Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito visited Franklin County on Thursday, signing Community Compact agreements with officials in Bernardston and Whately.
According to a state press release, by entering a Community Compact, a community agrees to implement self-selected best practices. As part of this partnership, the Commonwealth provides community-specific assistance based on their chosen best practices.
Through the agreement, Bernardston plans to implement best practices focusing on technology, strategic planning, transportation and public works, the release states.
“It was very nice to see the lieutenant governor today and finalize the Community Compact agreement between Bernardston and the state,” Bernardston Selectboard Chairman Andrew Girard said. “It gives us an opportunity to work with the state and get funding for projects in town that need it.”
Bernardston has already received a series of grants through the Community Compact program, including $8,000 in March to develop a fleet inventory and replacement plan for town vehicles, and $19,500 in February to develop a maintenance plan for its small bridges, culverts and manholes. The Massachusetts Office of Information Technology (MassIT) also agreed in January to conduct a technology survey on the town’s behalf.
“Replacement is one of the things that’s always at the forefront,” Girard said in reference to the maintenance and replacement plans. “It was nice to team up with the state on those issues and receive help from them.”
Through the Community Compact agreement, Whately is receiving a $15,000 grant to study potentially merging the water department and water district. The town also received a $5,000 Franklin Regional Council of Governments in January to establish a clear and transparent budget document, and a $5,000 grant to conduct a technology assessment, which had concluded by the end of March, according to Whately Town Administrator Brian Domina.
“We don’t have a very good inventory of what our IT system is as far as computers, hooking up to the internet, providing backup services…” Whately Selectman Fred Orloski said of the assessment. “We’ve got two or three different locations that use the Internet and computers, but they’re all kind of independent, so we want to tie that together.”
In Whately, Orloski continued, the town is divided between the Water Department and Water District, the latter of which services only about 40 residents in the town center. Given the small number of people the Water District serves, Orloski said it “probably can’t be sustained going into the future,” leading the town to seek a study regarding merging the two.
The third goal, Orloski said, is to better explain the budget process, which he said has “kind of been an ongoing problem for years.” By documenting the process, and creating a clear and transparent budget document, Orloski said the town will determine where improvements should be made.
“Most of the people on the Finance Committee know the process, but it’s difficult to get an explanation that’s meaningful for voters in town,” he explained.
According to the state press release, Polito has signed over 270 compacts with communities across the state, and some additional applications are pending.
“On behalf of the Commonwealth, the Baker-Polito administration looks forward to working with town officials to implement their selected best practices,” Polito is quoted as saying of Bernardston and Whately in the release.
You can reach Shelby Ashline at: sashline@recorder.com
or 413-772-0261, ext. 257