Clarksburg Sets Special Town Meeting to Fix Budget Gap
CLARKSBURG, Mass. — The Select Board has set a special town meeting for Wednesday, March 15, to address a $250,000 budget gap for fiscal 2017.
The error in budgeting for this year was discovered by the state Department of Revenue in December. Some $200,000 in school choice revenue had been placed twice and other state charges on the town came in higher than initially proposed.
Voters will be asked to cut a total of $93,916 out of the town budget with four months left in the fiscal year. Another $71,000 will be taken from an line item approved last year to pay off the library construction loan and $85,000 will be taken from the stabilization account.
The total amount to cover the budget is $249,992.06.
The reductions are mostly in expenses, training, travel and dues in a number of departments. The largest cuts are $5,000 out of Town Hall operations, $6,000 in road maintenance, $6,000 in postemployment benefits and actuarial studies.
The rest of the cuts are between $100 and $650 for a total of $22,370 from the town operating budget.
The school budget would be cut by $71,546, dropping the budget from $2,551,546 to $2,480,000, or 2.8 percent.
Town meeting last year had appropriated $79,995.13 from free cash to pay off the final 20 years on the library building loan. However, the loan was not paid off, leaving that amount still available. Voters will be asked to reappropriate the amount with $8,919.07 going to this year's loan payment and $71,076.06 going back in the general fund to stabilize the tax rate.
A two-thirds vote is required to transfer $85,000 from the stabilization account to the general fund to stabilize the tax rate.
The special town meeting takes place at 6:30 p.m. on March 15 at the elementary school.
The board on Thursday night also briefly met with new Finance Committee member James Stakenas. The retired vice president of administration and finance at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts was appointed to the committee by Moderator Bryan Tanner. Two more committee members are yet to be appointed. All the other members of the Finance Committee have resigned.
In other business;
• Town Administrator Carl McKinney was appointed as an interim member of the Planning Board so maintain five members on the board until the town election on May 23. McKinney said he had spoken with the state, including the attorney general's office, to ensure the interim appointment was proper. There are three seats up for election, two of which are currently vacant.
• Selectmen Chairman Jeffrey Levanos reported that the town census has been mailed. Residents are asked to complete the form and return it to the town clerk.
• The tax bills will be late because they cannot be mailed until the tax rate is set. McKinney said property owners can submit payments based on their second quarter bill.
• The board approved an automobile dealer's license for Tommy Rotolo.
Tags: budget cuts, clarksburg_budget, fiscal 2017, special town meeting,
