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Reminder Correspondent HAMPDEN Hampden residents were able to express their concerns about the upcoming budget cuts that will close the Library and the Senior Center during the Board of Selectmen meeting on Tuesday at Hampden Town Hall. During the public forum session, Hampden resident Patricia Kaiser Ehlers presented a letter to the Selectmen expressing her disappointment with the leadership of town officials and proposed a special town meeting in the fall to correct the budget situation plaguing the town. Ehlers believes that town officials did not do enough to present the issues of the budget to residents before the vote on Proposition 2 1/2 on May 16, which Hampden voters defeated. "In fact nowhere on the ballot did it say vote no and close the library, recreation, and senior center," Ehlers explained in the letter. Chairman of the Board James D. Smith explained to Ehlers that she could initiate a Special Town Meeting with 200 signatures of town residents. "If we get 60 percent of the voters out and we lose then we lose, I will know where people stand," said Ehlers. Members of the Board expressed their disappointment with the failure of residents to vote for Proposition 2 1/2, but they said they would stand by the decision that residents made with their votes. "I will not endorse another override," Smith said. Board member Duane E. Mosier also said that he believed the town had done an adequate job getting information across to residents before the vote on Proposition 2 1/2. "I truly feel that people were not informed and we need to go back to rectify the problem," Ehlers said. "We have to correct this problem, we can not live in a town without a library and senior center," she added. The Selectmen also met with Jeff Farnsworth, the acting Police Chief, to discuss staffing of the police department. Because of budget cut backs, there will be multiple times per week when there is only one officer on duty, according to Farnsworth. "It's going to be a work in progress, we are going to have an increased reliance on reserve officers," Farnsworth said. The staff that Farnsworth proposed at the meeting consisted of four patrol officers, 2 sergeants, and 1 chief. The Board also met with the Library Trustees of the Hampden Public Library that will be closing on June 30. The Trustees outlined some of the tasks that they would be undertaking to get the library ready for closure, such as covering all materials with plastic and securing town documents. The Trustees also informed the Board that they would be periodically entering the library after it closes to make sure that there has been no damage to anything in the building. According to the Trustees, if the Library is to reopen, its basic budget must come from tax revenue for the Library to be certified. The Library can accept donations, but it cannot be certified with a budget based solely on donations. The Selectmen will meet again on June 21, at 7 p.m. at the Town Hall. | ||||||
