MEMBER SIGN IN
Not a member? Become one today!
         iBerkshires     Berkshire Chamber     MCLA     City Statistics    
Search
Clarksburg Town Meeting OKs Budgets, Borrowing for Road Work
By Tammy Daniels, iBerkshires Staff
08:57PM / Wednesday, May 27, 2015
Print | Email  

The Selectboard votes for funding for Horrigan Road.


Voters hold up their pink slips at Wednesday's annual town meeting. The meeting passed 24 articles and tabled one.

CLARKSBURG, Mass. — Town meeting on Wednesday night voted overwhelmingly to fund the reconstruction of Horrigan Road.

Voters gave the Selectboard the authority to immediately borrow $65,000 to address culvert issues and to take out $235,000 next year for the road project.

The article required a 2/3 vote of those voters present, but the counters weren't needed. The borrowing passed 36-1.

Two other articles also requiring 2/3 votes passed just as easily.

The second article appropriating $58,000 from free cash into a new Department of Public Works stabilization fund passed 35-0; the third, transferring $230,394 (reduced by $300 on the floor) passed 36-0.

The meeting was sparsely attended on the rainy evening, with only about three dozen voters raising their pink slips to determine the 25 articles on the annual town meeting warrant.

Approved was a school budget of $2,487,736 and a town budget of $1,358,956.76,  Also approved was an assessment of $296,015 to McCann Technical School.

The school budget question had to be rescinded and revoted when it was discovered that the McCann assessment had been inadvertently rolled into the elementary budget. The total educational budget is up 4.4 percent from this year.

Town Administrator Carl McKinney also from the floor motioned to amend increase several items in the general budget: raised the town clerk's budget from $13,151.96 to $14,651.96 to cover the presidential primary and insurance up from $463,588.64 to $464,388.64 to include FICA. The total town budget voted was $1,361,256.70.

The motion sparked a debate between floor between Town Clerk Carol Jammalo and officials over the reductions in her budget. Jammalo said she had left a meeting with the board and Finance Committee with the understanding her budget would be funded. Officials said they were under impression the discussion had been about salary and stipends and there had been no talk of primaries or restoring the town's vital books.

"It was right in front of you," Jammalo said, referring to her budget. McKinney said they could revisit the restorations in the next budget.

Voters also approved appropriations from free cash of $51,663.49 (with a $1,000 increase from the floor) to balance this year's snow road account, $25,000 to remove and replace an oil tank at Town Hall, $9,500 (decreased from $12,500 on the floor) to repair the library roof, and $3,000 to fix the Senior Center roof.

"I don't want it too look like we're going to do anything frivolous with [free cash] but the oil tank on the side of Town Hall scares me," said Levanos of the 1938 oil tank. "I would really hope we would push this one through."

Voters also approved appropriating $98,404.17 from free cash to reduce the tax rate. McKinney estimated that tax rate would come in around $14.10 per $1,000 valuation.

"I think we're almost going to hold the line on this," he said.

Resident Robert Norcross said officials had to find a way to reduce taxes, particularly in the school, noting the teachers had taken a raise a few years ago while town employees had seen their pay frozen and were forced to take furloughs.

The town not long ago had the best school and the best roads, he said. "It seems like everything's falling apart and our taxes are going up."

Finance Committee Chairman Mark Denault said the school administration had worked with the town this year in finding savings and that the town had struggled the last few years.

"Now the town's in the position to start fixing thing," he said. "I remember when the tax rate was low, too."

Voters took time out from the town meeting to spend nearly 20 minutes discussing teacher salaries and how much the school budget has been raised. Denault and Levanos suggested those with concerns take them to the School Committee.

One article that changed the name of the Board of Selectmen to Selectboard engendered some chuckles (and a "ridiculous" from one attendee). The three seats will be known as chair, vice chair and second vice chair.

"This is just to make it gender neutral," said McKinney.

An article that would have made the town clerk an appointed rather than elected position was tabled on a motion by Schrade, saying it needed more study.

Only 62 voters bothered to cast ballots in Tuesday's annual election. Elected unopposed where Tree Warden Ernest Dix, Selectman Jeffrey Levanos, Moderator Bryan Tanner, Library Trustee Deborah Bua, War Memorial Trustee Harold King, School Committee member John Solari and Planning Board member Gary Pierce; and Board of Health members Norman Rolnick, Cynthia Schock and Michael Rivers for three-, two- and one-year terms, respectively.

0Comments
More Featured Stories
NorthAdams.com is owned and operated by: Boxcar Media 102 Main Sreet, North Adams, MA 01247 -- T. 413-663-3384
© 2011 Boxcar Media LLC - All rights reserved