WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Fire District is projecting a 3.18 percent increase in its operating budget for fiscal year 2027, according to documents shared with the Prudential Committee and its Finance Committee.

 

At the Fin Comm's Jan. 15 meeting, Chief Jeffrey Dias told the panel that there still was a major unknown cost as he develops a budget that ultimately will go to the annual district meeting in late May.

 

"[The increase is] is just due to the rising cost of insurance and some of the items," Dias said. "We level-funded a bunch of stuff. I think it's a respectable budget. We're going for a roughly $24K increase in the budget. When the budget is as small as it is, it's hard to keep a low percentage.

 

"The only real unknowns at this point ... are going to be the insurance. That placeholder I used for insurance is the same increase from FY25 to FY26."

 

Dias said it could be March before he knows for sure what the actual cost of insurance for the district will be in the fiscal year that begins on July 1.

 

Another cost that could change is the amount the district will pay for utilities in FY27 as it transitions to a new station on Main Street.

 

"We don't know how long it will be before generating significant enough electricity with the solar panels on the building to offset the energy we're using," Dias said. "That [line item is] a placeholder, and hopefully it's enough of a placeholder to get us to where we're generating significant data."

 

Right now, officials are planning to send a $750,150 operating budget to meeting members.

 

At its Jan. 28 meeting, about two weeks after its Finance Committee met, the Prudential Committee set Tuesday, May 26, at 7:30 p.m. for the annual meeting where the budget will be up for approval.

 

As has been the district's custom, the meeting will be preceded by its annual election, which the committee set for 4 to 7 p.m. On the ballot for residents this spring are two posts: the district moderator and the Prudential Committee chair currently held by John Notsley.

 

At the Jan. 28 meeting, the current moderator publicly encouraged someone else to run for the post.

 

"I would be happy if someone was interested and eager to step up and fill the moderator's position," Paul Harsch told the Prudential Committee via Zoom. "I'd support them entirely. If not, I'm happy to continue serving."

 

Nomination papers for both positions on the May ballot will be available at Town Hall in the town clerk's office on Feb. 26, Prudential Committee Chair David Moresi said.

 

At Moresi's suggestion, the committee left open the question of where the district election and district meeting will be held. In years past, the events have been held at Williamstown Elementary School.

 

"It may be the elementary school or it may be the new station," Moresi said, referring to the May meeting. "It will be so nice that we'll be able to host these at the station."

 

As for the new station, the committee on Jan. 28 heard that the district was "close" to relocating to the Main Street facility, but weather had been holding back completion of one feature.

 

The Prudential Committee's construction consultant, Bruce Decoteau, told the five-person governing board that the building did not yet have a certificate of occupancy but added he saw no reason to rush that step.

 

"I have stressed to [the contractor] that quality is more important to me right now than schedule," Decoteau said. "They know that. I'm in no hurry for that.

 

"They can get C/O tomorrow, and we're not going to take the building until the solar system is completely operational. With the weather, they've been struggling to get the [solar] panels on the roof. Everything else is done."

 

Dias told the Prudential Committee that he was close to acquiring the furniture, fixtures and equipment that the department will need to outfit the building when the move occurs.

 

"Lack of storage space and our inability to put much of it at the new building until this point drove the decision to wait until we were closer to finish buying these items," Dias said.  "We're now getting to the point where we'll finish up."

 

In other business at the Jan. 28 Prudential Committee meeting:

 

The panel heard a report from the district's auditor, who issued an "unmodified opinion, a clean opinion," on the district's FY25 books.

 

The committee decided not to roll over a certificate of deposit that accounted for a little more than $300,000 of the district's stabilization account. Instead, the committee voted to move that money to the district's money market account and refer the question of how to handle the investments to the Finance Committee. Fin Comm Chair Melissa Cragg, who attended the meeting, told the Prudential Committee her panel was looking at creating an investment account with a bank.

 

Dias reported that the department is renaming its apparatus to align with the nomenclature of the Berkshire Regional Emergency Communications Center. Instead of apparatus labeled W1 and W2, for example, they'll be named Engine 1 and Engine 2, Dias said. Likewise, the Williamstown department is looking to pursue a grant to acquire radio equipment compatible with the Berkshire RECC.

 

"We're going to do a multi-band radio so we can have good communications with everybody we respond with," Dias said.

 

The first-year chief reported that 2025 saw the department respond to 458 calls, a record number that he expects might come down a little in 2026.

 

"A couple of factors artificially increased our 2025 responses," Dias said. "The South Street gas leaks [related to the rebuilding of the road] would seem to be an ever-other-day occurrence for a while there. That's a significant number of responses that wouldn't normally go on." Dias said the district could see more than 400 calls again in the current year, but a number in the 450s is less likely.

 

As of the meeting on Jan. 28, the Williamstown department had responded to 29 incidents, he reported.

 

"Very slow start to the year, which we're OK with," Dias said.

 

Dias also reported that the department did training for 12 college students, including three new recruits, in January. It also saw its membership rise with three new community members since the fall.

 

"They're very active," Dias said. "We're looking forward to getting a class started, probably some time in March. We need to be in the new station before we start running a class. We're still aggressively recruiting, and we're taking steps to retain as well."