CHESHIRE, Mass. — Voters will decide 17 warrant articles, including a fiscal 2019 spending plan of  $6,090,255, at the annual town meeting on Monday, June 11, at 7 p.m. in the Cheshire School auditorium.

 

The budget is Article 2 on the warrant, which will be followed by a request in Article 3 to allow the use of $170,000 of free cash to offset the tax rate.

 

Article 4 is the Chapter 90 article that allows the town to borrow or appropriate money to be used for roads in bridges that will be reimbursed by the state.

 

Article 5 will see if town meeting will vote to use $4,500 from free cash to purchase an online permitting system for the towns building, electrical and plumbing inspectors.

 

Town meeting members will be voting on Article 6 that will appropriate $40,000 from free cash to purchase a new 4-wheel drive pickup truck and plow for the highway superintendent.

 

Article 7 will ask town meeting to use $1,500 from free cash to fund a ridesharing pilot program with Adams for medical appointments outside of Berkshire County.

 

Article 8 will see if town meeting will vote to amend the town bylaws to allow the town to maintain non-accepted roads. This specifically means making repairs and snow removal to accommodate the safe travel of emergency vehicles. This article only codifies past practice and still exempts the town from any liability resulting from these repairs.

 

Article 9 would change the name of the Advisory Board to the Finance Committee so that the panel's designation will more accurately reflect its financial role in the town's governance.

 

Article 10 will amend the town's bylaws to make the Board of Health the supervisor of the town compactor site. The compactor attendants will fall under the direct supervision of the Board of Selectmen.

 

Article 11 will add an additional $10 for each written demand issued by the collector. This is to be added and collected as part of the tax.

 

Article 12 will see if the town will transfer $25,000 from certified water operations retained earnings and appropriate the same amount to the fiscal year 2019 water department operations line item.

 

Article 13 will amend the towns zoning bylaws by inserting a section outlining the town's marijuana establishment regulations. The bylaw would allow these establishments to locate in the existing Route 8 business zone. 

 

Article 14 would allow the town to adopt a Massachusetts General Law that would create an Other Post Employment Benefits Liability Trust fund and Article 15 would appropriate $2,000 to be placed in this account.

 

Article 16 would allow the town to borrow $230,000 to purchase a new plow truck. This town meeting vote would need to be a two-thirds vote and any approval would be contingent on a Proposition 2 1/2 debt exclusion vote to be held at a later date.

 

The Advisory Board recommends all these articles 

 

Town meeting check-in begins at 6:30 p.m. on Monday. The warrant can be found on the town website here.