Cheshire Town Meeting Oks Budgets, Debates Potential Prop 2 1/2 Override
Moderator Carol Francesconi, left, and Anne Marie Furey were presented flowers in memory of the Rev. William Furey, their brother and husband, respectively. The town report was dedicated to him.
Some 77 of the town's more than 2,500 registered voters filled the Cheshire Community House meeting room, debating on a number of articles during the meeting that lasted nearly three hours
The town dedicated its annual report to the Rev. William David Furey, longtime pastor of First Baptist Church and more recently Berkshire Union Chapel in Lanesborough. Furey died last year at age 77.
His wife, Anne Marie Furey, and his sister, Town Moderator Carol Francesconi, were presented with a bouquet of flowers in tribute to him.
He was an exemplary member of the community who left a lasting impression in each and every life that he touched, said Town Clerk Whitney Flynn.
Voters approved several warrant articles that make up an operating budget of $3,840,314 for fiscal 2027. Of this amount, $1,642,481 is allocated for the general government budget, which was approved after clarification of a few questions.
One item was the administrative assistant's salary. Prior to the annual meeting, the town eliminated the executive assistant salary of $54,309 in favor of a part-time administrative assistant salary of $27,155, to reduce costs considering the financial constraint the town is in.
While the preferred option would be a full-time position, sacrifices had to be made because of the extremely tight budget the town is working with, Selectmen Chair Michelle Francesconi said.
The discussion on this item shifted to the financial history of the town, specifically the town's use of free cash to balance the budget and avoid a Proposition 2 1/2 override.
Despite making cuts, this year, the town is utilizing $386,593 from free cash to balance the operating budget, in Article 27, and stay within the limits of Proposition 2 1/2.
A "day of reckoning," as a voter put it, will come if the town keeps budgeting this way.
"We're in dire straits with the community, and I don't want to gloss over that. We really shouldn't be in the position that we're in right now, and the only way to get out of that is to do a Proposition 2 1/2, which everyone gets so scared about, but that's really the only way we're going to be able to function at some point," Francesconi said.
"We're going to hit that critical point where if we don't do a Proposition 2 1/2 override, there's going to be some massive changes to how this town operates."
An override would raise the town's levy capacity permanently, while also raising taxes.
According to the meeting's information packet, after using $386,593 in free cash to stay under the tax levy, allocating $14,137 for interest on the McCann Technical School roof project, and retaining $252,212 as required by the town's financial policies, the town has very little funding remaining to balance the FY27 budget.
If other funding sources become available, such federal or state, the Select Board may reduce the town's portion. The town currently has $677,991 of certified free cash.
The increased Police Department budget of $403,000 passed but not without a passionate debate between Finance Committee member Michael Biagini, interim Police Chief Timothy Garner, and a few audience members.
The budget is up $118,986 or 41.8 percent, resulting from the addition of a full-time officer position and a chief salary budgeted at $110,000, to provide the town flexibility in its search for chief.
The town's consultant recommended a salary range of $95,000 to $110,000.
One voter argued that the salary jump for the police chief is excessive and proposed capping it at $100,000 to align with similar towns.
The salary is budgeted for $110,000 to provide the town flexibility when hiring a chief but may be less based on the candidate's qualifications.
Officials said the town receives coverage from both State Police and the Lanesborough Police Department, but that even with two full-time officers, current staffing levels are not sufficient to meet the community's needs.
The town budgeted for an additional full-time officer position, bumping up the wages line item from $144,465 in this year to $190,506 in fiscal 2027.
Voter Gary Trudeau questioned this "expansion" given the financial constraints referenced earlier in the meeting.
During the discussion, the importance of retention was emphasized by Garner, Francesconi, and a couple of voters.
It was said offering competitive salaries is key to attracting and retaining officers who will build long-term careers with the town, rather than leaving after training, which is costly for the department.
The dangers of the position are real and the salaries do not compensate for the need to ensure community and officer safety. The town is trying to bring officers in, train them, and get them to stay, Francesconi said.
According to an information sheet provided to the Selectmen in February, the department handled 3,456 total calls in fiscal 2025.
"Public safety should not be where you should be pinching pennies," one voter said in the audience.
Voted Jason Mendonca raised a recent incident involving an individual allegedly under the influence on Dean Street that left him concerned to the point that he no longer allows his 12-year-old daughter to walk the dog alone.
He argued that while State Police respond when needed, they do not provide the regular neighborhood presence and community policing that local officers do.
Voters also approved school assessments of $3,402,983 for the Hoosac Valley Regional School District and $595,431 for the Northern Berkshire Vocational Regional School District, or McCann Technical School.
Article 30 also passed, amending Hoosac Valley Regional School District's regional agreement to set assessments based on a five-year rolling average rather than the annual student enrollment.
This change was in an effort to make the assessment process a little bit more viable for people from year-to-year. More information here.
Like many communities in the Berkshires, Cheshire has aging infrastructure it needs to address and voters approved two articles working to address it.
Voters approved transferring $20,000 from capital stabilization, Article 24, and $60,000 from the Public Safety Complex Account, Article 25, for a feasibility study on the older section of the Community House.
This section of the former school, which is over 100 years old, is deteriorating, and the town is also in need of a public safety building. Officials are considering whether both needs could be addressed through a single combined solution. The study is intended to evaluate reuse options for the old school wing, possibly a public?safety complex.
"We have aging infrastructure here, and the old wing of the school could be a potential location for a public safety complex," Francesconi said.
"But I also don't personally believe that we can afford to expand our footprint and add additional buildings when we can't even properly maintain the ones that we do own right now."
Francesconi advocated for the town to focus on stabilizing and improving existing buildings.
The feasibility study is a broad look at what the town can do with the space, looking at its condition, costs associated with addressing the condition, and what it can be utilized for.
Some voters expressed concern with the broad scope of the study, expressing their belief that this could be costly and should be narrowed down.
The Selectmen will hold a meeting to determine the scope prior to going out to bid for a feasibility study.
Voters also approved a room-occupancy excise tax of 6 percent, which applies to short-term rentals of 90 days or less. There are approximately 15 properties that will be impacted by this tax.
Tags: cheshire_budget, fiscal 2027, rooms taxes, town meeting 2026,
