Cheshire Finalizes Proposed Fiscal 2019 Budget
CHESHIRE, Mass. — The Selectmen signed a town meeting warrant that includes the $6,090,255 fiscal 2019 budget.
With the budget review process over, the board members signed a warrant Tuesday night that includes a spending plan for next year with a 2.7 percent increase over the fiscal 2018 budget of $5,926,130.
"We have an updated, clean final budget," Town Administrator Mark Webber said. "No changes from last week."
The main driver behind the increase was education spending, which bumped up 4.3 percent to $3,276,482. This is an increase of $136,158.
The flat 2 percent increase programmed in for employees, as well as other small increases, also added to the budget.
The budget can be found on the town website.
Town Moderator Edmund St. John IV will hold a "baby town meeting" on Monday, June 4, at the Community/Senior Center at 7 p.m. for public review of the warrant articles. The annual town meeting will be held Monday, June 11, at 7 p.m. at Cheshire School with voter check-in at 6:30 p.m.
In other business, Highway Superintendent Blair Crane heard from a resident who was concerned about road debris and materials left over from winter clean up.
Crane said the street sweeper has yet to visit the town but that Cheshire is on the schedule.
"He is running late this year and is a couple weeks behind because it has been so bad this year ... we are kind of held hostage to the whole scenario, but we are on the list for that," he said. "It goes from Florida from one community to the other."
Typically, the streets in town are swept before Memorial Day.
Crane was also asked about East Main Street and the number of potholes that have developed in the road.
Crane said the Highway Department tries to first patch holes that could be dangerous but East Main Street is on the agenda.
"There is always a list of them, but we are chewing away at it and I don't want to promise anything, but we will get down there as soon as we can," he said. "Unfortunately, it takes time and we are a small crew."
Also, in his report Crane said the town's backhoe had a major hydraulic failure and will have to be sent to Springfield to be repaired.
"We got it back to the shed and it is not an easy fix ... the cab has to come off," he said. "There are two ways to fix it: we can have someone that does that kind of thing come here and work on it but the cost to do that is prohibitive but we have the ability to move it so we will take it down there to save some money."
He added the machine has a lot of hours on it and is showing its age.
"The machine has about 7,000 hours on it so it is really not surprising that this has happened but nonetheless it is not going to be inexpensive to repair most likely," he said.
In the town administrator report, Webber said he has been in contact with the Mount Greylock Advisory Council and was told although it's OK to have to co-members on the council, only one will be able to vote and the other would act as an alternative.
The Selectmen appointed Christy Butler and Gary Trudeau as its representatives on the council, an advisory body for the Mount Greylock State Reservation.
Town Clerk Christine Emerson said Butler decided to back out, so Trudeau will be the one and only member.
Webber added that the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail will be repaved next year by the state Department of Transportation.
"It is getting a little beat up in spots and it is 18 years old," he said.
The reconstruction and resurfacing of the 11 miles between Adams, Cheshire and Lanesborough will cost $5 million. It is currently in the preliminary design phase.
Tags: cheshire_budget, town meeting 2018, town meeting warrant,
