Three Towns Review 189 Percent Senior Center Budget Hike, No Vote Taken

DEERFIELD — March 23, 2026 — Three Franklin County towns review proposed Senior Center budget nearly doubling in cost. Representatives from Deerfield, Sunderland, and Whately met jointly Monday to examine fiscal year 2027 budgets for South County EMS and the South County Senior Center, with no votes taken at the session. The Senior Center's proposed budget of $451,269 — a 189 percent increase driven largely by rent and utilities for a potential new home at 112 Amherst Road in Sunderland — drew extended debate over how town override votes would be structured to protect towns from being legally bound to the higher budget if ballot measures fail. South County EMS Chief Joshua Sparks presented a $1.93 million spending plan requiring a roughly 20 percent assessment increase from all three towns, explaining that retained earnings used in prior years to subsidize town costs were depleted by a new ambulance purchase. Sunderland Finance Committee Chair Valerie Voorheis, whose town faces significant service cuts even with a pending override, pressed for an "all-or-nothing" structure: "My concern is that if the override in my town fails, the vote for this passes — we're looking at absorbing a substantial chunk of money that we have just found out that we don't have." Whately's share of the Senior Center move scenario would be $81,228; Deerfield's share would reach $243,685, a 129 percent increase over the prior year.