Adams District Voters OK All Annual Meeting Articles
The Prudential Committee and Fire Department officers meet in the fire station on Wednesday night.
Nearly 40 voted at Wednesday's meeting, which lasted 20 minutes, approving all items with no discussion, including a $3.6 million budget, a petition to the state for a special legislation retirement age exemption, and a bylaw change making the clerk and treasurer positions appointed.
Voters approved the appropriation of $808,295.81 to the general fund for operational expenses. The general fund covers fire services, administration, and street lighting. They also approved the appropriation of $1,721,144.92 to fund the enterprise fund expenses. This fund supports the Water Department.
The budget is anticipated to raise the district tax rate by 30 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, resulting in a new rate of $1.17, however, the exact amount will not be known until the town determines on property valuations in the fall.
"I think it is forward thinking. It's an immense leap forward to try to sustain all of our emergency services that the district, as an umbrella company, holds, whether it be fire or water," Water Superintendent John Barrett said.
"Neither of us can sustain each other without it, and that just everything in [the warrant] summarizes all of our efforts throughout the year to continue sustaining our services."
Some articles have been years in the making by former Chief John Pansecchi, who had raised them years prior, Chief Engineer David Lennon said.
"We got where we needed to get tonight, and that was due in large part to his leadership. I congratulate him for doing so," he said.
Pansecchi, who now serves on the district's Prudential Committee, had been a major proponent of making the chief engineer and clerk and treasurer positions appointed.
On Wednesday night, one of these initiatives was made official with the approval of amending the district's bylaws making the clerk and treasurer positions appointed.
This change is also following its approval during the district annual elections where it which passed by a 96-69 vote and will take effect July 1.
"I think we've made a distinct effort to try to get the word out and be transparent in public with the issues that we are facing, and I think the vote symbolizes that they're hearing what we're telling them," Lennon said.
Despite passing at the special meeting, the district's request to change the fire chief position to a paid, full-time, appointed role was not on this ballot to avoid confusion as this year the chief engineer was also up for election.
Since it passed at the special meeting, the change request will be included on a future ballot.
Adams, like many communities in the Berkshires and across the Commonwealth, are facing similar things, such as old infrastructure and declining volunteerism, and the approval the this warrant is taking the first step towards that instead of going backwards,
"In New England, all of our municipal infrastructure is old. We're all feeling it at the same time, and in the fire service, specifically, just lacking the volunteers," Lennon said.
"We're doing everything we can to get people to come in, obviously retain the people we have, to try to go ahead and protect the citizens of Adams."
As the district continues to operate in its 65-year-old firehouse, which houses both the fire station and Water Department, it's also looking to the future with the now approved space needs assessment.
Voters approved Article 12, appropriating $8,000 to fund this assessment, which will evaluate the space needed to support all services provided by the district.
"As we move forward, it's not just us saying, ‘this is what we want.' It's an outside person with no skin in the game, saying ‘this is what is needed to do the job for this town and this district,'" Lennon said.
As long-term solutions — such as repairing the deteriorating building or relocating departments — are expected to take several years, voters approved the appreciation of $44,000 from available treasury funds to purchase the shoring support system that is holding up the building.
Renting the system costs about $2,000 per month and purchasing the system is considered more feasible.
Also approved were articles to address staffing challenges resulting from the decline in volunteers.
This includes the approved allocation of $82,500 for the compensation and benefits of one full-time firefighter in Article 8.
Voters also approved Articles 15 and 16, which center around the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant program.
If awarded, the district hopes to hire two full-time firefighters, with a portion of their compensation and benefits covered by the grant while the district funds the remaining balance, this year $53,750.
With the approval of these articles the Prudential Committee can apply for and accept up to $15,500 through the grant program, Article 15, and allocated the funds needed to cover the remaining balance, Article 16.
"We'd love to get the grant. It's very competitive. We've put in before and not gotten that. These are the type of warrant articles you have to do to prepare, just in case you do get that," Lennon said.
If awarded, the district hopes to hire two full-time firefighters, with a portion of their compensation and benefits covered by the grant while the district funds the remaining balance, this year $53,750. The district requests this appropriation in Article 16.
The grant carries a three-year commitment, requiring annual appropriations to be approved each year to cover the district's share of the costs throughout the term of the grant.
As the department faces challenges getting volunteers, a state retirement mandate adds further constraint. However, voters authorized the district to petition the Legislature to enact special legislation allowing all Adams Fire District firefighters 65 and older to continue service.
In April, the Fire District questioned the impact of the retirement mandate after four Dalton firefighters, including the interim chief, had to retire.
If enforced, it would have immediately forced out five of the company's members, a trend that would continue upwards over the course of five to seven years.
As the district waits for this to be approved, the Prudential Committee established the role of "support person" in its policies to allow firefighters age 65 and older to continue service, but with restrictions.
Other approved funding articles include the appropriation of:
- $2,000 for the town's Support Fee, Article 7
- $10,000 in Article 9, for the Cheshire Pilot Tax Assessment, which allows water rate revenue to pay the taxes assessed by the town of Cheshire on the district's land in Cheshire.
- $7,165.90 in Article 20, for fiscal year 2026 Cheshire Pilot Tax Assessment.
- $40,000 from free cash for unexpected operational expenses during the fiscal year, giving the Prudential Committee greater flexibility and avoiding the need for a costly special town meeting.
- Article 4 which approved the fixed salary and compensation of the following elected officers: Prudential Committee: Chair for $2,000, Vice-Chair for $1,500, and member for $1,300, Chief Engineer for $40,000, and Clerk and Treasurer for $2,235
Tags: annual meeting, fire district,
