years and No Operational Override for at least Four Years
2. Enhance the Economic Development Council – Land Use and Infrastructure
3. Minimize the Impact on Seniors, Veterans, and Individuals with Disabilities
4. Budget Efficiencies and Annual Caps
5. Protect Financial Reserves and Shield Bond Rating
6. Measurement and Accountability

Read the full 3-page Compact here:https://cms2.revize.com/revize/eastonma/boards_and_committees/Promoting%20a%20Sustainable%20Easton%20(PASE)/Community%20Pledge%20Final-Full%20Signed.pdf

05/13/2025

Let's talk facts on the Easton Police Department and the critical safety services they provide every day in the face of our budget challenges. This information is direct from Chief Keith Boone and has been presented publicly on more than one occasion including the recent PASE committee open house. Over the last 10 years calls for service have increased +4,672 or +34%. Why is it important to look at call activity from 10 years ago? Because our police staffing is headed back to the # of officers we had then, despite the increase in calls. The Police Department budget is so lean that 94% of every expense dollar is spent on people. No, we don’t have too many police officers, in fact we are looking at 40 total personnel for a town that has more residents than Mansfield or Foxborough. This is -11 or -22% below average comparable communities. It’s been correctly pointed out that if we do not pass an override there will be MORE town cuts next year. The EPD has and will continue to do more with less than comparable communities and strive to be as efficient as possible. These Easton employees literally put their lives on the line for you.