Adams Town Meeting OKs Budgets, Rejects Plastic Bag Ban

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
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The annual town meeting took three hours to get through 36 articles at Plunkett School's auditorium on Tuesday night.

ADAMS, Mass. — Town meeting passed most of the 36 articles on the town warrant, which included the school budget and the creation of an economic development fund but shot down articles banning plastic bags and Styrofoam.

It took the 128 town meeting members present nearly three hours to run through the 36 articles Tuesday night.

Although most of the articles passed with little to no debate, Article 8 — the Adams-Cheshire Regional School District  assessment of $5,521,469 — grabbed the attention of some members.

Town meeting member Jeffrey Lefebvre had concerns over the budget, claiming that it was unfair to put a budget that sees such high increases year after year "on the backs of the tax payers."

"At some point we are going to turn around and hit that brick wall," Lefebvre said. "I don't know how we are going to fix this, but we just can't keep turning around and throwing money at this."

Superintendent Kristen Gordon said the town shouldn't always point out the district as the budget item that raises taxes.

"Since I have been here all I hear is that taxes are being raised because of the school district, and I just have to ask why do we always put the tax rate on the back of the district?" she said. "These are all of our kids and we need to start thinking about why does it always have to be about the school district."

The budget received support from other town meeting members including former teacher Starr Baker, who urged town meeting to support the budget even though it already reflects major cuts that will decrease the educational services from this year.  

"The money in there is not nearly enough for the school system to operate ... but by passing this budget at least we have a baseline," he said. "We have to support the teachers that we have because they are jumping through hoop after hoop."

Selectman Joseph Nowak also asked that town meeting support the budget because he felt a suffering school system would be a deterrent for people moving to Adams.

"I think that as a community if we want to grow ... we are doing things counterintuitively by having higher tax rates and giving less to our education facilities," Nowak said. "I think without education we are really lessening ourselves as a community and we are not giving the children what they need to succeed in this world."

Some town meeting member asked what the next steps would be after Cheshire's disapproval of the Proposition 2 1/2 override needed to fund the budget. This could lower the district's budget by $350,000 and trigger some 28 staff cuts.

Town Administrator Tony Mazzucco said the School Committee has to resubmit a budget that could be higher, lower, or the same. He said if town meeting approved this budget, and the new budget comes in lower, then Adams will not have to hold another town meeting and the extra money appropriated will go into the general fund.

School Committee Chairman Paul Butler said the committee will discuss which direction it will go on Wednesday night.

The entire $14.3 million budget was also held by town meeting because of concerns over the proposed elimination of the code enforcement officer to provide more funds for the school to keep the budget under the levy limit.

Mazzucco said the town was able to save the position because of retirements and staff realignment, however, it will be part time.

He said the enforcement officer will be backed by a full-time administrative assistant and the Board of Health. He added that employee will be full time but will split his time between other town services. He said the job description and the process to contact the officer will remain the same.

Town meeting member George Haddad held Articles 24 through 27, which would create an economic development fund as well as revenue streams from a local meals tax, lodging tax, and a solar payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement that would supply the fund with nearly $100,000.

Haddad felt the economic development fund should have a cap and be more specific about where the funds could go.  He motioned to table Article 25 until next town meeting.

"I think it is very very broad and covers too great of an area," Haddad said.

Mazzucco said the money will specifically be used for economic development and will be critical for developing and advertising the Greylock Glen in the near future. He said if the money is put in the general fund it will likely be used for something else.  

"It is the solution to a long problem," Mazzucco said. "It will grow the economy, and in any business you can't grow unless you invest."

Town meeting member Bruce Shepley rallied behind Mazzucco and said the town has to take chances for change to occur.

"To do nothing is to guarantee the status quo," Shepley said. "We need to take the risk … there is no guarantee, but there is a guarantee if we do nothing."

Town meeting voted down the motion to table the article 76-38.

Shepley, speaking for the Board of Health, asked that town meeting reject Articles 31 and 32 that eliminate plastic bags and Styrofoam from retailers in town. The Board of Health and police would be responsible for enforcement.

The articles were placed on town meeting via citizen's petition and no hearings or presentations were made.

There were 128 elected town meeting members present to decide the town's spending plans and other items for fiscal 2016. 

Police Chief Richard Tarsa said his department is too busy to worry about plastic bags.

"If you take this bylaw and put it into place the way it is, you are going to have the Police Department investigating plastic bags and Styrofoam," Tarsa said. "I have a department with bigger issues than that."

Pittsfield attorney Rinaldo Del Gallo, who has been pushing the bans throughout the Berkshires, said he had no problem if the town tabled the articles allowing them to craft bylaws that worked better. He said he would be happy to work with the Selectmen.

"I don't mind working with the Selectmen if this is tabled in a meaningful way and really brought back next year," Del Gallo said. "I don't mind working with the town, and I would be happy to do that."

Speaking as a representative from the Northern Berkshire Solid Waste Management District, Town Moderator Edward Driscoll said the district has crafted similar bylaws that fit smaller communities, such as Adams. He said the district would be happy to bring this before the Selectmen.

Town meeting agreed to table Article 22, which asked the town to pay $30,000 to the Retirement Board because of recently discovered errors made by the past town treasurer.

Blanchard said the town has made an agreement to provide free rent for 10 years for board's office in the Visitors Center, in lieu of the payment.

Articles 34 and 35, which asked that the town take Kingsmont Lane and switch some town elected positions to appointed were tabled by the request of town counsel.

Edmund R. St. John III said the town is unable to take the Kingsmont Lane because the individual developing the area has yet to go through the proper procedure and the changing elected positions to appointed would call for a change in the town charter, which demands the town vote to hold a charter review.  

These articles were placed on the warrant via citizens' petition.


Tags: ACRSD,   fiscal 2016,   town meeting 2015,   

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Adams Sees No Races So Far

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
ADAMS, Mass. — With less than a week left before nomination papers are due, there are currently no contested seats.
 
Only selectman incumbent John Duval has returned papers. Selectman Howard Rosenberg has decided not to seek re-election. 
 
Rosenberg, who was elected in 2021, said he has chosen not to run again to make room for younger candidates.
 
"I feel strongly, we need younger people running for public office,  as the future of our town lies within the younger  generation. The world is so fundamentally different today and rapidly changing to become even more so. I believe we need people who are less interested in trying to bring back the past, then in paving the way for a promising future. The younger generation can know that they can stay here and have a voice without having to leave for opportunities elsewhere," he said.
 
The only person to return papers so far is former member the board Donald Sommer. Sommer served as a selectman from 2007 to 2010 and before that was a member of the School Committee and the Redevelopment Authority. He ran unsuccessfully for selectman in 2019 and again in 2021 but dropped out of before the election.
 
Incumbent Moderator Myra Wilk and Town Clerk Haley Meczywor have returned papers for their respective positions.
 
Assessor Paula Wheeler has returned papers and incumbents James Loughman and Eugene Michalenko have returned papers for library trustees.
 
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