HATFIELD — With continued issues identified with the town’s financial practices, residents at annual Town Meeting Tuesday gave the Select Board the go-ahead to appoint both the treasurer and tax collector.
Residents, though, defeated a new bylaw that would have placed restrictions on where political campaign signs can be displayed.
No longer electing the treasurer and collector, which will require passage at the May 15 town election to go into effect, generated significant discussion before a narrow majority, by voice vote, approved the measure.
Select Board Chairman Brian Moriarty said the state’s Department of Revenue is recommending appointing those positions. “It’s happening all around us and all over the state,” Moriarty said.
Michael Cahill of North Street said in the midst of a financial crisis, having the treasurer and collector be Select Board appointments makes sense.
“I am very much in favor of this,” Cahill said. “It’s time our Board of Selectmen can manage the person in the job, and provide them with direction, provide them with expectations, and most importantly, hold them accountable for results in a timely basis.”
“We strongly recommend this and think it’s important to the town’s finances,” said Finance Committee member Shawn Robinson.
But Lary Grossman of King Street said Hatfield needs to preserve the tradition of electing the positions, and worried the vote would merge the jobs.
“It’s concerning to me that we would take away the vote, one. Two, that we would combine these positions. No other town our size has,” Grossman said.
Christopher Smith of Prospect Street said attempts to appoint the positions failed four times previously, and the Select Board has a poor track record of interims it has hired to the positions.
“Clearly it won’t address problems of finding seasoned, trained and qualified candidates,” Smith said.
Ellen Bokina of Prospect Street said she worries that voters are being denied the right to choose who fills those jobs.
Generating nearly as much discussion was placing limits on political signs on roads so as not to impair the sight of drivers and to make it easier for public works employees doing roadside maintenance.
Town Clerk Lydia Szych said she has gotten calls from people about “tacky” signs and that it takes time to remove signs after an election is over.
Stephanie Slysz of Straits Road said there is “nothing tacky” about democracy and that if political signs are restricted, yard sale and real estates signs should be, as well.
“This is outrageous,” Grossman said. “For us to invoke something like this in Hatfield is unbelievable.”
“My God, this is such a direct assault on our political system,” Smith said.
Voters quickly approved a $10.14 million operating budget that is $465,678 higher than the current year’s $9.67 million budget.
But even with the increase in spending, most departments are facing a 1 percent reduction, with the Department of Public Works seeing a 2 percent cut. Smaller trims were also made to the school budget.
There are no raises or cost of living adjustments in the fiscal year 2019 budget for non-contracted employees who work for the town.
Moriarty, who also serves on the School Committee, said the school department delayed step increases for non-contracted school employees in solidarity with the town employees, and was willing to cut $9,285 from its budget. This was rejected by Town Meeting, leaving the school budget at $4.36 million.
Voters also approved a 3 percent local option sales tax for marijuana retailers and a marijuana bylaw and a chart that spells out the rules where and how stores can locate in town.
Planning Board Chairman Bob Wagner said the bylaw limits the town to no more than two marijuana retailers at any one time, meeting the minimum standard set by the state, and only allow off-site sales and no on-site consumption.
The schools will use $96,400 from the Community Preservation Act account to build a new athletic field for field hockey at Smith Academy. The total cost is $142,000, with the remainder covered by school choice money and money raised by boosters.
Athletic Director David Keir said moving this field from the Center School will mean a better site, with access to the school’s locker rooms.
“It will just complete this campus as far as our athletic fields are concerned,” Keir said.
An additional $15,000 in CPA funds will go for removal of invasive species, multiflora rose and bittersweet, on town-owned parcels bought by CPA funds, mostly in West Hatfield near water drinking supply area, and $5,000 in CPA money to create the community gardens on Billings Way.
Town Meeting also agreed to spend $32,094 to build trails that will create a lookout at Horse Mountain, money that will be reimbursed by a Recreation Trails Grant from the state, to form a study committee to determine if the town should expand the Select Board from three to five members and to create an anniversary committee and fund for the 350th anniversary in 2020.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
