North Adams Institutes Spending Freeze

North Adams  has instituted a spending freeze across all departments.

The Berkshire Eagle  reports, facing projected overruns in two main areas, the city hopes an all-encompassing freeze on non-emergency spending will allow it to finish the fiscal year, which ends on June 30, in the black.

The main drivers of the overruns are health insurance, which is projected to exceed the budgeted amount of $4.65 million by about $200,000, and snow and ice removal, which is expected to exceed its budget of $175,000 by about $140,000, according to Administrative Officer Michael Canales.

By instituting the spending freeze across all departments, city officials hope to have enough left over in those line items to cover the overspending on health insurance and snow and ice removal, Canales added.

Ideally, the city can close out the budget without drawing from another source, such as reserves.

"The only way you can do that is make sure the accounts that do have money, we hold them the best we can," Canales said.

The health insurance overrun is already impacting the way Bernard's administration is planning its next budget.