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The Fire District approved a fiscal 2018 budget of $2 million.

Adams Fire District Sets $2M Budget for Fiscal 2018

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
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ADAMS, Mass. — The Fire District has been approved for a $1,953,440.52 budget for fiscal 2018.

Water district members met May 9 in the Fire Station garage to vote for the almost $2 million budget, of which $1,906,440.52 will be raised by water revenue.

In Article 6, water district members voted to raise or appropriate from available funds $470,796.91 for the general fund.

$122,298.59 will be appropriated from this funding for administration and $151,479.57 for the Fire Department.

• $28,699.40 will be appropriated for insurance and $43,919.35 for employee benefits.

• $124,000 will be appropriated for street lighting and $400 will be appropriated for the fire alarm system.

In this same article, the Fire District voted to raise and appropriate $1,271,643.61 for the Enterprise Fund.

• $194,113.26 will be used for administration and $828,903.57 for the Water Department

• $209,687.06 will be appropriated for employee benefits and $38,939.72 for insurance.

District voters also approved taking $200,000 from surplus revenue and $11,000 from the capital outlay fund.

For Article 7, the district voted to take $40,000 from surplus revenue and transfer it into the reserve fund.

For Article 8, the district voted to raise and appropriate from available funds $35,000 to fund the East Orchard Terrace mixer

For Article 9, the district voted to take $11,000 from the capital outlay fund to fund work on the 2A Pump Station Well Roof.  

The district voted in Article 10 to pull $75,000 from available funds in the treasury for the chlorination permit engineering for the three wells.

The district voted in Article 11 to take $50,000 from available funds in the treasury for the radio read meter replacement.

The Fire District also appointed offers who were elected that day.

John Pansecchi was elected chief engineer with a clear victory, garnering 240 of the 287 votes cast. Seven other candidates were written in and Tim Ziemba was the closest to Pansecchi with 12 votes.

Timothy Ziemba was elected as first assistant engineer, David Lennon Jr. as second assistant engineer and Edward Capeless as third assistant engineer.

The only race was for fourth assistant engineer. Although Mark Therrien was the clear winner with 207 votes, challenger Dylan Grimes was able to secure 76 votes.

There was also an 11-way write-in race for a Prudential Committee member. Allen Mendel and Norman Schutz tied with six votes apiece, however, it was decided at a later date that Schutz would take the seat.

Tim Zeimba was able to gather two votes for the committee.

 Kathleen Fletcher was re-elected as water district clerk and treasurer. She ran unopposed.

Of the 5,148 eligible water district voters, only 287 cast votes on May 9.

Article 5  set the salaries for Prudential Committee members. As approved by voters, the chief engineer's salary was set at $15,090.57 and the clerk and treasurer's salary was set at $1,753.28.

The chairman of the Prudential Committee's compensation was set at $750 and the two other members' compensation was set at $500.


Tags: fire district,   prudential committee,   town elections,   water district,   

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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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