Adams Town Meeting to Decide Budget, Town Adminstrator Spending
ADAMS, Mass. — Town meeting members will address a 25-article warrant at Monday's annual town meeting, including approval of a $14.7 million budget for fiscal 2019 along with a capital budget of $1 million.
Town meeting will be held beginning at 7 p.m. on Monday, June 18, in the Hoosac Valley Elementary School auditorium. The town meeting warrant can be found here.
In addition to the school assessments and town operating budget, town meeting will also determine in Article 6 if it will raise the salary line item of the town administrator's office to $170,162, up from about $150,000 this year. The town is trying to find a new town administrator and there has been debate over potential salary levels.
The spending for fiscal 2019 is broken down into several articles. Article 5 lists the town's operating budget of $2,195,072 and personal services budget of $5,892,227.
Article 7 outlines the capital budget of $535,447. This year, the town plans to purchase some technology upgrades in Town Hall and make updates to the wastewater treatment plant. This also includes a new police cruiser.
Article 8 is the capital infrastructure and equipment budget of $531,260. This includes the $5,000 for the Agricultural Fair, funds to make repairs to Hoosac Valley Elementary and the purchase of a special mower for the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail.
Article 9 is the town's Adams-Cheshire Regional School District assessment of $5,617,932 and Article 10 represents the town's Northern Berkshire Vocational School District (McCann Technical) assessment of $940,717.
Article 11 will authorize the transfer of $250,000 from free cash to offset the tax rate.
The next section on the warrant will ask town meeting to authorize other fund transfers: Article 12 will transfer money to the balance of the reserve fund, $47,638, to the stabilization fund and Article 13 will ask to replenish the annual reserve fund account with an appropriation of $175,000.
There are also several annual authorization articles for applying for state or federal funds and to make transfers.
Article 19 kicks off some bylaw amendments and this article will allow the town to establish a revolving funds for the Visitors Center and Memorial Building.
Article 20 sets spending limits for various revolving funds and Article 21 will amend the town's compensation plan.
The last few articles are special articles and Article 22 will pull $97,800 from the Economic Development Fund that will be used to hire a town planner ($57,800); for Greylock Glen development ($20,000); for downtown marketing and public art ($10,000); and funds to support the 2020 Susan B. Anthony Celebration ($10,000).
Article 23 will impose a local 3 percent local excise tax upon marijuana retailers to be placed in the Economic Development Fund.
Article 24 will allocate $56,042 from free cash to pay a court judgment imposed on the town for a cost of living adjustment claim from a 1976 fatal injury of an employee. This judgment was made early this year and town counsel has been working on the case for nearly two years. Originally the claim was more than $125,000, however, using the statute of limitations, town counsel was able to lower this amount.
Tags: adams_budget, town meeting 2018,
