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Date: 10/14/2021
HAMPDEN – The Town of Hampden will conduct a Special Town Meeting on Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. at Thornton W. Burgess School. The town’s free cash is money not used at the end of the previous fiscal year. Many of the costs associated with the warrant’s 15 articles utilize a mix of free cash and raising money through taxes. Despite this, a reduction of the tax rate is proposed.
Article 1 requests the purchase of a new police cruiser for $53,000. The money would be taken from unappropriated available funds. Police cruisers have been requested at each of the last three town meetings as part of a rotating cruiser replacement schedule.
Article 2 would establish a “municipal light plant.” An administrative entity, a municipal light plant is required by the state before a municipality can pursue a town-operated telecommunications system, such as a fiber optic network, or any other utility. The creation of a municipal light plant would not require funding and would not add to the tax rate.
Article 3 asks for the approval of Police Department budget adjustments. The changes to the budget are largely the result of emergency dispatch services combining with those of neighboring Wilbraham. Salaries would decrease by $206,995 as the dispatcher positions have been eliminated, although some of those individuals have been rehired in other roles. The line items for training and expenses have also been reduced by $6,740 and $2,800, respectively, as a result of the dispatch change.
One area in which the budget has increased is the career incentives that are offered within the police department. Approving the total adjustments would save the town $216,123.
Article 4 seeks to use $30,000 in available mopney to fund the town’s portion of the East Main Street culvert replacement project. The state’s Small Bridge Program would fund the remaining $34,000 for the project. The purpose of the culvert replacement is to mitigate flooding in the area during increasingly frequent storms.
Articles 5 and 6 focus on the Ameresco solar project at the site of the former dump, near the Transfer Staton. Article 5 would authorize a conservation restriction on three parcels, totaling 18.78 acres of town-owned land. The Minnechaug Land Trust, which oversees the hiking trails and mountains, would take control of this land in perpetuity for rare species habitat. This land is being set aside to mitigate the impact of the Ameresco construction. Article 6 then transfers the deed for those parcels to the conservation commission.
Articles 7, 8 and 10 call for adjusting the pay scale classification that was established as part of the 2020 compensation study performed by the Collins Center for Public Management at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Requests for salary adjustments were considered on a case-by-case basis, based on evidence not taken into account during the outside study. All three salary changes would be paid for through free cash.
Article 7 would upgrade the position of Principal Assessor to a Grade 6-Step 8 with a corresponding salary increase of $2,364. Article 8 would upgrade the administrative person in the Building Department from a Grade 3-Step 2 to a Grade 4-Step 2 and raise their salary by $3,889. Article 10 is an upgrade to the Youth Services/Children’s Librarian position from a Grade 3-Step – to a Grade 4-Step 3, an increase of $3,520 in pay.
Article 9 asks for $9,300 from community preservation annual revenues to hire a consultant in preparation for placing Hampden on the Historical Register. A presentation will be given at the meeting to further explain this topic. This action would not raise the tax rate.
Article 11 would fund the purchase of a pickup truck and a rubber track excavator for the Highway Department. The cost of these items, $43,000, would be taken from available funds.
Article 12 would put money back in Hampden’s pocket by reducing the town’s assessment for the Hampden Wilbraham Regional School District. This is the result of M.G.L. Chapter 71, Section 16B1/2, which states that if the district’s excess and deficiency account, similar to a town’s free cash, is more than 5 percent of its operating budget, a refund of the extra must be made to the town(s).
Article 13 seeks to lower short-term debt by $375,443. The town would pay down this debt by transferring unused money.
Article 14 puts in the stabilization fund, which is essentially the town’s savings account.
Finally, Article 15 would reduce the tax rate for fiscal year 2022 by using free cash.
As of press time, the town had not finalized the funding amounts for the majority of the articles. This information will be presented at the town meeting.