by Frank Schroth

The Warrant Committee for the second year dispensed with an all day meeting in favor of a ~2 hour night meeting much to the relief of the vested parties (i.e. town officials and department heads). The all day meeting was a session in which department heads addressed lingering questions regarding their budgets and made last minute pleas for funding of priority items. As it was televised, it also gave residents an opportunity to hear from department heads first hand on their needs and their proposed funding. However, as Warrant Committee Chair Ted Hays noted last week, all presentations to the Warrant Committe are now televised. Department heads have already made their presentations, had their budgets vetted, and addressed the questions and issues raised by the committee.

At last week’s session Mr. Hays reviewed all town revenues and the committee voted to accept the FY16 revenue number which is ~$103 million. Mr. Hays also reviewed the strategy regarding the use of free cash as a bridge to FY17 at which time  he said an operational override will be necessary. “[I want] to underscore the message  – we cannot avoid an override next year.”

The town has ~$2.9million in free cash. At the session Mr. Hays stated that of that $1,855,500 would be used to cover expenses. $1,180,135 will be used for one time items and $675,365 will be used for operations support. The largest one time items are Fire-wage set asides ($202,712), School Department ($541,742), and OPEB Stabilization fund ($147,228). OPEB is an acronym for Other Post Employment Benefits.

In addition, $594,457 will be allocated for Snow and Ice deficit and $300,000 will be set aside for firefighter medical funds for FY16 in lieu of an override for this purpose (note- this year’s Annual Town Warrant has an article requesting an override to cover these medical expenses. If approved by Town Meeting it will go on the ballot for voters to approve. If voters approve it, then this $300,00 will be freed up. However, if not approved, the funds will be there to meet what is a mandatory expense.) This leaves $231,283 that has not yet been allocated. The committee reviewed all town and school budgets with town officials and department heads. No budgets were altered and, while a vote was not taken, there was consensus among those present that department budgets are set and overall expenditures will total ~$102million.

(Editorial note – While these discussions can be somewhat mind numbing, they are also very important. We strongly encourage all residents, especially Town Meeting Members watch the session on MATV’s Youtube channel here.)

Among those in attendence were Katie Conlon, Chair of the Board of Selectmen, Town Administrator Annmarie Fagan, Town Accountant Amy Dexter, Police Chief Richard Wells, Superintendent Mary Gormley, Asst Superintendents Glenn Pavlicek and Janet Sheehan, School Committee Chair Leroy Walker and committee members Mary Kelly, Becky Padera, Mike Zullas, and Lynda Lee Sheridan, Library Director Will Adamczyk, and Library Trustees Brendan McLaughlin and Frank Schroth.

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At the February 13th meeting of the Planning Board, Member Ed Duffy announced he was resigning from the board. After he left the room Chair Whiteside commented that there was a procedure to be followed. That procedure, specified by state law, calls for an elected official to notify the Town Clerk in writing of their intent to resign. Today the Town Clerk’s office confirmed that Mr. Duffy had not submitted a written notice of resignation. Instead, he went to the town clerk and informed her he would be serving out his term which ends in April. MR. Duffy has taken out nomination papers to run for re-election but has not yet returned them. They are due to the Town Clerk on March 10th.

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David Burnes, who is running for Board of Selectmen, kicked off his campaign last Sunday at the Hoosic Club. The event, which at times resembled a 10 year old’s idea of a great birthday party, was loud, crowded, and lively. The theme of Burnes’s campaign is moving Milton forward and moving it forward for everyone. In his brief remarks he made a point to call out local business people and seniors. The crowd was of all ages and while some may have had a bit of trouble hearing themselves think, others found it a blast. It was an energetic start. The Selectmen’s race may be the only contest this season. Burnes is challenging incumbent Denis Keohane who kicks off his campaign (also at the Hoosic Club) this coming Sunday.