NEW SALEM — Adoption of the final article on the warrant for Monday’s Special Town Meeting would confirm the results of last year’s town election, which was found to not have been properly posted in accordance with state law.
Article 14 asks residents if they will ratify and validate all votes cast on May 5, “notwithstanding any defects or omissions in the calling of said annual town election.” The article’s approval would be supplemented by a bill filed by state Rep. Aaron Saunders to confirm the election’s results.
“Things like this happen from time to time,” said Saunders, D-Belchertown. “[The legislation] is dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s.”
He said the solution to this problem is made simpler by the fact that the May election consisted of no contested races, overrides or debt exclusions. It appears the May 5, 2025, election warning was not posted seven days prior, as is required by law.
The Special Town Meeting is slated to begin at 6 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 12, at the New Salem Public Library at 23 South Main St.
Most of the warrant’s remaining articles pertain to the Highway Department. Highway Superintendent Colin Killay said the eight articles he had put onto the warrant are necessary to stabilize the budget “so we can continue working in the spring.”
“They’re all important,” he said on Tuesday. “We need this money to kind of get us through the end of the [fiscal] year.”
Most of the articles involve moving money from free cash to the Highway Department’s General Expenses Account for various purchases and services. Article 2 asks residents for $83.10 to pay a prior year’s bill for uniforms for the department’s three employees.
The proposed transfers to the Highway Department’s General Expenses Account, totaling $53,792 in all, include $20,000 for repairs to a 2016 F-750 with motor failure, $2,661 and change for repairs to a 2008 John Deere loader, $2,500 for a new pump for the diesel tank, $5,100 for contracting the sweeping of town roads, $4,030 and change to buy and install lighting fixtures at the salt shed, $8,500 to purchase hot mix asphalt for paved road maintenance, and $11,000 for gravel and hard pack for gravel road maintenance.
Killay, the former longtime Orange highway boss who has been on the job about a month after having worked as a consultant for a few area municipalities, said he has little doubt New Salem residents will support his department. A meet and greet with Killay at the New Salem Public Library will precede the Special Town Meeting, starting at 5:30 p.m.
“It’s a nice little town,” he said. “The people here are great.”
Other articles include transferring $20,000 from free cash to the Legal General Expenses Account for legal consultation and court fees, transferring $4,902 from free cash to pay Massachusetts Interlocal Insurance Association (MIIA) property insurance bills and transferring $1,000 from free cash to hire an animal inspector.
To view the full 14-article warrant, visit tinyurl.com/NewSalemSTM2026.