Ashfield Selectboard raises transfer station sticker fee
ASHFIELD — The Ashfield Selectboard voted to raise the fee for a transfer station sticker at its meeting on Tuesday night. Stickers were $75 each and were increased to $80 for fiscal year 2027.
There was some debate among Selectboard members over whether or not it would be better to raise the amount in small increments now, or raise it by $25 or more a few years from now.
After this brief discussion, Selectboard Chair Tom Carter made the motion to raise the fee from $75 to $80, which was approved unanimously by the board.
Ashfield approves annual Town Meeting warrant
ASHFIELD — The town of Ashfield approved it’s annual Town Meeting warrant with no real changes at Tuesday’s Selectboard meeting. Town Moderator Buz Eisenberg was in attendance, as well as Ben Markens, chair of the Finance Committee.
While not much was changed on the warrant, some insight was given into how the Town Meeting will work. During discussion on the school budget, two representatives from the Mohawk Trail Regional School District will be there to explain to voters how they reached the assessment that appears on the warrant.
Markens said he was happy to testify in front of the voters. He said he attended all of the budget meetings, and that the budget subcommittee of the School Committee was “diligent in getting the assessment as low as possible.”
Currently, Ashfield’s portion of the MTRSD budget is $3,100,902. The town’s total school expense is currently $3,551,902, of which $217,799 will be appropriated from free cash.
Ashfield’s snnual Town Meeting is on May 2 at Ashfield Town Hall.
Colrain approves annual Town Meeting warrant
COLRAIN – At its meeting Tuesday night, the Colrain Selectboard approved its annual Town Meeting warrant after some minor changes were made to the warrant following the previous meeting.
One of the changes was adding another warrant article. This came after Highway Superintendent Nate Gilbert said it might cost more money than the original $85,000 that was on the warrant to convert a fire truck chassis into a highway vehicle.
Article 16 seeks an additional $10,000 from free cash to purchase a snow plow that would go on this new highway vehicle. One issue the Selectboard and Gilbert are running into is that there isn’t enough space to house this truck indoors.
“I was wondering if it was a good idea or not,” Selectboard Chair Emily Thurber said,” but we can’t afford to buy a new truck in a couple of years.”
The town’s budget on the warrant, not including Colrain’s portion of the school budget, is $2,340,156, which is a $4,000 increase over the current fiscal year, or .17%. Town Administrator Diana Parsons said she was “really proud” of the town for keeping the increase that small. The Town Meeting is on Tuesday, May 5, beginning at 6 p.m.