BUCKLAND — A $151,262 override for the operating budget and the final decision on whether to fold the town Police Department and merge with Shelburne are among the most significant items to come before Annual Town Meeting voters on Saturday.
The meeting will start at 10 a.m. at Mohawk Trail Regional School, where residents will discuss the 24-article warrant.
One of the most highly anticipated decisions the voters will make is about shared-policing services. The town’s exploration of shared policing started in March 2022 with the receipt of a $200,000 state grant to make a plan to transition to having one police department for both Shelburne and Buckland. Since then, police have hosted three public forums on the subject.
The two Selectboards hope to fold Buckland’s department and use Shelburne for the two towns, citing how the police reform bill of 2020 essentially eliminated part-time officers by getting rid of part-time officer training and requiring all officers to receive full-time training, thus making the way police services function in rural towns more costly.
“This is the important article,” said Selectboard Chair Barry Del Castilho.
Del Castilho explained the Selectboards technically have the power to merge the two departments, but decided they would like approval from the voters before it happens. Because inter-municipal agreements themselves do not need approval on the Town Meeting floor, the question instead asks about approving the budget for shared-policing services.
Also on the warrant is an $151,262 override question to support the fiscal year 2024 budget. After the Finance Committee crafted the budget of $5.67 million, which represents a 7.9% increase over the current year’s figures, the committee found the number to be $151,262 over the legal limit. Members cited a rise in the cost of students attending Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School; the Department of Public Works budget, which includes a new hire; general government costs like building maintenance and cybersecurity; and the planned switch to shared policing as drivers of the increase.
The Finance Committee wrote in a memo to residents that the budget “provides necessary increases in town operations required for the provision of essential services. We believe that this recommended budget is exceedingly fair.” The committee is prepared to go back to the drawing board and present a budget at a Special Town Meeting that would significantly cut services in the event that the override does not pass.
If the override does pass by the necessary two-thirds vote at Annual Town Meeting, however, the question will then be placed on the election ballot. The town election is set for June 6, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
“It is a difficult decision to make,” said Finance Committee Chair Larry Langford. “I think the consequences of not passing it are outweighed by the benefits of passing it.”
Other articles to come before Town Meeting voters involve appropriating $222,500 for capital expenses, mostly relating to the purchase of Highway Department equipment; joining the Woodlands Partnership of Northwest Massachusetts; establishing an account to receive opioid settlement funds; and changing the Mohawk Trail Regional School District’s regional agreement to align the town assessment formula to match state appropriations.
For more information on the Annual Town Meeting warrant and budget, visit bit.ly/415ArjA.
Bella Levavi can be reached at 413-930-4579 or blevavi@recorder.com.