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Date: 4/12/2021
GRANBY – The Granby Selectboard discussed anticipated funding for the town and the annual town election during their April 5 Selectboard meeting.
One of the first matters discussed by the board was a letter from the Pathfinder Regional Vocational Technical High School in Palmer. Town Administrator Christopher Martin explained in Gov. Charlie Baker’s budget, a provision was added that would grant a specific type of grant related to federal stimulus funds. These funds, Martin explained, “can be used to offset the minimum local contribution increases.”
He said the funds could also be used to offset increases in FY22 budgets for municipalities, but could not be used “unless they’re part of the initial or final state budget that’s adopted.” Martin said the town’s proposed budget from the March hearing at Pathfinder was $315,194, but should the town choose to apply the grant funds their cost would be reduced by $16,856. “However, in order for this to be allowed it must be requested to be implemented by the town,” he said. Board members called it a “no brainer” and unanimously voted in favor of using funds to decrease their local contribution should the funds be passed and adopted into the state budget.
Martin then went on to discuss the town’s anticipated funding from the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act, which was passed at the federal level. He said the Massachusetts Municipal Association (MMA) had anticipated how much money local municipalities across the state would receive, and Granby was estimated to receive $1,840,743. He said, however, “nobody knows exactly how you can spend the money.”
He said the act had four clauses with respect to how the money could be spent, with the first being in response to the public health emergency created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Another way in which the money could be used, he said, was to address the negative economic impacts created by the pandemic including “assistance to households, small businesses and nonprofits, or aid to impacted industries such as tourism, travel or hospitality.” Martin said another way the money could be used was to provide “premium pay” to essential state or government workers that had worked during the pandemic. Additionally, he said the money could be used to provide grants to employers who had workers who met such performed essential work.
Another way in which the money could be used according to the four clauses, Martin said, was for “the provision of government services” that resulted in reduced revenue for governments across the commonwealth. Additionally, he said the money could be used for investments such as water, sewer or broadband infrastructure. Martin said he was hoping that there would be a webinar hosted to explain in detail what all that meant so they spent the money appropriately.
The board also discussed the upcoming town election and the best way to inform voters of the hours, early voting and precautions being taken due to COVID-19. Martin said the Board of Registrars had approved two options to inform residents about voting, the first being mailing a postcard and the other was a series of three townwide robocalls. The postcards, Martin said, would cost the town an estimated $1,100 while the robocalls would be free to the town. However, he said that residents needed to be signed up to receive robocalls and that many residents had gotten rid of phone lines.