SHUTESBURY — A balanced budget for town and school operations will be presented to voters at Annual Town Meeting on Saturday, May 9, where residents will also make decisions on purchasing a new fire engine, doing dam repairs at Lake Wyola and clarifying the language of the safe community bylaw.
The $8.33 million spending plan for fiscal year 2027, which is up $566,157, or 7.3%, above this fiscal year’s $7.76 million budget, is one of 33 articles on the warrant that will be acted on starting at 9 a.m. at Shutesbury Elementary School.
The town election runs from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the same location.
The Finance Committee report shows that, if the budget is passed as recommended, the tax rate would go from $16.19 per $1,000 valuation to $17.34 per $1,000, with the tax bill for an average home assessed at $417,704 rising by just under $500, from $6,770 to $7,243.
The budget includes a $163,981, or 6.3%, increase for the elementary school, going from $2.59 million this fiscal year to $2.76 million next fiscal year, with increases attributed to transportation and mandated student services. Meanwhile, Shutesbury’s assessment for the Amherst-Pelham Regional School District is going up by $12,357, a 0.73% increase, from $1.78 million to $1.79 million.
To fund the spending, $8.11 million is coming from property taxes, $208,250 from free cash and $10,000 from the Septic Betterment Fund.
In its report to Town Meeting, the committee states that the primary drivers behind the increased budget are health insurance, with premiums anticipated to rise by $65,000, or 8.8%; debt service, including the first payment on the new library loan at $121,000; ongoing regional school obligations, including $34,000 in debt; and the per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), or “forever chemicals,” remediation loan of $19,000.
Total reserves, if the budget and warrant articles pass, would drop to $1.06 million, which follows course from last year when $139,000 in reserves were used to moderate the impact of rising health insurance and regional school costs.
“The Finance Committee believes it is time for Shutesbury to begin a serious, community-wide conversation about economic development,” the committee wrote. “If we want to reduce the pressure on homeowners over time, we need to begin asking where and how we can thoughtfully and responsibly support investment and new growth in Shutesbury.”
A series of free cash transfers will be done for items outside the budget. These include $64,318 to buy a Highway Department tractor, $10,630 to buy a Highway Department sprayer, $15,800 for engineering and surveying for the school parking lot so state grants can be sought, $15,725 for digitizing physical municipal records, $15,000 to replace the stage curtain at the school, $6,000 for replacing two industrial snowblowers used for school walkways and emergency exits at the school, and $5,700 to acquire a clicker-based voting system for Town Meeting.
Voters will be asked to move $83,845 from the Stabilization Fund for dam repairs mandated by a dam safety order that was issued by the state on Dec. 3, and to give authorization to borrow $800,000 for the procurement of a replacement fire engine to maintain municipal fire suppression capacity. The current Engine 2 is a 1996 model with 30 years in service, even though National Fire Protection Association standards recommend the retirement of frontline engines after 20 years of service.
Community Preservation Act funding will go toward other projects, if approved. There is $5,000 to pay for a regional housing coordinator at the Franklin Regional Council of Governments, who will assist Shutesbury and other participating communities in developing and pursuing affordable housing opportunities; $9,000 to restore the storage shed and gazebo at Elliott Park, next to the Randall Road boat ramp at Lake Wyola; and $89,000 to buy 9 acres between Wendell and Locks Pond roads to add to the South Brook Conservation Area, with 2 acres offering potential for an affordable housing site.
Shutesbury, like other communities that border the Quabbin Reservoir, could state its support for “just recompense,” including better payments and board representation, for protecting the water supply but being unable to develop that land for its own profit. This will signal endorsement of the Quabbin watershed legislation filed by Sen. Jo. Comerford, D-Northampton, and Rep. Aaron Saunders, D-Belchertown.
For the safe community bylaw, a citizen’s petition aims to clarify that town resources and staff, including police, will not be used to enforce federal civil immigration laws unless required by a judicial warrant. This would strengthen the existing bylaw and spell out the town’s concerns about Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
To view the full 33-article Annual Town Meeting warrant, related budget documents and more, visit shutesbury.org/news/annual-town-meeting-and-election.
