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Date: 6/15/2021
BLANDFORD – During the Annual Town Meeting on June 21, residents will be asked to approve the fiscal year 2022 budget of just over $4 million, a decrease of approximately $300,000 from last year’s approved budget.
Town Administrator Joshua A. Garcia highlighted several warrant items to be voted on at the meeting. He said residents will be asked to raise and appropriate $180,034 for the Building Stabilization Fund. Garcia said this money will be collected in payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) from two new solar projects that went online this year.
The town will be adding these funds to the $619,687 currently in the building stabilization fund. Garcia said the fund will be used towards building a new highway garage and retrofitting the current garage for the Fire Department. “We’re looking for every opportunity to contribute to it and defray the cost of borrowing,” he said, adding, “The town is lucky to have a new revenue source.”
The town has just hired City Point Partners as the Owner’s Project Manager (OPM) for the project after a request for proposal process approved at a special meeting earlier this spring.
Also on the warrant is Blandford’s share for the Gateway Regional School budget of $1,646,875 based on the alternative assessment method. Garcia said Gateway had a zero percent increase in the budget this year, so in the alternative method the town will pay the same as last year.
If one or more towns reject the alternative assessment, which must pass all six member towns, the contribution reverts to the statutory method, which is based on percentage of student population as of March 1. Garcia said the statutory assessment this year is an 8.51 percent decrease from FY21, which is $140,108 less than the alternative budget.
“Blandford has always been committed to the alternative method,” Garcia said, as it allows for budgeting and avoids the wide swings caused by a few students moving in and out of town reflected in the statutory assessment. “Next year, it could go up by $200,000,” he said.
Proposed free cash transfer requests on the warrant include $100,000 to the Emergency Stabilization Fund; $25,000 to the Library Stabilization Fund to maintain the building; and $100,000 for road debt principal payment. Garcia said the town had a lot of paved roads in bad shape, and set a $1 million strategy for road repairs, half of it raised through a short-term bond, and the other half from Chapter 90 and other revenue sources. The $100,000 is to pay down the bond.
Other free cash transfers being requested include $7,000 for Fire Department uniforms, $30,000 for a UTV off-raod vehicle for the Fire Department, $20,000 for an ash tree project, $10,000 for shaker repair at the library, $120,000 for a SCADA monitoring project for the Water Department, and $100,00 in uncommitted capital to fund capital, infrastructure and planning needs as necessary, for a total of $512,000 from free cash.
Also on the warrant is an appropriation of up to $500,000 to fund fiber optic drop construction and installation. Garcia said the money is to cover the project and give the town the flexibility to continue the construction phase without interruption.
The first customers in Fiber Service Area 04, which covers North Blandford Road, North Street, Chester Road, and secondary roads, went live beginning June 14. Peter Langmore, chair of the Municipal Light Board, said they anticipate 10 customers a day and eight on Saturdays will begin receiving service.
The final article asks if residents will vote to authorize the Blandford Select Board to petition the General Court for special legislation providing for a property tax exemption incentive for firefighters who reside in Blandford.
Garcia said it is difficult to get volunteer firefighters to serve. “We have to do what we can with incentives to get people to do the job,” he said, adding that the fire chief knew of another community offering this incentive.
Garcia said the town has “a pretty healthy budget” with a surplus. “Considering coming out of a pandemic and being mindful of residents who may be struggling, this budget, assuming everything goes as planned, shouldn’t bring new taxes,” he said.
The Annual Town Meeting will be at Town Hall on June 21 at 7 p.m.