The Select Board spent much of last evening preparing for possible controversies at this Saturday’s Annual Town Meeting. With the help of Moderator Buz Eisenberg and the Finance Committee, the board reviewed four articles in particular that could generate confusion or opposition.
Two of the articles involve numbers that have been changed since the warrant was published. Due to an accounting error, too much was budgeted under Article 9 for the town clerk’s salary. Also, the salary figures for the sewer system operator in Article 20 will be reduced.
On Article 11, Select Board Chair Ted Murray said he anticipated an amendment that will cut the chief’s salary in half in order to reinstate the sergeant’s salary. No one questioned the source of the amendment because a letter from Bill Perlman proposing it has been widely circulated through town. In previous weeks, as the budget was being hammered out, Murray has argued that an inadequate chief’s salary reduces the chances the town will find a qualified candidate. The Finance Committee also endorses zeroing out the sergeant’s salary.
Article 15, funding the highway department, could create confusion because this year’s budget for the first time separates straight time and overtime. This apparently reduces the winter roads line item significantly, but Murray explained that $57,000 of the straight-time labor line item was formerly included under the winter roads line item. This article also reduces labor costs, effectively eliminating one position on the road crew. The board agreed this is likely to provoke discussion.
Eisenberg reminded the board that any amendments to an article that increase the amount being appropriated could be disallowed because they fall outside the scope of the original article.
David King
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Why is it that Bill Perlman would oppose cutting the Sargent's position? Could it be that this is his last stronghold in town? Is she someone who owes him favors? Looks that way, as if any one of us brought marijuana on school grounds, we would have been arrested. Well, even though Bill has talked of us as "Dave's gang", I for one think Dave has done a great job helping to get the town back on the way to having some integrity again. Ted was thrust into a position that I am sure he had no idea what he was in for. Thank you Ted for your hard work. Dave has nothing personal to gain, instead he puts himself and his family in the way of being slandered for doing things the fair way. A way in which we would all want to be respected. Not looking for favors or a pat on the back. I am looking forward to a time in the near future, when the select board, a board of 3, are all working together to make choices to move our town forward. The finance committee and the select board have had to work hard to balance our budget, let's give them credit and applaud their hard work. Although we all have our differences of opinion, we should all think and vote for what is best for the town as a whole.
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