No changes to Rindge’s town warrant were made at deliberative session on Saturday.
Only one motion to change an article was made at the meeting, with Budget Advisory Committee member Rick Sirvint asking if the audience of over 50 would be willing to add the word “principal” to an informational article about the town’s Electric Light Trust Fund.
“I think it would help clarify the article because income cannot be used for capital expenses,” said Sirvint. “I think it would give the Select Board a sense of the attitude of the town.”
Sirvint’s motion did not pass. The original article asks if voters want the Select Board to recommend using the trust fund to offset tax impact by using it to fund or partially fund the purchase of capital expenditures.
CIP committee member Craig Clark also discussed the article, saying the CIP committee was looking into trying to use the yearly growth in the account to help shoulder the burden of paying for capital expenses.
Sirvint also expressed disapproval for a warrant article requesting $5,000 for the town’s 250th anniversary, saying that he doesn’t support the use of taxpayer funds for celebrations.
“If people want to give money then they should open up their pocketbooks,” said Sirvint.
Finance Director Ellen Smith presented information on the town’s proposed operating and default budget. The default budget is $3,793,775, while the proposed operating budget is $3,891,023.
The operating budget is larger than the default, according to Smith, because of $57,944 to fund an eighth full-time officer (which would be offset by $54,000 if the COPS grant is approved), an additional $25,000 for paving, and $22,000 for a wage pool, among other smaller increases and decreases.
Fire Chief Rick Donovan spoke to three articles on the warrant: two to fund a new fire truck and another to fund a new fire prevention vehicle.
Donovan advocated for the replacement of both vehicles as there is a lot of wear and tear on them. Donovan said the old fire truck would be replaced with something similar to the department’s recently purchased truck, and the prevention vehicle — currently a 2008 Dodge Charger that was once a police cruiser — would be replaced by a truck, which would allow the department to complete more tasks with it.
There are two fire truck articles, because one article is a long-term lease/purchase agreement and the other is a lease/purchase agreement. Both are five-year deals, but the long-term agreement would save the town some money due to a slightly lesser interest rate. The $35,000 fire prevention vehicle would not have a tax impact as money would be pulled from a capital reserve account.
Selectmen pointed out that two articles would be taking advantage of $200,000 in funds raised from a recent town auction of land to decrease the tax burden. A request for a $75,000 used tractor with a flail boom mower and $125,000 of a $165,000 six-wheel dump/plow truck will be covered by the auction funds.
Nicholas Handy can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 235 or nhandy@ledgertranscript.com.