Dalton Finance Looks to Form Contracts Subcommittee

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
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DALTON, Mass. — The Finance Committee wants to create a subcommittee to review contracts presented to the town.
 
Chair William Drosehn brought up the idea to help bring focus to the many town contracts and should the committee be aware of them.
 
"This will be to review all of the contracts that are presented to us by the Select Board and our town manager," he said.
 
He noted how the committee had no input on use of the American Rescue Plan Act funds the last three years. 
 
"The Finance Committee was supposed to be involved, and they kept us out of it completely. We had no say or no talk of what was going on with the relationship to ARPA funds," Drosehn said.
 
The committee determined the subcommittee be formed with four members, including Drosehn. 
 
"I was hoping that I was going to be one of the volunteers for the committee, because the size of the job, having the chair seated on that committee is probably going to be a good thing, considering the size and scope of the work that needs to be done," he said.
 
Before voting to establish, the committee did think it needed a better draft of how the subcommittee would deal with contracts, what types of contracts and monetary thresholds, and what the members' roles would be.
 
Dresehn will write up a draft of objectives and policies and invited others on the committee to as well to prepare for a vote at the next meeting.
 

Tags: Finance Committee,   

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Mass Voters Retain Recreational Cannabis, Tighten Gun Laws in Midterms

Staff ReportsiBerkshires

PITTSFIELD, Mass.— Massachusetts resoundingly voted to keep recreational cannabis and tighten gun laws during the midterm election on Tuesday. 

The Democratic Berkshire delegation was re-elected without contest, and unofficial results show Democratic incumbent Maura Healey taking more than 62 percent of the vote for Massachusetts governor over Republican challenger Michael Minogue. 
 
This coincides with the blue tsunami seen nationally during the midterms, with Democrats flipping seats across the United States and taking control of the House and Senate. 

Pittsfield has roughly 10 cannabis dispensaries, alongside several other retail operations and cultivation facilities in Berkshire County. At least three-quarters of the state voted against repealing the legalization that was passed 10 years ago. 

According to unofficial results, 46.89 percent of registered Pittsfield voters went to the polls. Pittsfield's 33,934 registered voters cast 15,913 votes, according to these results. 

As of Wednesday morning, with more than 85 percent of ballots counted, almost 76 percent of voters opposed Question 8, that would repeal the laws that legalize, regulate, and tax the retail sale of adult recreational use marijuana in Massachusetts. It was proposed by an initiative petition. 

Similarly, as of 10 a.m., 67 percent of Massachusetts voters have said "yes" on Question 9, which sustains several changes to Massachusetts laws governing firearms: adding school administrators and licensed healthcare providers as parties permitted to ask a court to issue an Extreme Risk Protection Order if an individual is a present danger to self or others, imposing penalties for possessing, creating, and transferring untraceable "ghost gun" firearms, and more. 

"At a time when the federal government is focused on the priorities of the gun lobby and rolling back national protections, the people of Massachusetts have reaffirmed our commitment to keeping our residents safe through proven, common-sense regulations," American Federation of Teachers Massachusetts President Jessica Tang said in a statement released late on Tuesday evening. 

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