Clarksburg Officials Make Last-Minute Budget Cuts

The Finance Committee members Mark Denault, Rebecca Buck and Lori-Anne Aubin and Selectman Carl McKinney make last-minute budget cuts on Monday night.

CLARKSBURG, Mass. — The Finance Committee sliced thousands of dollars from the town budget on Monday night, just 24 hours before the annual town meeting to prevent a Proposition 2 1/2 override.

By the end of three hours, some $40,000 had been cut from the $1.2 million town budget.

Town officials have been struggling for months with erratic numbers related to free cash and local receipts because of accounting errors, which also led to a hold up in its free cash certification by the state.

Monday night, they were faced with a budget that turned out to be over the Proposition 2 1/2 levy limit by some $67,000.

"In light of our certified free cash and some other things that have come up, we actually know now that we are going to be over the levy limit," said committee Chairman Mark Denault. "This is the number we need to make up one way or another tonight."

The levy limit is $1,596,438 — the amount the town can raise through taxation without going to a Proposition 2 1/2 override vote. The town needed at first to raise $1.629 million — which jumped to $1,663,494 after reviewing the local receipts — to fund the school and town budget.

The town has $69,777 in certified free cash and $179,000 in the stabilization fund, of which $85,000 is committed to fund warrant articles.

There was $210,000 in free cash but the state has set aside $61,000 for reimbursements on culvert work on Henderson Road and more than $75,000 to offset accounting errors.

With so little in reserve, the committee and Selectmen Chairman Carl McKinney felt they had no choice but to begin cutting away.

Every department took a hit, from a high of $20,000 in cuts to veterans services to a low of $70 to the Senior Center. Town employees' raises were cut from 2.5 percent to 2 percent.

Also in attendance at Monday's meeting was Town Administrator Thomas Webb, town Accountant Christa Marsh, Treasurer Melissa McGovern (for part of the meeting) and former Finance Committee Chairwoman Mary Beverly.

Town meeting starts at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, June 18, at the Clarksburg Elementary School.

Northern Berkshire United Way: 1970s Has Its Ups and Downs

By Tammy Daniels iBerkshires Staff
06:17PM / Wednesday, June 03, 2026

The Northern Berkshire United Way sets its highest goal yet in 1979, and the first time going over $200,000. 

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Over three decades, the Northern Berkshire United Community Services had raised some $3 million for its affiliated agencies. 

 

That number was announced that the organizations "fifth" annual meeting in 1974, marking the time since Adams had joined, and counting the funds raised by the North Adams Community Chest and the North Adams and Adams United Funds and Northern Berkshire United Fund. 

 

The report that year was dedicated to past 24 volunteer campaign chairs, of whom 17 were still in the area and three — Russell Lanoue, George Higgins and G. Churchill Francis — had since died.

 

The amount of money raised seemed significant for the time, but the united fund found itself struggling in the early '70s as the economy dipped and its the need for its services grew. 

 

The campaign in 1970 saw an ambitious goal of $184,952 to support 16 agencies, with Northern Berkshire Child Care as the latest addition. The drive kicked off that goal at the Midway with Chair George Bateman, but it reached only 80 percent of its goal by the end. 

 

Batemen said it might not be a financial success but "I believe it was a spiritual success" because of the hard work and enthusiasm of so many drive volunteers.

 

But President Henry Pierpan said there would be allocation cuts for 1971 despite "a substantial sum" voted from reserve funds.