Clarksburg Planning Cuts, Town Meeting to Fix Budget GapBy Tammy Daniels, iBerkshires Staff
01:05AM / Thursday, January 26, 2017 | |
 The Select Board speaks with Superintendent Jonathan Lev on how the school can find savings to reduce the shortfall. |
CLARKSBURG, Mass. — Town officials are continuing a plan to close a $230,000 shortfall for fiscal 2017.
Town Administrator Carl McKinney told the Select Board on Wednesday night that he anticipated having free cash certified with the next couple weeks.
That will allow a special town meeting to be held by late February or early March to ask voters to approve transfers to cover the shortfall.
The gap was discovered in December, nearly halfway through the fiscal year. An error had placed $200,000 in school choice revenue on the town side and other state charges on the town came in higher than initially proposed.
At a meeting with the former Finance Committee members two weeks ago, officials had floated the idea that the numbers were themselves off. The school choice figures in particular were called into question because the number seemed high for $5,000 a child.
"We thought the number didn't ring right," said Select Board member Linda Reardon. "But since then, I've inquired, if there are special needs it's not just $5,000."
McKinney said he had spoken with the town's representative at the state Department of Revenue twice the figures are correct.
The board approved some initial budget cuts put together by McKinney to be distributed to department heads on Thursday.
The board had also discussed using existing school choice reserves but Superintendent Jon Lev, who attended with Business Manager Carrie Garivaltis, said funds could be found elsewhere.
"We would be able to freeze spending at the school and look at spending in the school. We have other grants we can look at, we can shift some money around," he said, such as the so-called circuit breaker funds. "We could come up with some w"ays and we'd like to look at the budget before using school choice."
Chairman Jeffrey Levanos thanked the school district for working with the town.
"We're certainly working hard on it and we have some plans, and the schools behind us," he said. "It's going to be hard but we'll get through it."
The board also approved covering rental fees of $100 a month so the Clarksburg Fire Department can place repeaters and equipment at the North Adams Tower Co. facility on the Western Summit.
Chief Carlyle "Chip" Chesbro and James Howe said changes in bandwith five or eight years ago had made communications more difficult. The department had invested in new radios and equipment, including repeaters, to update its abilities.
Placing the repeater at the Mohawk Trail tower facility - on a telephone pole - had provided the clearest signal after doing tests.
"It works best there due to the terrain, because you have a direct line-of-sight shot," said Howe, adding "it makes a huge difference than down at our station."
The repeater would also be used by the Police Department and Department of Public Works.
The department is apply for two licenses from Federal Communications Commission, one for the Western Summit and another for the fire station just in case. Those are expected to be ready by spring.
"This is really important," said Chesbro. "When we had the last natural disaster with the hurricane, we had a hard time communicating with each other ... there are dead spots here."
McKinney said there should be enough in a technical grant for the few months left in the fiscal year and next year's $1,200 for rent would be placed in the budget for voter approval.
In other business:
• McKinney said Verizon is asking the town to contact abuttors about whether they want to have an MPE, or microwave power equipment, test for radio frequencies and microwave emissions from the transmitters planned at the former North Adams Country Club on River Road.
He felt it should be Verizon's duty but said residents can contact his office at 413-663-8230 Monday through Thursday, 8:30 to 4:30, for the Verizon contact number. A sheet with the contact number will also be posted in the Town Hall lobby beginning Thursday.
• The board gave the go-ahead for McKinney to develop a protocol for renting the Senior Center. An exercise group had asked to rent the space bu there was no fees or process in place for doing so.
• The annual town census should arrive in mailboxes in the next week. Residents are asked to check the information for accuracy, make any corrections, sign it and return it within 10 days in the enclosed envelope.
Anyone not receiving a census should contact the town clerk at 413-663-8255 or ClarksburgTClerk@gmail.com.
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