BUCKLAND — Operating assessments for the Mohawk Trail Regional School District and Franklin County Technical School, $30,000 for the Shelburne Falls Wastewater Treatment Facility and authorization for the Selectboard to enter into a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) agreement are the four articles up for vote at Special Town Meeting.
The meeting will take place on Tuesday, July 21, at 6:30 p.m. at Town Hall.
Both of the school assessment articles, Articles 1 and 2, are on the Special Town Meeting warrant because Buckland voted against supporting the operating assessment for both Mohawk Trail and Franklin Tech at its Annual Town Meeting. However, because the majority of member towns in both districts voted to support the assessments, the districts’ total budgets passed, meaning Buckland must now vote to approve its portion of funding.
The town’s operating assessment to Mohawk Trail came out to just under $3.3 million, while its operating assessment to Franklin Tech is $332,955. After the passage of a $500,000 override during Buckland’s town election, funds have been allocated to pay for both of these assessments.
“We are obliged to pay for that assessment, so we do need to officially vote for those two articles,” Town Administrator Pam Guyette said at the July 14 Selectboard meeting.
Article 3, described as a “housekeeping” article by Guyette, asks if the town will vote to raise and appropriate $30,000 for the Shelburne Falls Wastewater Treatment Facility’s operating budget. This was passed at Annual Town Meeting in May, however, while the $30,000 existed as a line item in the budget, it was ultimately not added to the total sum.
“When the accountant was entering the voted appropriations, we noticed that one of the formulas in the budget spreadsheet inadvertently left out one line totaling $30,000 from the sum,” Guyette said. “This vote will correct that error.”
Article 4 is different from the first three, as it is not asking voters if the town can appropriate funds. Instead, it asks voters to authorize the Selectboard and the Board of Assessors to enter into a PILOT program with two hydropower companies, Great River Hydro and CRP MA Gardner Falls LLC.
This doesn’t definitively mean that the town will enter into a PILOT agreement with the two companies, but it gives the option for the town to pursue that path if necessary. If a PILOT agreement is ultimately reached with the two companies, they would be exempt from property taxes, but would pay their tax obligations through this program.
“[This] may or may not happen,” Guyette said, “but we want to make sure permission is authorized.”
The full warrant can be viewed at tinyurl.com/43c6xnyx.
