Dublin residents received clarifications and discussed the town’s warrant at a pre-town meeting in the town hall basement Tuesday night, which had 54 attendees. Discussion included commentary on Article 16, which would appoint the Select Board as agents to spend from four of the town’s nine additional Capital Reserve Funds.
“This is something that’s really been bothering me,” resident Steve Baldwin said of the article. He urged fellow residents to “never, ever, ever give up your ability to vote on how money is spent.”
The Select Board are already agents for the town’s Fire Equipment, Heavy Highway Equipment, Road Construction, Recreation Trust Fund, and Milfoil Cleanup Capital Reserve Funds. If approved, the article would additionally allow them to be agents for the Town Buildings Maintenance, Police Cruiser, Bridge Repair/Maintenance, and Library Major Repair and Maintenance funds.
As of February 2020, the funds the Select Board are agents for contain about $520,000, and the funds they are not agents for contain about $485,000, Chairman Dale Gabel said.
Currently, the Select Board has to organize a special town meeting or wait for the next town meeting to spend from those funds. If they were agents, the Board could immediately allocate funds for unexpected expenses that could come up throughout the year, such as for the repairs needed after the heavy rainstorm in August 2018, Selectman Walter Snitko said.
“We’ve never needed that special town meeting,” resident Allan Pinney said, urging voters “Don’t risk it, it’s a bad deal.”
A resident clarified that, even with agency, the Select Board would be limited to spending funds within the limits of the individual trust funds. Gabel said the Select Board has not abused their agency over the trust funds they already control, and said that last year, the Board developed a warrant article for a big withdrawal from the Fire Equipment fund, despite not having to do so. “I can’t say things about future Boards of Selectmen,” Gabel said.
The Select Board are agents for three of the town’s four trust funds, Dale said.
Voters also received the specifics on tax writeoffs associated with the 2020 warrant’s two petition articles. Article 17 asks voters to increase the Veteran’s Tax Credit from $500 to $750. Currently, the town writes off $36,000 a year in veteran’s credits, Gabel said, and, if approved, the article would increase that amount to $54,000. Article 18 asks voters to allow an optional tax credit of $4,000 for veterans with a 100 percent military disability rating. Currently, Gabel said the town credits $700 per individual, a total of $2,100 a year. If approved, the article would increase credits to $12,000 per year.
Article 7 asks voters to spend $62,985 to chip seal town roads. Road Agent Roger Trempe clarified that this year’s funds would go to chipping and sealing Valley Road and Perry Pasture Road.