SUNDERLAND — Affordable senior housing, public library outdoor improvements and the budget are the big ticket items on the annual town meeting warrant to be voted on at tonight’s Selectboard meeting.
An informational meeting for the senior housing development has also been scheduled for tonight’s meeting, which starts at 6:30 p.m. in the Town Offices.
The town budget is to be voted on separately from the warrant tonight. Town officials do not yet have a definite total, but “has a $180,000 structural gap. By using extra free cash, we are managing that down to $50,000,” Selectman Scott Bergeron said. A recent draft projects a $7,557,237 total operating budget, an increase of $278,772 over the budget approved at last year’s town meeting of $7,278,465.
Bergeron noted, “we have that extra free cash this year because of a series of accounts being closed versus carrying forward. This is from a recommendation of the towns annual financial audit.”
In light of the budget gap, town officials have recommended a tax levy override ballot question, requesting an additional $300,000 in property taxes, be put to a vote on at this year’s election May 6. This translates to an 86-cent rate increase from the current tax rate of $14.34.
Regionally, Sunderland’s 2015 tax rate was the 10th lowest, at $14.31 per $1,000 assessed value, of 33 towns in Franklin County according to information from the state Department of Revenue.
Article eight of the warrant asks voters “to appropriate the sum of $20,874 from the (Community Preservation Act) Undesignated Budgeted Reserves to fund Sunderland Library Backyard enhancements.” Those enhancements include additional lighting and more patio space. Improvements coincide with the library’s intention to purchase a new backlit projector for “a carless drive-in,” said Library Director Katherine Hand.
Community Preservation Act (CPA) funds can only be used for historical preservation, affordable housing, and open space projects.
Another $100,000 will be requested from CPA reserves and other funding sources to help pay for an affordable senior housing project at 120 North Main St., which has been proposed by nonprofits Rural Development Inc. and Valley Community Development Corp.
Other items on the warrant include money for the town’s 2018 tricentennial celebration, a question to reduce the town’s speed limit in thickly settled areas from 30 miles per hour to 25 and a request for $17,583 in CPA funds to organize and preserve the town’s historical records.
“That was triggered by new public records requirements,” said Town Administrator Sherry Patch about the records project, which will “make it easier for the public to find records.”
The Selectboard recently rejected a request from the fire department to put an article on the warrant requesting $525,000 for a new fire truck to replace a 1980s era vehicle.
For more information, visit the town’s office building on School Street or website at www.townofsunderland.us. Tonight’s informational meeting will be held on the second floor in the office building.
Annual Town Meeting will be at 7 p.m. April 28 at Sunderland Elementary School.