CLARKSBURG, Mass. — Town meeting on Wednesday approved with little discussion an abbreviated town meeting warrant that included a $5 million spending plan for fiscal 2023.

 

And at the end of the nearly 40-minute meeting, voters approved a motion from the floor to create an expense account for the tree warden — to be funded by the tree warden and Select Board Chair Jeffrey Levanos' stipends.

 

Town Administrator Carl McKinney, a Clarksburg voter, made the motion, which he said was at the request of Tree Warden Jeffrey Williams.

 

"He asked that if stipend, that it would be changed to an expense account," McKinney said. "He doesn't want the money for himself. He would like to use the money for tree projects in the town. Jeff Levanos also asked that his stipend be put into that same account for the tree warden to affect some arbor work in the town."

 

Levanos' contribution makes it more possible to do projects since he receives $600 annually as chairman while the tree warden only receives $150. McKinney said after the meeting that this would only be in effect for one year.

 

The turnout was light with 34 registered voters attending the meeting at the Community Center. All articles passed with a little or no opposition; the school budget received three nay votes.

 

The fiscal 2023 budget of $4,913,263, up $99,767, or 2 percent, from this year: it includes a town operating budget of $1,816,485, McCann Technical School assessment of $313,046, and the school budget is $2,782,762.

 

McKinney said the increase in the budget were due to higher of all costs, especially fuel; a 7.5 percent increase in health insurance; the expansion of the school's pre-kindergarten program and increased enrollment leading to the town to now cover 51 percent of the superintendency costs, and pensions. 

 

Voters also approved to transfer $100,000 of the stabilization fund to lower the tax rate. It's the only request out of the stabilization fund this year. 

 

In response questions, McKinney said the town has $290,000 in the stabilization fund. Normally, the town would use its free cash to offset taxes but the fiscal 2021 free cash has not yet been certified (because of staff turnover in the financial posts last year).

 

"Once that is certified, we're actually going to have two years [of free cash] and we're going to most likely have a very healthy free cash calculation for next year," he said, adding the town could replenish the stabilization account next year.

 

Four articles dealt with the renumbering and cleaning up spelling errors, grammar and outdated wording of the bylaws. 

 

"It was no change in the bylaws themselves, but we're just cleaning up the typos and just making it neater and cleaner," said Town Clerk Marilyn Gomeau.

 

She said the work was done by former Town Clerks Carol Jammalo and Jessica Sweeney with the company General Code to prepare the bylaws to be online later this summer. 

 

"They're the ones that did all the work on this, I just did the final touches and proofed what they were changing, like spelling," she said.

 

Town meeting also gave the OK for the Recreation Committee to use any leftover funds from the pavilion rebuild for repairs to the town field. Town meeting last year approved $65,000 to fix the pavilion but bids in April came in $3,000 over budget. 

 

At the time, the Recreation Committee considered coming back to town meeting or seeking funds elsewhere in the budget. McKinney told voters Wednesday that they had come up with the idea of replacing the failing roof with corrugated steel. That would come in about $10,000 cheaper than the least expensive bid of $29,000 for an asphalt roof. Removing and replacing the concrete pad is $38,000.

 

The annual town meeting was also the first time a full Select Board had met since August of last year. The new board includes Robert Norcross and Daniel Haskins, both elected on Tuesday.