---

MANSFIELD - As the calendar turned in Mansfield, officials, like their counterparts in other towns, are faced with major budget concerns.

"The budget is our No. 1 priority," Town Manager John D'Agostino said. "We have to figure out how best we can cut with a minimal reduction in programs and services."

Faced with a potential $350,000 deficit in this year's budget, the town and school department will likely be forced to lay off employees to make up the budget discrepancies, although officials said personnel cuts would be a last resort.

"We don't want to cut anyone if we don't have to," Selectwoman Sandra Levine said. "But if the pressure is there, then we'll have to do it."

After House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi said state aid to municipalities could be cut by 5 to 10 percent in the next fiscal year, the committee determined the cut would put the town $5 million to $6 million dollars in the hole if the cuts come. The potential shortfalls will weigh heavily on officials' minds as they prepare for contract negotiations with town employees in the coming months.

Selectmen took some suspense out of the coming year when they voted in November not to renew D'Agostino's contract, which expires in November of this year.

The early decision, which came five months before one was required, means the town will have plenty of time to find a replacement for D'Agostino, who has served as town manager for more than a decade.

Although D'Agostino has been given notice, the board continues to move forward in hiring of independent counsel to review his contract, which has been a bone of contention after the town lost a multi-million dollar employment lawsuit last year.

The board voted in August to hire counsel to review the pact and have whittled the list of potential attorneys to three. They will interview the remaining candidates before making their decision.

The lawsuit filed by two former electric department employees still hangs over town in 2009. The town lost the case in August 2007 and is awaiting a ruling that will finalize how much Mansfield has to pay and whether D'Agostino owes money personally to former electric department employee Kimberly Stoyle.

Residents and officials alike will continue to monitor the federal court system as everyone eagerly awaits U.S. District Court Judge Douglas P. Woodlock's ruling on the matter.

Selectman George Dentino will be the only member of the board whose term expires in 2009. With nomination papers available at the beginning of the new year, residents will be keeping an eye on the town clerk's office to see who is pulling papers. Dentino said he has not yet decided if he will seek re-election.

Away from town hall, residents can get used to seeing construction crews working on the Route 106 underpass. The two-year project kicked off this fall and will continue well into 2010. The work, being completed by MassHighway with state and federal money, will include the installation of piping to intercept ground water that leaks and freezes on the road during the winter, making for slippery conditions for drivers.

One project, however, will be coming to an end as the Kingman Pond dam rehabilitation is expected to wrap up this spring. The project, paid for following a debt exclusion vote, will bring the town into compliance with a state ruling that the dam is hazardous. If the dam is not repaired by September 2009, the town faces a $500-per-day fine. The town will also see the continued construction of two new School Street shopping centers. Mansfield Marketplace and Mansfield Commons are being built near the already-opened Mansfield Crossing.

MATT KAKLEY covers Mansfield for The Sun Chronicle. He can be reached at 508-236-0333 or at mkakley@thesunchronicle.com.