ERVING — A proposed fiscal year 2022 budget that represents roughly a 5 percent increase over the current year’s budget and a handful of ongoing infrastructure projects will come before voters at Annual Town Meeting on Wednesday.
Town Meeting will start at 7 p.m. outside Erving Elementary School.
Along with the operating budget and other financial articles, voters will consider authorizing the Selectboard to continue toward repurposing the 18 Pleasant St. building that used to house the offices of the Union 28 school system.
The town’s operating budget is proposed at just under $5.1 million, which covers the core operations of the town government. Other expenses are voted in separate articles — most notably, payments to the various school districts Erving participates in. The town’s total expenses come to about $12.6 million — however, Administrative Coordinator Bryan Smith noted that not all of that money is raised through taxes. For example, the Water Department’s budget is paid for by user fees, and a significant part of the Wastewater Department’s budget is paid for by an arrangement with Montague.
Smith noted that the arrangement of articles on the Town Meeting warrant is similar to that of previous warrants, reflecting the structure of the town’s budget.
“(The Selectboard) tries not to change the structure of the articles too much, so that residents can follow along from year to year,” Smith said.
Education expenses are divided into three categories. Erving Elementary School’s budget is just under $3.4 million. Costs for sending students in grades seven to 12 to other districts account for about $1.5 million. The fee to Franklin County Technical School is $500,314.
Capital projects are voted in a single article, worth $415,000, with notes on the value of each project. The largest is $75,000 for upgrades to the emergency departments’ communication systems, as most other towns in the region have done or are planning to do.
Also notably, $70,000 is budgeted to replace the carpets at Erving Elementary School. Smith said this expense was originally planned for last year, but was delayed because of the pandemic.
Reuse of the 18 Pleasant St. building, which the Selectboard has been discussing since the Union 28 school system relocated its offices last fall, is also on the warrant. Specifically, Town Meeting voters must authorize the Selectboard to rent or sell the property to a developer, if the board is to continue in its plans for reusing the building.
The Selectboard has discussed using a request for proposals, in which it would solicit concepts from developers and select one at its own discretion. This process is different from a typical bidding process, in which the property must be sold to the highest bidder.
Smith said the board now aims to release the request for proposals in July or August, and would likely close it and evaluate whatever proposals it had received by October.
Reach Max Marcus at mmarcus@recorder.com or 413-930-4231.