CHESHIRE, Mass. — Newly elected Selectmen Mark Biagini and Jason Levesque attend their first meeting Tuesday.

 

Selectman Robert Ciskowski and Town Administrator Edmund St. John IV welcomed the victors from Monday's election and the board was reorganized. 

 

"I would just like to congratulate and welcome our new members," St. John said. "I very much look forward to working with all of you."

 

Ciskowski was elected chairman, Biagini was elected clerk, and Levesque will take on superintendent of buildings and grounds.

 

Instead of Town Hall, the full board held its first meeting at the Community Center, which St. John hoped would be more accommodating to the public.

 

"Moving forward as you can see we are meeting in a new location," he said. "The hope is that more people can attend our meetings and see first hand how the government works for them."

 

The Selectmen's meeting room at Town Hall is cramped with few seats for residents.

 

St. John added that the location will also allow for meetings to be filmed by Northern Berkshire Community Television.

 

"They have been wanting to televise our meetings for a while but it just wasn't set up right," he said. "They could actually set up a camera ... and could come in and tape this and make it available for more residents."

 

The select board members also felt the new larger space would be better when the town votes in two new members, which they agreed they want to do sooner than later.

 

"I think we need to look at a decision next week. The sooner the better because we can't hold this up any longer," Biagini said. "People are going to start wondering why it is being held up and I think people just want to get this over and done with."

 

The town voted Monday to accept legislation that would increase the size of the board from three to five members. This initiative goes back to 2015.

 

St. John said the board has to wait no less than 65 days to call an election. This would mean a special election in July.

 

Ciskowski said they could wait for the annual election but this would be a year away.  St. John noted there is a primary election next March and an upcoming debt exclusion vote.

 

In other business, the board voted to accept the amended fiscal 2019 Adams-Cheshire Regional School District budget that reduces the town's fourth quarter assessment by $124,892 to mitigate a budgeting error made this year and last.   

 

"We looked at the budget and we made corrections it did not impact the bottom line," Superintendent John Vosburgh said. "It was actually an error that came out in favor of the town of Cheshire."

 

Business Manager Erika Snyder said the wrong number was used in the assessment formula that resulted in Cheshire being over-assessed and Adams being under-assessed. 

 

"We used an inflated number so when we go to correct it we are going to put a smaller number in the minimum local," she said. "...Then more goes into the over minimum to be assessed at 25 percent to Cheshire...you are seeing a smaller percentage of a larger number."

 

Snyder said they were able to correct the issues in the yet to be approved fiscal year 2020 budget and wanted to correct the issue within the fiscal year 2019 budget. 

 

She said the school committee voted Monday night to use excess and deficiency funds to lower the assessment to the towns. While Cheshire gets a break on their assessment Adams will have to pay back $53,000 to the district over a payment plan.

 

Snyder said both communities must approve this amendment and if they don't the town’s have 45 days to hold a town meeting. If the plan ultimately fails it is out of the district’s hands and Adams would be responsible for paying the difference to Cheshire directly. 

 

The selectmen did not want to hold up the vote but were concerned that the district could not afford this additional use of free cash.

 

Snyder said the district’s budget is healthy and can make the allocation.  

 

"We will need to slowly reduce the amount of E and D we are using but that was the case even before this," she said. "We will continue this trend of monitoring it but it's not putting us in a financial situation where it will be turned around and assessed to you." 

 

Adams has yet to vote on the resolution.