Dalton to Vote FY24 Budget, Spending Items at May 1 Town Meeting
DALTON, Mass. — Fewer than a dozen voters attended Monday's review of the town meeting warrant in advance of next week's annual town meeting, Monday, May 1 at 7 p.m. at Wahconah Regional High School.
Town meeting will be asked to authorize a number of spending articles, including a $21 million budget. Of that, $10 million is the assessment to the Central Berkshire Regional School District and $9.4 million is the town operating budget.
A number of articles are requesting the use of free cash for capital purchases, Green Committee initiatives and studies and other expenditures; $200,000 would be used to reduce the tax rate, $450,000 transferred to stabilization, $65,000 transferred to the reserve fund and $300,000 to the other-employment benefits fund.
But on Monday, the handful of residents gave the most discussion to Articles 20 and 25.
Green Committee member Thomas Irwin and Anthony Pagliarulo attended the meeting to urge voters to approve Article 20 that would authorize that the town raise and appropriate $67,500 to cover the cost of developing a "Climate Change Roadmap" and $7,500 for a climate fair.
The roadmap is required for communities to achieve state Climate Leader status, which creates more grant opportunities. It would outline the changes Dalton needed to make to meet greenhouse gas emission targets.
"The overall message — to save our planet — we must achieve net zero before 2070. Question is, how do we do this? How does Dalton do this? We need a strategic plan. We need a realistic strategy to get us to net zero in 2050," Irwin said.
"It will need to consider the needs and issues of all groups of residents. It will require a lot from us but without a well-thought-out strategy, getting closer to 50 percent reduction in just seven years and to net zero in 27 years will be absolutely impossible."
Irwin has been working with a consultant so is confident that the estimated cost for the roadmap is accurate. If the funding is approved the town will be required to go out to bid.
The state and federal governments are strongly encouraging communities to have a Climate Action Plan, Irwin said.
Any government grants, which the towns heavily rely on, will require information on how the proposed project and funds fit with the plan.
"All sustainability directors that I've spoken with, and these are the managers of climate change preparedness in towns and cities, consider a Climate Action Plan absolutely indispensable," Irwin said.
"Of note, the [United Nations] has a climate action plan. The [United States] has a climate plan. Our state has a climate plan. And several towns around us have climate plans but those plans are not tailored to Dalton. Our needs and priorities are different."
Having a Climate Change Roadmap significantly improves Dalton's chances of receiving state and federal funding, "to the tune of several million dollars," Irwin said.
"Having a plan that is widely accepted and where we know what we need and when we need it will increase our rates of achieving goals on time and on budget. It will also enhance our awareness so we identify grant opportunities and contain grants that fit our long term plans," he said. "And lastly, having a plan with this depth and breadth improves the town's financial planning and master plan which only increases the probability we reach our goals."
Dalton may become a catalyst that inspires neighboring towns to follow suit, Irwin said.
The $7,500 would fund a climate fair to be held next April at the Stationery Factory to provide education to residents on climate change. The fair is another step to obtain climate leader status.
Maureen Mitchell attended the session to advocate for Article 25, which would authorize the town to move all town elections from Dalton Community Recreation Association to the Dalton Senior Center.
This article was added to the warrant by citizen petition. Based on her experience as a poll worker and member of the Senior Center board, Mitchell said she noticed voters with mobility issues had difficulty entering and leaving the CRA building.
"It is a nightmare for some people to get in and out of that building to vote. And exiting the parking lot or taking your life from your hands. I recommend you make use of the beautiful, handicap accessible, easy parking, no danger Senior Center to do the voting," Mitchell said.
"That's where the voting used to occur in Dalton when the old Dalton High School was there."
Select Board Chair Joe Diver asked if she has seen people unable to vote because of the conditions of the CRA.
The ramp at the CRA is a hazard for people with walkers or wheelchairs and because the bathrooms are under renovation there is only one handicap bathroom available, she said, adding that with the volume of people going to vote, the parking situation is deadly especially for the vision impaired at night.
"People that do not park in the back try to negotiate those front stairs and I mean we've almost had people topple down the stairs where there is no handicap access," Mitchell said.
Although the location is a convenient spot as it is on the Main Street and is recognizable it is also a hazardous spot, she said.
Pagliarulo said he agrees with what Mitchell is saying but he also knows from personal experience that the CRA location for voting has reminded him and others to vote. If there were signs and directions to the Senior Center, he would be in favor of the location change.
The Senior Center now has new signs on the Main Street to direct people how to get there, Mitchell said.
The remaining 23 articles received little to no discussion during the education session. The annual town warrant is here. The budget summaries for the warrant are below:
Dalton Article and Tax Summary 2023 by iBerkshires.com on Scribd
Tags: Dalton_budget, fiscal 2024, town meeting 2023,
