Clarksburg Sets Special Town Meeting to Cover Salary Deficits
CLARKSBURG, Mass. — Town officials have set a special town meeting in February to move more than $50,000 out of the stabilization fund to pay several positions through the end of the year.
The special town meeting will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 9, at 6:30 p.m. at the Community Center. The last day to register to vote in the special town meeting is Jan. 31.
The town was hit with a wave of resignations in elected and appointed positions last year that meant the use of interims and professional services to keep it functioning.
Some progress has been made in filling empty positions: Carl McKinney returned as town administrator and Jeffrey Levanos was returned to the Select Board in a special election.
This has allowed the Select Board to begin addressing deficiencies caused by the departures. The town has also been getting "numerous inquiries" about the town treasurer/tax collector post, said McKinney at Wednesday, "but we need to fund the position. ... That's basically what's holding us up."
Select Board Chair Danielle Luchi said there is less than $8,000 left in the treasurer's salary line.
"That's not going to hold us through for the next five months," she said. "We have a warrant drafted up for a special town meeting to take the different areas where we have deficiencies and ask to use the money out of stabilization to get us through to the end of the [fiscal] year."
She noted there had been staff who flip flopped positions and then the treasurer's post was increased to 40 hours from 32. Plus, Hilltown Municipal Accounting was brought in at a cost of about $20,000 to aid in closing the books for fiscal 2021. After the last treasurer quit, Jodi Hollingsworth was brought in as interim and a former treasurer, Ericka Oleson has been helping out but has not yet submitted an invoice.
The town administrator's salary line has less than $9,000 after paying out severance for the former administrator, who left in the fall. And the town accountant line is short more than $4,000 after using Hilltown for a week after the last accountant quit and placing returning Town Accountant Donna Estes at the top of the wage scale.
Voters will decide three articles at the special town meeting, all of which will require a two-thirds vote to pass. There is currently $392,435.32 in the stabilization account. That account is being used because free cash has not yet been certified and Luchi said they didn't want to use up the $10,000 in the reserve account.
Article 1 asks to take $4,500 from stabilization for the salary account of the accountant; Article 2 asks to take $23,500 from stabilization for the treasurer/tax collector salary account; and Article 3 asked to take $22,000 from stabilization for the town administrator salary account.
In good news, Luchi said Hilltown has completed its work and the town is close to wrapping up fiscal 2021.
In other business, the town has another open post with the departure of Assessor Ross Vivori, who submitted his letter of resignation on Dec. 17, effective Jan. 1.
Luchi said the Board of Assessors would step in if needed and that abatements have so far been completed on the assessor's end. She said Vivori indicated he would be available for consultation. Vivori had also been assessor for the city of North Adams and the town of Lanesborough but left those posts in April 2021 to become principal assessor for Great Barrington.
• Two large dogs were caught chasing a deer near Town Hall. McKinney said he and environmental police had to shoo the dogs away from the injured deer. Officials are reminding residents that there is a leash law and dogs must be restrained.
• There were four positive cases of COVID-19 in people who had used the Community Center and anyone who was there on or around Jan. 13 should be mindful of symptoms. Residents are also reminded that they must wear a mask in Town Hall and other public buildings.
"Sometimes you have people come in and they don't have their mask," said Luchi. "We have posted reminders on all the buildings that everybody wears a mask while in Town Hall or any other town buildings."
She suggested putting a box of masks out in the hallway as a visual cue for those entering the building and said she has offered masks to people who come in without them.
"We're asking people who are considered a close contact not to come into the building," she said. "But even though we've asked them, at the same we have had people who have COVID or are close contacts that have come into the building."
Luchi said she and Town Clerk Marilyn Gomeau distributed 270 rapid result tests in packages with gloves and wipes. The tests were provided through the state in December. McKinney noted that the federal government is giving away free tests through the U.S. Postal Service and that the link will also be posted on the town website.
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