ASHFIELD — Voters will be asked to approve a $120,000 tax levy-limit override during the annual election to meet the coming year’s town budget and school costs.

The polls, on the lower floor of Town Hall, will be open on May 7 from 10:15 a.m. to 6 p.m., while the annual town meeting is held upstairs at 10 a.m. that day.

To better prepare residents on the issues, the Selectboard will give a budget presentation on Monday at 7 p.m. in the Town Hall. Residents will be able to ask questions about the budget as well as the regional agreement changes proposed by the Mohawk Trail Regional School District.

This year’s proposed town budget of $4,783,768 exceeds the “maximum allowable budget” of $4,671,876, as determined by the Proposition 2½ tax levy limit. Therefore, the town seeks a levy limit override to eliminate an $111,892 shortfall and to cover rising school costs. The proposed Mohawk Trail Regional School District assessment of $2.17 million represents a 7 percent increase, or about $145,483.

Also, to offset the budget increase, town officials recommend spending $160,633 of its “free cash” reserves, leaving a balance of $61,813 in that savings account.

New expenses built into the budget proposal include a $15,000 “pipeline opposition/mitigation account” to be administered by the Selectboard for expenses related to the opposition of/or mitigation of the Northeast Energy Direct Project that had been proposed by the Tennessee Gas Pipeline LLC to pass through Ashfield. This expenditure was unanimously recommended by the Finance Committee. However, the company announced Wednesday that the project was being halted, citing an inability to sign enough customers to make it profitable.

Another new cost is $60,000 for a Broadband Development Account to jump-start the town’s broadband development and installation. Although the town is still waiting for the Massachusetts Broadband Institute to release state money for last-mile fiber-optic build-out, the Selectboard said appropriating some of its broadband money now may reduce the amount it needs to borrow later.

Ashfield, along with all towns in the Mohawk Trail Regional School District, will be asked to approve three major changes in the eight-town regional district agreement:

to add how the school district will assess pre-kindergarten costs to member towns;

to allow Rowe to rejoin the Mohawk district as a Grade 7 through 12 member town;

and to allow future amendments to the Mohawk regional district to be approved by a two-thirds majority, instead of a unanimous vote by member towns. The one exception to this third change is if the proposal is to close a regional district school. Then, the towns affected by a school closure would have to be among the two-thirds majority approving the measure.

In other business, based on a recommendation by the state, Ashfield will be asked to adopt a general bylaw requiring the town to have a full-time town administrator as the chief administrative officer of the town.

Also, townspeople will be asked to approve a tax levy-limit debt exclusion to help pay for a backhoe for the town Highway Department. The backhoe is expected to cost around $130,000, and the estimated cost of the proposed debt exclusion is about $60,000.

Diane Broncaccio can be reached at:
dbroncaccio@recorder.com
or 413-772-0261, ext. 277