SHELBURNE — An 11.3% increase in Shelburne’s assessment to Franklin County Technical School, a 6.6% increase to its assessment for the Mohawk Trail Regional School District and some bylaw rewordings are among the items up for a vote at Annual Town Meeting.
The meeting, set for Tuesday, May 5, at 6:30 p.m. at the Shelburne Falls Theater at Memorial Hall, will see attendees vote on 39 warrant articles.
The town’s fiscal year 2027 omnibus budget in Article 7 is unanimously supported by the Selectboard and the Finance Committee. The total budget comes to $6.7 million, representing a 6.6% increase over FY26.
Between the school operating assessments, Shelburne’s education budget is up $217,674. Selectboard Chair Rick LaPierre noted that these increases don’t account for the capital assessments that are also on the warrant. The Mohawk Trail capital assessment ($50,677) comes in Article 8, while the Franklin Tech capital assessment ($6,521) is Article 13.
LaPierre said the town is “fortunately … not in a [Proposition 2½] override problem like many towns. However, our cushion is the lowest it has been in many years.”
Within the omnibus budget, there are some line items that have significant increases “over which the town has little to no control,” according to LaPierre. One of these is health insurance for town employees, which LaPierre said has “jumped 42.5% over what was approved” at last year’s Annual Town Meeting.
LaPierre said there is “no guarantee” that the $423,765 that Shelburne has allotted for health insurance in FY27 will be enough to cover the entire fiscal year.
“The budget process is challenging. We’re asked to predict what it will cost to do the town’s day-in, day-out business, 15 months out,” LaPierre said. “The town administrator, Finance Committee and Selectboard spend months to keep our town fiscally responsible.”
Article 9 asks if the town will appropriate $10,000 from the Housing Trust Fund Account to supplement the West County Food Pantry’s operating expenses for FY27. The Selectboard unanimously supports this article, while the Finance Committee does not recommend it. This would equate to half of what the pantry received from Shelburne last year.
When voting on their warrant recommendations at the April 21 Selectboard meeting, both member Andrew Baker and LaPierre said this would be the last year that they would be voting “yes” on West County Food Pantry funding, with LaPierre saying they asked the pantry last year “to really dig in on this and they didn’t show us anything they had.”
Article 33 looks to see if the town will amend Article 11, Section 11 of its bylaws. If approved by voters, the change would add the language: “Alcoholic beverages (as defined in Chapter 138, Section 1 of the Massachusetts General Laws) are strictly prohibited in all municipal buildings and on all municipal grounds, including those which may have been leased to other organizations.”
When voting on whether to recommend Article 33, member Rodney McBride and LaPierre voted in favor, while Baker was opposed.
Other articles on the warrant include:
- Article 24: To see if the town will accept the Selectboard’s declaration that 49 Mechanic St. is surplus property. If approved, it would become available as a future site for affordable housing through Pioneer Valley Habitat for Humanity.
- Article 34: To see if the town will change the bylaw definition of a multi-family dwelling to read “a principal building designed for or converted for occupancy by more than two families in separate dwelling units separated by vertical walls or horizontal floors.” The current language reads “up to four families.”
The Annual Town Meeting warrant can be viewed at townofshelburnema.gov/files/2027_Annual_Town_Meeting_Warrant_excludes_Article_7.docx. Article 7, the omnibus budget, is available at townofshelburnema.gov/files/2027_Annual_Town_Meeting_Warrant_Article_7-_-_Omnibus_Budget.xlsx.
