In the race to become West Springfield's next mayor, on election day residents will decide between the incumbent William Reichelt and long time city councilor Daniel O'Brien.
As elected officials, both have a decade of experience serving the western Massachusetts town.
In a recent debate on WWLP, O'Brien was critical of Reichelt's budgets and spending and said he would do differently, starting with level funding of West Springfield's 2027 budget, without increasing property taxes.
"The mayor has allowed the school committee to use one time funds to fund recurring expenses. When the money begins to run out, he then has them come to the city council during the budget cycle and demand that money that they should not have spent be put into the regular municipal budget," O'Brien said.
Reichelt countered that if if O'Brien could level fund the next budget, it would mean $6 million in cuts, that's about 60 town positions.
"Teachers, firefighters, police officers gone — eviscerating our public service," Reichelt said.
One of the more pressing issues in town and in this race is the fate of West Springfield's aging school buildings. In particular the Mittineague Elementary School, which school committee members voted to close in 2024.
Then more 2,700 West Springfield residents, including the entire town council, signed a petition calling for the school committee to reconsider the closure, which they did, for now.
O'Brien promised the school will remain open.
"West Springfield is a community built on neighborhood schools," O'Brien said. "Each neighborhood has its own school, which gives it its own certain type of character."
Reichelt countered, the town "is at an inflection point, especially when it comes to our schools."
Like in other Massachusetts communities, Reichelt pointed to a significant decline in student enrollment over the years.
"Less people are having kids," Reichelt said. "We have more space in our schools than we have for students, and we need to look at the aging buildings and make sure the community is involved in that conversation."
Asked by WWLP's Patrick Berry if the candidates thought there would be a need to increase property taxes over the next four years , O'Brien said he could "guarantee" that taxes will be increased if Reichelt is reelected.
"The problem with property taxes is you can only put so much on people," O'Brien said. "It's not the people who have two incomes who are young enough to absorb these things. I always lean towards the people on fixed incomes," O'Brien said, adding that he didn't agree with Reichelt that $6 million would need to be cut to create a level funded budget. "That's fear mongering," he said.
Reichelt said he wasn't going to promise anything regarding taxes and what next year's budget would look like.
"At the end of the day, the council voted and as Dan [O'Brien] is a member of the council, voted in favor of my budget year after year," Reichelt said, adding that he works closely with department heads.
"We ask for cuts. We do the best we can to provide you the best possible service at an affordable price," he said.
