CHARLEMONT — All but one of the town’s 26 articles were approved at Tuesday’s Annual Town Meeting, including an operating budget of $3.56 million, up from $3.45 million in the current year.
One article was passed over, to discontinue a portion of Tower Road.
Before approving the budget, voters raised questions regarding the town administrator position, which has been vacant since Peg Dean resigned in January. Selectboard Chairwoman Sarah Reynolds said the board intends to hire a new administrator, but needs time to find an appropriate employee.
Selectman Jay Healy agreed, raising the idea of convening a committee to oversee the hiring process.
“I would hope that after Town Meeting, we could have a good committee and a good process … so that people could tune in,” Healy said. “I think we need a town administrator to help us with organizational issues that we deal with, with a $3.5 million budget.”
Selectwoman Marguerite Willis said she recognizes the need for part-time assistance and grant writing, but isn’t convinced that the town needs a full-time administrator.
“I started to question the need for a full-time town administrator,” Willis explained. “What I did see was a need for part-time secretarial help. This amount of money spent for someone to do secretarial and clerical work is not appropriate.”
Voters approved all other requested municipal expenses, including:
■$150,000 to buy a used fire rescue truck for the town. The measure included selling the department’s 2003 pumper tanker, which Fire Chief Dennis Annear anticipates will be sold for $60,000.
■$20,000 to spend on bridge repairs.
■$5,000 to hire a consultant to assist the assessors with drafting a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) agreement.
■$40,000 to spend on infrastructure repairs including some dirt roads.
■$70,000 for a stainless steel, all-season dump spreader body for the Highway Department.
■$38,000 to buy a self-contained breathing apparatus for the Fire Department.
■$7,000 to point the bricks on the Town Hall.
■$20,000 to buy a used police cruiser to replace the 2009 Crown Victoria, which will be disposed of, leaving the department with two cruisers, Reynolds said.
■$500 to maintain town cemeteries.
One article was passed over, to discontinue a 0.2 mile section of Tower Road known as the Tea Street Extension.
Approved items:
■To amend a law imposing a 4 percent local excise tax on short-term rental properties, increasing that tax to 6 percent.
■To make minor amendments to the town’s zoning bylaw to impose some guidelines on marijuana cultivation.
■To permit the Selectboard and the Board of Assessors to negotiate and enter into a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) agreement for a property linked to a renewable energy generation facility to be installed, owned and operated by Charlemont on land owned by the Willard Irrevocable Real Estate Trust.
■To permit the Selectboard to acquire land near West Oxbow Road to undertake a bridge replacement project, and to designate a section of the road as a public way.
■To permit the Selectboard to acquire parcels of land adjacent or contiguous to Tower Road according to a plan to examine and replace a bridge on that road over Chickley River, and to designate a section of the road as a public way.
The only citizens petition, to oppose the state flag and seal, was narrowly approved with 27 in favor and 17 opposed.
The item requested that voters support an active state bill that seeks to create a special commission concerning the seal and motto of Massachusetts. The state seal depicts a Native American and is accompanied by the motto: “By the sword we seek peace, but peace only under liberty.” The resolution expresses opposition to the seal and motto, saying Native Americans “have long suffered the many abuses of racism, the appropriation of their symbols for public schools and sports teams, the diminution and pollution of their ancestral lands, and the encroachment of their cultural lifeways.”
While multiple townspeople spoke in favor of the petition, saying the flag represented a shameful part of Massachusetts’ history and harmed individuals with Native American affiliations, a couple voters argued that changing the icon would only erase state history. Willis voted to oppose the article, saying she would prefer to alter the school curriculum to include more information on Native American history rather than erase the past.
Reach Grace Bird at gbird@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 280.