MONROE — A just over $1 million fiscal year 2027 budget was approved unanimously by the 13 voters in attendance at Annual Town Meeting in Town Hall on Monday.
Of Monroe’s eligible voting population, which is 97 residents, 13.4% made their way to Town Meeting, where 31 out of 32 articles were approved unanimously with little to no discussion. Article 1 was skipped as it asked if the town would appoint a temporary moderator in the absence of an elected moderator, but the town had already elected Joe Cashman as moderator.
In the budget, $489,436 was allocated for general government; $78,213 covers the salaries of elected and appointed officials; $334,985 was approved for education, which includes the Northern Berkshire School Union and the Northern Berkshire Vocational Regional School District; $30,593 is for the Franklin Regional Retirement System; $5,863 pays for membership in the Franklin Regional Council of Governments (FRCOG); $1,184 is for the Franklin County Emergency Communications System; $2,281 is for regional animal control services; $60,000 is for wastewater treatment; and $539 is for veterans services.
Answering a question about why some of the budget line items had asterisks next to them, Town Clerk Sharon Oakes explained that those line items were voted on as their own separate articles last year, and the town wanted to differentiate that in the budget.
In addition to the budget, voters also approved transferring $20,000 to the Sewer Plant Capital Improvement Stabilization Account, and entering a five-year lease for the purchase of a Caterpillar 420 backhoe/loader, with an estimated cost of $138,000.
Voters also unanimously approved two supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year 2026 operating budget. This included transferring $12,876 from free cash to the Highway Department, which will be used to pay the second year of a five-year lease for a 2023 truck. The second was to allocate $50,632 for the school budget, as Northern Berkshire School Union had a shortfall due to School Choice numbers.
The only discussion at Monday’s meeting arose during consideration of the last four articles. Article 29 asked if the town would approve a 6% short-term room occupancy excise tax, while Articles 31 and 32 asked if the town would enact a community impact fee, with Article 31 applying to professionally managed rental units while Article 32 pertained to units that are two-family or three-family dwellings that include the owner’s primary residence. This community impact fee would be set at 3% for both types of property.
A related vote came in Article 30, adoption of local option room occupancy transfers. Multiple residents had questions about what that meant, and Oakes explained that if the town did not pass Article 30, the language of which was based on state guidance, Articles 31 and 32 could in turn not pass.
Oakes further explained that the spirit behind the last four articles was to have a way to get short-term renters, who don’t pay property taxes and, thus, don’t “chip in” toward the cost of public services like road maintenance, to pay their fair share for living in Monroe.
According to data from the state Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities, 24.3% of housing units in Monroe are seasonal and 5.7% are short-term rentals.
Once the question was clarified, Articles 29, 30, 31 and 32 passed unanimously.
Town officials who were not elected were appointed during Town Meeting. Residents agreed to appoint Clifford Oakes and Douglas Oakes Jr. to serve as the town’s fence viewers, measurers of wood and bark, measurers of lumber, field drivers and pound keepers.
