Board of Selectmen Meeting, November 14, 2022
Budget pain. Conservation violation. Town hall plumbing problems.
2023 Budget Squeeze
The preliminary operating budget is more than 7% higher than the current year’s budget, requiring major cuts to achieve the mandatory tax cap.
John Scruton said, “I think the Budget Committee is going to have real trouble staying within the cap.” John Morin said, “that’s right…. When somebody says you can’t cut this, I’m going to cut it and blame it on whoever said yes to the 4%. It’s their fault.” John Scruton disagreed, saying, “I think you’re wrong. I recommend against that. I recommend that you take this budget and hand it to the Budget Committee and say, ‘here, you wanted the tax cap. Get it down to the number you want.’” Donna Danis remarked, “that’s irresponsible for the Select Board to do.”
Ongoing Conservation Violation
The Conservation Commission reported two problems. The serious one is an ongoing problem with one landowner who has for years been violating a conservation deed restriction regarding a wetland. Over the past several years the commission has repeatedly engaged the landowner about the violations. Each year the landowner persists in actively violating the conservation restrictions. The commission requested the board to take action against the landowner. A debate ensued about the costs and benefits of the investment in legal fees required. It was decided to research whether conservation funds could be used. If so, it was agreed to use those funds to take legal action.
The other issue is that the commission needs some younger volunteers as some of its present members are getting too old to do extensive site visits of conserved land.
Town Hall Plumbing Failure
John Scruton informed the board that there had been a major failure of the plumbing at town hall. A plumber was called and got the drains working again, but the plumber believes that the cast iron pipe running beneath the kitchen has broken and that the drain will clog again. This will be confirmed later using a scope. Ben Bartlett found this disturbing because he said that the pipe was supposed to have been repaired as part of the kitchen remodeling project.
Proposed Permit Requirement for Driveways
John Scruton proposed having the town require driveway permits for future driveway work due to a recent incident with a driveway that the town is working on with the homeowner. The Board tabled the issue to discuss later.
Other Issues
The town has $381k AARPA funds left. Ben Bartlett argued that some of these funds should be used to repair town buildings.
There was a resignation at the Recycling Center.
Watch the video: