ERVING — A general operating budget of $5.1 million for fiscal year 2022 was approved at Annual Town Meeting on Wednesday, with one small amendment — an extra $100 for the town moderator.
The moderator’s salary, originally proposed at $250 for the year, was increased to $350 in an amendment proposed by resident Robert Bitzer.
“You do a great job,” Bitzer said to Moderator Richard Peabody.
The amendment passed easily, with no opposing opinions expressed.
“It was unnecessary, but thank you,” Peabody said.
Otherwise, the Wednesday evening Town Meeting went exactly according to plan. All 20 articles passed, with only an occasional clarifying question from the voters.
The meeting, which was held outdoors, under a tent at Erving Elementary School, may have gone more smoothly than expected.
At the beginning of the meeting, Peabody noted somewhat wistfully that the town of Hawley had recently finished its own Annual Town Meeting in only 22 minutes.
Then, at the end of the meeting, he announced that it had only been about 40 minutes — an impressive feat for an Erving Town Meeting, which typically lasts several hours, he said.
“But if you take out the fooling around … we got this done in 32 minutes or something like that, which would be extraordinary for the town of Erving,” Peabody said.
Beyond the $5.1 million general operating budget — which was an increase of about 5 percent over the current fiscal year — several separately voted financial articles brought the town’s total expenses for the year to about $12.6 million.
That includes Erving Elementary School’s $3.4 million budget, payments totaling $1.5 million to other districts for secondary school tuition, and $500,314 to the Franklin County Technical School.
Reuse of the 18 Pleasant St. building that used to house the offices of the Union 28 school system was one of the more noteworthy items outside of the budget. Town Meeting voters authorized the Selectboard to sell or rent the property, a necessary step in the board’s current plans to repurpose the building. In the Selectboard’s most recent discussions on the subject, it has said that it aims to release a request for proposals this summer, and later this fall will evaluate the proposals it receives.
Reach Max Marcus at mmarcus@recorder.com or 413-930-4231.