Adams Selectmen to Begin Review of $19M Budget
ADAMS, Mass. — The Board of Selectmen will take up review of the fiscal 2026 budget beginning Tuesday, with the presentation of the budget books and an an overview.
Interim Town Administrator Kenneth Walto briefed the board on aspects of the more than $19 million spending plan at the regular board meeting on Wednesday. Finance Director Ashley Satko attended the meeting, recorded by Northern Berkshire Community Television, to answer any questions.
"The general impression we want to leave you with tonight is we are in very good shape," Walto said. "I want to compliment Ashley for the hard work under a really expedited timeframe this year. ... We're about a month late in starting."
The largest factors of the budget are personal services — employee wages, benefits, insurance and unemployment — at $8.1 million and the school assessments at nearly $7 million. Walto is recommending using $250,000 in free cash to keep total expenditures just under $5.1 million.
The board will have to deal with a $25,000 deficit that would bring it over the levy limit.
Walton said the deficit looked like it "was going to be a heck of a lot higher" but Satko combed the budget looking where other appropriations could be made. The town departments also helped in bringing in there budgets level or under, though there are areas where increased expenditures could not be avoided.
"That has to be cured in some way and there are several ways to do it," said Walto, including use of more free cash, cuts, the stabilization account or a Proposition 2 1/2 override, though he dismissed that as unlikely.
The stabilization account is "very healthy" with more than $1 million and he cautioned about the overuse of free cash as it would affect next year's budget.
"One other ace we have up our sleeves is there are monies that have come in from utilities for conservation in the wastewater treatment plant and that's approximately $52,000," he said. "That would have to be appropriated at town meeting to offset the expenses."
The finance department has estimated about a 5 percent increase in the tax rate, from $17.08 per $1,000 valuation to $17.88, about $208 increase in the property tax bill.
"For a town without robust growth, you have a double A-minus bond rating, that's excellent that's really excellent it shows how conservatively you've managed this town, you don't have a lot of debt," Walto told the board. "I looked at the string of 32 communities in Berkshire County (for average tax bills) ... Adams is in the bottom third, in fact it's lowest of the similar towns in the county."
Board Chair John Duval said the town would go back to the "old process" of reviewing the budget. Over the past several years, the Selectmen and Finance Committee have held joint meetings to review the department budgets.
"Over time and, in my opinion, that individuals would not discuss, or fight, or think about some of the issues because of the Board of Selectmen and the personalities being there," he said. "I think the Board of Selectmen should review the town administrator's budget and make a decision on that budget and then we own it."
The Finance Committee can then do its deep review make its own recommendations to town meeting. Duval thought the joint meetings were stifling debate by Finance members.
"They need to have their own identity, they cannot be a part of the Board of Selectmen," he said. "I felt that was lost when they were mixed in with us."
Selectman Joseph Nowak objected that this was the first he had heard of the change and the board should have been informed earlier.
"It just reinforces my case that a few people on this board are dictating how and when we do things," he said.
The budget workshops will all be held at 6 p.m. in the Selectmen's Meeting Room at Town Hall:
- Tuesday, March 25: presentation of budget books and budget overview
- Tuesday, April 1: general government, finance and technology, executive
- Thursday, April 3: public services and the schools
- Tuesday, April 8: inspection services, public buildings and facilities, and public safety
- Thursday, April 10: Greylock Glen, community development, public works, wastewater treatment plant and capital expenses
- Thursday, April 17: final review and vote.
Walto also read a memorandum from Department of Public Works Supervisor Timothy Cota regarding the use of so-called "flushable" wipes that are clogging up sewer connections.
"Over the last several weeks there has been an increased number of repairs to the wastewater treatment plant in the sewer collection system throughout the town," Walto read. "Marketed as flushable, these wipes should not be flushed down the toilet as they do not decompose and disintegrate before making their way to the wastewater treatment plant.
"They sit in the structures creating blockages and backups in the line, causing costly damage from backups to homes in the sewer collection system."
The wipes have been clogging pumps, causing equipment failures and using up man-hours as crews from DPW and treatment plant work to find the backups and clear them out. They've caused backups into homes and are harming the environment, wrote Cota, as well as costing the town money on time and repairs.
In other business, the board:
• Held a public hearing and approved a change of license manager for TRI Petroleum Inc. (the Mobile Station on Howland Avenue) from Pierre K. Kareh to Ann Marie Racine. The convenience store sells alcohol.
Kareh said his work is taking him out of Adams more often and he had selected Racine to replace him as license manager. She has taken the appropriate training and all other employees will have TIPS (Training for Intervention ProcedureS) within their 30-day probationary period, he told the board.
• Appointed Bartlett as the Selectmen's liaison to the Council on Aging for the next year.
• Announced the houshold hazardous waste collection is scheduled for Saturday, April 26, from 9 to 12:30 at the Department of Public Works garage on North Summer Street. Open to members of the Northern Berkshire Solid Waste Management District; advance registration is required by contacting 413-743-8208 or Lcernik@nbswmd.com beginning April 1.
• The town is seeking two volunteers — one full voting member and an associate member — to represent Adams on the Northern Berkshire Opioid Abatement Fund Advisory Board. The board will review proposals and contracts, adopt policies and recommendations, and vote on the use of funds received as part of the state's opioid settlement.
David Rhoads, chair of the Board of Health, spoke during open forum to note he had sent a letter to Board of Selectmen indicating his interest in serving on the advisory board.
Tags: adams_budget, fiscal 2026,
