CLARKSBURG, Mass. — Voters will decide spending items and if the town should adopt the Community Preservation Act at Wednesday's town meeting. 

 

Voters will also decide whether to extend the terms for town moderator and tree warden from one year to three years.

 

The annual town meeting will take place at 6 p.m. in the gym at Clarksburg School. The warrant can be found here.

 

The town operating budget is $1,767,759, down $113,995 largely because of debt falling off. Major increases include insurance, utilities and supplies; the addition of a full-time laborer in the Department of Public Works and an additional eight hours a week for the accountant.

 

The school budget is at $2,967,609, up $129,192 or 4 percent over this year. Town officials had urged the school to cut back more but in a joint meeting last week agreed to dip into free cash to keep the prekindergarten for 4-year-olds free. 

 

Clarksburg's assessment to the Northern Berkshire Vocational School District is $363,220; the figure is based on the percentage of students enrolled at McCann Technical School. 

 

There are a number of spending articles for the $571,000 in free cash the town had certified earlier this year. The high number is over several years because the town had fallen behind on filings with the state. 

 

Some $231,000 will go to stabilization, fulfilling a condition made at last year's town meeting for use of that account to lower the tax rate. Normally free cash is used for that purpose but the town hadn't had any in two years. 

 

Town officials are asking to use $142,000 to buy a truck and attachments for the Department of Public Works, $8,000 for new software for the assessor, $5,000 to replace the exterior doors on the Community Center, $113,371 to set aside to match a grant for the school roof, and $72,000 to lower the tax rate (this will fund the preK and underwrite the school budget). 

 

Town meeting will also take up some bylaws, including having newly elected officers sworn in after the town election. This change is designed to keep the town officers who recommend warrant articles including the budget to speak to those at town meeting. Currently, the town election is two weeks prior to town meeting. 

 

Two proposed bylaws deal with dogs— one would change the licensing period from January to December and the other would require dog owners to clean up after their pets. 

 

The Historical Commission is asking the town to adopt the CPA to access state funding for historical preservation, open space and recreation, and affordable housing. 

 

Adoption of the CPA would allow the town to impose a property tax surcharge on nonexempt properties and above a certain value. Commissioners say these funds would be matched 100 percent by the state. 

 

Voters will also decide on whether to make Clarksburg a right-to-farm community and there are a couple sewer articles that do not affect the budget as they are funded by sewer users only. Article 22 asked the town to accept land or permanent easement on Pine Avenue. 

 

The Select Board endorsed the warrant last week.