McGrail Takes A Hit Over Middleboro Budget Woes

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 HARWICH – Transitions can be difficult for town administrators. Harwich’s new town administrator Jay McGrail is learning that as he completes his first week on the job.

 McGrail has come under fire in the town of Middleboro, where he served as town manager for the past four years. Interim Town Manager Joe Perkins, a retired Middleboro police chief, is raising questions about the budget McGrail shaped before leaving town. According to published reports, Perkins said the budget contains a deficit and significant cuts need to be made. 

 McGrail’s predecessor in Middleboro, former Taunton mayor and town manager Bob Nunes, reportedly called the conditions in Middleboro "scandalous." In a published report, Nunes said McGrail inflated local aid numbers by $700,000 and underfunded state assessments by $800,000 while projecting an unrealistic increase of $1.6 million in local receipts.

 “The previous town manager (McGrail) presented a budget that he knew was millions of dollars out of balance,” Nunes told the Taunton Daily Gazette. 

 “Now I know why he left town,” Nunes told the Gazette. “Scandelous! I concur with the interim town manager Joe Perkins’ analysis of the proposed FY27 budget shortfall.”

 “You don’t build a budget on dreams, wishes and unicorns. You build it on numbers,” Perkins told the newspaper.

McGrail said Monday that the budget he presented was based on estimates because state projections were not available when he finalized the budget in February. 

Middleboro Select Board Chair Mark Germain agreed with McGrail’s statement. He said the budget was based on estimates because state Chapter 70 funding levels were not available and McGrail was waiting on other state figures, including estimates from the state on local receipts.

In a presentation to the Middleboro select board last week, Perkins said McGrail’s budget assumed the state unrestricted aid would be $28,586,292, but the governor’s initial budget proposal included $28,052,826. Those numbers could change in the final version of the governor’s budget. 

Predictions can change, Germain said, and those figures usually go up 3.5 percent.

McGrail said he has been working with Perkins on the Middleboro budget issues on a daily basis.

 “State aid has changed," McGrail said. “I don't fault [Perkins] for being more conservative in his estimates. I think he could balance his budget ultimately with his conservative approach. They’re presenting the budget to deal with reality. I didn’t have the state estimates when I prepared it.”

McGrail said there are issues, such as health insurance and retirement, that are driving up the budgets in Middleboro and in communities across the state. 

Germain said there are school system deficits that also play into the town budget issues. The Middleboro schools are facing a $2.2 million deficit, which is expected to lead to layoffs. 

Germain said from 2023 through 2026, Middleboro has been in a good position under McGrail, with free cash certified by the state Department of Revenue and a third party audit showing no issues. The problem is there is not enough state aid to go around, he said.

 “Jay said we need to tighten up our belts three months ago. I applaud him for saying that. I’m very leary of misleading information,” Germain said of the newspaper comments.

Germain said his board will be receiving updated budget reports on a weekly basis leading into the annual town meeting in late April. He also said the board could request a delay in the annual town meeting for a couple of weeks until the budget picture is clearer.

 “Jay has done a remarkable job over the last four years,” Germain said. “I’m fortunate to have worked with him. I think very highly of Jay McGrail.”

McGrail said he informed the Harwich Select Board that the articles would be coming out this past week.

Select Board Chair Donald Howell called the articles "despicable," especially the comments from the previous Middleboro town manager. Howell said McGrail did not want to “jump ship,” and his board had to convince him to come to Harwich. 

 “Nobody had anything but the highest praise for Jay McGrail,” Howell said. “I stand behind him, he’s amazing. We had 34 candidates and he was well above all of them.”