DALTON, Mass. — The Fire District's annual meeting passed quickly, with nearly 50 voters approving all articles on the warrant, including one to expand the Board of Water Commissioners from three to five seats.

 

During the meeting that lasted nearly 40 minutes, 49 voters approved all 23 warrant articles on the warrant, several unanimously and with little discussion. 

 

Several of the articles make up the district's $3,569,222.44, comprising the budgets for the commissioner, treasurer, Water Department, and Fire and Ambulance services. This is an increase of $44,542.44

 

Article 23, a citizen petition to increase the number of Board of Water Commissioners from three to five seats, was the only article on which voters were divided, requiring a count.

 

The petition was led by recently elected Select Board member Antonio "Tony" Pagliarulo in an effort to improve oversight of the fire district. 

 

"During the 1990s, per the Department of Revenue, the Dalton Select Board increased its membership from three to five members to better oversee town government. Similarly, increasing the water commission from three to five members will improve oversight of the fire district," he said. 

 

The initial petition was that the two additional commissioners be chosen by ballot at the annual election and serve for a term of three years, or until the successor is chosen and qualified.

 

Voters passed an amendment to the article, which dictates that three commissioners will be elected at the next annual election: two for a three-year term and one for a two-year term. 

 

Subsequently, one or two commissioners will be elected for three-year terms at each annual election to maintain the five-member board, and the board will elect a chairperson annually. 

 

Adelard Nadeau Jr., former Prudential Committee member, said he did not see a need to increase the number of board members. 

 

He explained how he supported the change for the Select Board when the town first began looking at five selectmen and not a town manager, because at the time he served on the Board of Appeals and observed a lack of engagement from the board members. 

 

"We don't have that problem here. In this particular case, you don't have a bunch of committees or a bunch of boards that you have to look at to see how they operate. The three I served with, most of these three commissioners now, do a great job," Nadeau said. 

 

Prudential Committee member Thomas Murray also felt the expansion of the board was not necessary. 

 

"Last year, at this time, we had several people disparaging our commissioners and want to get rid of the district, them and the district altogether. And ironically, this year, we want to add two more," he said. 

 

Voter Thomas Irwin said he was in favor of the motion because it allows two members of the commission to get together socially without violating Open Meeting Law. 

 

"I think that's very important," he said. 

 

After the discussion that lasted under 10 minutes, the petition passed 27-18.

 

Voters approved a number of articles to fund the commissioner and treasurer's budget of $295,810, an increase of $40,216. 

 

The budget included $20,000 to cover the cost of support for the new municipal financial consulting software, which will improve the district's financial tracking and reporting capabilities.

  

The new system is recommended by accountants and set up for municipalities. Using QuickBooks was not meeting the district's needs, James Driscoll, commission chair, previously said. 

 

Also included was $3,000 for Governmental Accounting Standards Board Statement No. 45, which allows the district to put funds away for future retirees  (known as other post-employment benefits). This is an increase of $1,500 from fiscal year 2025.

 

A number of articles were approved to fund the Water Department's budget of $1,424,900, of which voters approved to allocate $859,643 for the department’s operating budget. 

 

Included in the budget is $40,000 to fund the replacement of the stockhouse roof, which is more than 22 years old, and $50,000 for the upgrade of its chlorine analyzers. 

 

The new analyzers require less maintenance and give more accurate readings of chlorine levels. 

 

Several articles were approved to fund the Fire Departments and Emergency Medical Services' budget of $1,847,512, a decrease of $26,096. 

 

Of that, voters approved the appropriation of $1,647,012 for the fire and ambulance operating budget. 

 

Voters approved appropriating $363,494 for water department loan principal and interest and $100,000 for ambulance loan principal and interest. 

 

It was explained that the district has a total debt amount of about $4.5 million, Driscoll said. 

 

The shortest loan the district has is under 20 years, and the last loan taken out was to rebuild the Windsor dam, which was a 40-year loan that the district is 10 years into, he said. 

 

Voters approved appropriating $46,763 to fund the Timber Maintenance Account. The town does receive funds from the sale of timber. 

 

However, the forester the district uses to manage the land needs to constantly go out, mark the cuttings and boundaries, and continuously check to ensure the district is cutting within the law, district property, and is carried out properly, Driscoll said.