Huntington residents attend town forum in Stanton Hall on Wednesday.
HUNTINGTON – The Huntington Board of Selectmen held a town forum Wednesday in Stanton Hall to inform residents about the 23 articles to be voted on at the Annual Town Meeting on June 4.
Chair Edward Renauld began the meeting by noting that only the Selectmen would be presenting the articles, as there is currently no Finance Committee operating in town. The Finance Committee disbanded after the former chair, Darlene McVeigh and member Karon Hathaway were elected as selectmen last year. Renauld said the Finance Committee serves as a check to the Board of Selectmen, and encouraged any of the two dozen residents in attendance to consider volunteering.
Renauld said the numbers in the budget being presented were preliminary, but “pretty solid,” according to McVeigh. He said the town would be spending a lot of its Free Cash this year, in part because a Proposition 2.5 override failed to pass at the last town election. Certified Free Cash for the town is $450,035, according to Renauld. Of that, $100,000 is being requested to balance the FY18 budget, which has a $75,679 deficit, to defray the FY19 tax rate and stay below Prop. 2.5.
Other items being requested from Free Cash include a transfer of $12,000 into the Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB) Liability Trust Fund for retiree health insurance. $30,000 is requested to transfer for work needed at the transfer station, which needs a new concrete pad and new trash compactor in order to be in compliance with Mass Department of Environmental Protection.
$7,500 is requested for a fire alarm system for Stanton Hall and Town Hall that connects to the fire station. Last year, Stanton Hall had a fire which the current alarm did not transmit out, and was saved because somebody driving by saw smoke. Renauld said the request is for half of the estimate, with the other half to come from the Stanton Fund.
$25,000 is also being requested from Free Cash to put into a newly created Capital Equipment Stabilization Fund. McVeigh explained that the town is falling behind on capital equipment purchases, and in a few years will need a new pumper truck for the Fire Department at an estimated cost of $300,000. McVeigh said investment over the next few years will reduce the amount the town will need to borrow for that purchase.
If the Free Cash requests are approved, the remaining Free Cash will be $275,535, which Renauld said is below the state recommended amount. He said the Stabilization Account has a balance of $1,017,000, which the town has no plans to use this year.
The total town operating budget for FY19 is $5,217,945, an increase of $260,000 over FY18. Renauld said the increase in the town’s operational budget is only $32,000, or 2%.
An overall increase of $185,355 in education includes an increase of $112,960 in the town’s above-minimum assessment, which could be reduced by $45,000 if the alternative assessment being proposed for Gateway Regional passes all six towns. Also included is an increase of $83,000 in vocational tuition. McVeigh said both Smith Vocational and Westfield Technical Academy increased their tuition, and also increased the number of students accepted into the schools, from about 45% of applicants to 90%.
Huntington Selectmen Edward Renauld, Darlene McVeigh and Karon Hathaway at town forum.
Renauld said it is important to pass Article 8, the alternative assessment for the Gateway Regional School District, which will not only reduce the town’s assessment this year, but also stabilize assessments over the next five years and allow for planning.
McVeigh explained that the district and towns jointly came up with the plan through facilitated discussions. Averaging the last five years of school assessments as a baseline, if the GRSD budget goes up by 2%, all of the towns will go up by 2%. Currently, the above-minimum formula bases town assessments on share of students and a small change in numbers of students can cause dramatic increases for some towns, and decreases for others.
Other increases include Water and Sewer, $42,363, which will come from ratepayers and not impact the town’s bottom line; a 2% cost of living increase for town employees, and a 34% increase in the costs of hauling and disposal. McVeigh said the selectmen have asked the Board of Health to look at raising prices of permits and H stickers.
A new item in the budget is for Huntington’s share of the salary for the Hilltown Economic Development Director Jeanne LeClair for $19,680. McVeigh said last year the state funded her salary and benefits through a grant from the Community Compact. “I think it’s something that’s critical for our town,” McVeigh said, adding that through LeClair’s work the six towns have received several grants, most recently $50,000 to explore branding.
“The return on our investments and property values haven’t kept in pace with our neighbors. Jeanne can help brand our towns, and make Huntington visible. I welcome all the work Jeanne’s done in the last year,” McVeigh said, adding that Blandford, Middlefield and Montgomery have already voted to fund the position.
Treasurer Aimee Burnham asked what happens if one of the towns doesn’t fund the position. Hilltown Collaborative director Andy Myers of Chester said that if one town doesn’t pass it, the position will go for a shortened period of time.
LeClair, who was present at the meeting said while the state did not continue to fund her position, they are open to continue funding in different areas. The six towns also received a grant of $150,000 to do an IT needs assessment. McVeigh said Huntington is in pretty good shape in that area, but going forward may take advantage of rate savings or expansion of services offered.
McVeigh said the town did have to cut back on some budget requests. She said they didn’t fund $2,000 requested by the Recreation Committee. The tree removal budget was cut by $5,000, which felt was justified due to all of the recent tree work done by Eversource on Routes 20 and 112.
Due to Library Director Margaret Nadeau’s impending retirement at the end of June, the library trustees had requested an additional $10,000 to fund the search and coverage; and received $5,000.
Also cut was $15,000 for fall fireworks. Capt. John McVeigh of the Huntington Fire Department said they have $3,000 in their account, and plan to do a lot of boot drives to raise the money needed for the fireworks scheduled for Sept. 8.
McVeigh also spoke about Article 14, to borrow up to $90,000 to purchase a new Rescue truck for the Fire Department, intended to replace the 2004 F-35 Rescue truck. He said he’s looking at a Ford gas-powered truck which would be used mainly for medical calls. He said he is trying to reduce the amount to $80,000 by working with a local car dealership and not through the state bids.
Other articles on the warrant include two from the Planning Board; a new Site Plan Review Zoning Bylaw, and extending the temporary moratorium on recreational marijuana establishments through June 30, 2019. Renauld suggested questions on either article be addressed to the Planning Board through the town administrative assistant.
