Clarksburg Town Election, Town Meeting Set
CLARKSBURG, Mass. — Voters this week will elect town officers and decide a fiscal 2019 budget of $4,210,846.
The town election is Tuesday, May 29, from noon to 7 p.m. at the Senior Center; the annual town meeting is Wednesday, May 30, beginning at 6:30 p.m. at the elementary school. The Select Board will meet at the school at 6 p.m. to conduct business.
Town officials also plan a presentation on a future ballot vote on a Proposition 2 1/2 override to fund town and school infrastructure needs. The presentation will take place immediately following town meeting.
The Select Board has had trouble maintaining three members in the last several years and that may continue into fiscal 2019. There are two seats up for election but only one person is on the ballot and that for a one-year term.
Current Chairman Jeffrey Levanos is not running for re-election after serving two terms on the Select Board; he also served three terms on the School Committee, at one point serving as chairman of both at the same time.
No one, however, took out papers for Levanos' three-year seat.
Karin V. Robert is running unopposed for one year on the board, the conclusion of a three-year term that will see three different people hold it. Former board member William Schrade was re-elected in 2016 but resigned; Carlyle "Chip" Chesbro Jr. ran to complete the term last year but also resigned because of other obligations.
There is only one race on the ballot and that for a three-year term for School Committee to fill a spot being vacated by John Solari. Cynthia Brule and Martha Beattie are vying for the three-year term.
Running unopposed are Greg Vigna for a five-year term on the Planning Board; Debra Bua for library trustee and Norman Rolnick for Board of Health, both three-year terms; and Bryan Tanner for the one-year term as moderator.
The ballot is blank for a three-year term as War Memorial trustee and one-year term for tree warden.
On Wednesday, voters will take up a 17-article town warrant. In addition to the annual authorizations and revolving fund deposits, voters will decide a total spending plan for fiscal 2019 that is nearly 3 percent under this year's budget.
The town budget is proposed at $1,495,135, up $60,000 or 4.21 percent over this year. The school budget is set at $2,409,566, down by $40,000 and an assessment from McCann Technical School — based on enrollment and capital debt — that is down nearly 11 percent, from $342,169 to $306,146.
The cost associated with the sewer is down a couple thousand at $309,253.11, with of that $21,720 for debt service. The sewer enterprise fund is replenished by ratepayers on the septic system and is managed by the town on their behalf. Rates are set by the City of North Adams.
Voters will also be asked to adopt state law to authorize the implementation of two local taxes, one for short-term rentals of residential spaces and the other for retail marijuana sales.
A two-thirds vote is required to pass four articles (14-17). Article 14 asks that Saturday be declared a legal holiday closure for the town clerk's office, which affects the filing of documents. Articles 15 and 16 ask that $6,000 be taken from the School Department's stabilization and $5,500 from the town's stabilization account toward Green Communities Act matches. The school's funds will go toward new boilers and the town's toward energy efficiencies in town buildings.
Article 17 asks that $43,429.41 be appropriated from the town's stabilization account to cover an overage in snow and ice removal. This is the only account that can be overspent.
Tags: fiscal 2019, town meeting 2018,
