This week the Finance Committee and the Development and Government Relations Committee met.

Let’s start with the Finance Committee.

Mayor Joshua García appeared before the committee to present a five-year forecast model for the city’s future budgets.

“What is being presented tonight is a forecast model budgetary tool,” said the mayor, to emphasize that the forecast takes into consideration knowns and unknowns. “There’s always unanticipated things that happen. You project a 5 percent increase in insurance, then it’s 15 percent.”

In a separate discussion, Councilor Kevin Jourdan asked how much revenue is being generated by different departments, including the police, fire, building and other municipal departments. “We never get that kind of breakdown,” he said.

The councilor also called open the city’s large non-profits such as ISO-New England and education and health organizations, to pony up more money through the PILOT program.

The PILOT program is the acronym for Payment in Lieu of Taxes, a commonwealth law that encourages non-profits, which are exempt from paying property taxes, to contribute whatever amount they deem fit for conducting their respective businesses in the city. The basis for the program is an acknowledgement that non-profits use city streets, trash pick up, fire and police services and other municipal benefits and so should contribute money to the city.

ISO-New England is an “independent, not-for-profit company authorized by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to perform three critical, complex, interconnected roles for the region spanning Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and most of Maine,” according to its website. Grid operation, market administration and power system planning are the referenced critical roles. For a real-time map on how it directs energy to New England, click here.

Councilor Jourdain noted that if it were to pay property taxes, the bill would be $626,000. Instead, ISO-England, at 1 Sullivan Road, contributes $140,000 a year to the city, “a tax break”, said Jourdain of 78 percent.

He also pointed out that the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center, at 100 Bigelow St., contributes $80,000 to the city, instead of $210,000 if it were a for-profit business. A 62 percent “tax break,” said the councilor.

The Holyoke Housing Authority, were it a private business, would be levied $652,000. Instead, the nonprofit paid the city $16,000, for a 97 percent tax break said the councilor.

“We got these all across the city,” said Jourdain. “This is — and I know the mayor is working hard to begin these conversations to just say to some folks – ‘Hey, you’re doing pretty good here. Can you help us?’ ”

Money generated by these major nonprofits would help pay for police fire and other municipal services, he said, adding that state lawmakers can devise a threshold for how much large nonprofits should pay as a matter of policy rather than whatever amount they want to contribute.

In other government affairs, the Whiting Reservoir Study Committee made a presentation to the Development and Government Relations Committee. 

The future of the reservoir, said committee chair Marlene Connor, examines the impact of the city having less potable water even as it is a “water rich” city. “The reservoir is a really important place,” she said, as she prepared to present the results of the study the committee embarked on. “It was noted that in the not-too-distant future, there might be a need to use the reservoir as a source of [potable] water.”

The committee has a five-point series of recommendations:

1- Ensure the long-term protection of the reservoir

2- Assure availability of the reservoir for potable water. “we haven’t had any snow snow this winter,” she said, in reference to melted snow contributes to potable water management.

3- Improve public access and enhance community education

4- Develop a vision statement and North Holyoke Master Plan

5- Implement the vision statement.

The packet of additional information, including the presentation made by members of the Whiting Reservoir Study Committee, is available here.

The packet of information the Finance Committee reviewed and the mayor’s five-year budget forecast presentation, is available here.