GOSHEN — During an annual Town Meeting on Monday that lasted well over three hours, voters agreed to send a $300,000 Proposition 2½ override to the ballot box to fund landfill repairs and eliminate a stipend for members of the Public Health Committee.
The 88 registered voters — of the town’s 712 — approved nearly every article on the 27-item warrant, including a fiscal 2019 budget of $2,804,514.
According to Finance Committee member Diane Scaparotti, the approved 2019 budget is up $137,599 from the current year, representing a 5.16 percent increase. Education expenses amount to $1,486,834 in next year’s budget.
During the meeting voters approved borrowing $250,000 for a period of 15 years for the purchase of a dump truck for the Highway Department. The truck will replace a failing 2005 truck currently used for plowing, sanding and hauling.
Voters also approved a request to borrow $300,000 over 15 years to fund the landfill cap repair contingent upon a Proposition 2½ debt exclusion ballot question. The repairs are in response to damage caused by erosion.
In addition, voters said yes to making the final payments of $38,183.90 for the town’s 2014 dump truck, $8,142.06 for the 2013 Ford Expedition used by the police department, and the second of five payments of $9,090 for the town’s combination secondary plow and dump truck.
While most of the larger ticket items passed without much debate, a lot of discussion at the meeting focused on the proposed operating budget, with Scaparotti fielding questions from voters.
A decision to discontinue a long-standing stipend received by the Public Health Committee was met with significant debate. The stipend last year was $3,390.
Elizabeth Bell Perkins, who holds a master’s degree in public health and is the chairwoman of the Public Health Committee, argued that public health is of the utmost importance to the community. She and Michael Kurland, another committee member, not only put in hours beyond their purview, but that they were elected to, and accepted, the position with the understanding that it came with the stipend.
Scaparotti agreed with the importance of the position and the dedication with which the committee members have served. She also noted the commitment, dedication, talent and education of individuals on other town committees and boards who receive no compensation, with the exception of the Select Board and the Board of Assessors.
“We would like to pay everyone who works for the town on a committee or board but we just can’t afford to do that,” Scaparotti said. “Taking away a stipend is not an easy thing to do but we are trying to make things more equitable as we move forward.”
Scaparotti also said that the duties of the Public Health Committee have changed over the years, with much of what they used to do now falling under the direction of public health agent Valerie Bird and the Hilltown Resource Management Corporation.
After much debate, the decision not to provide a stipend passed by a majority vote.
Voters also unanimously approved a citizen’s petition calling on the United States to lead a global effort to prevent nuclear war, and tabled voting on another petition that would set a code of conduct for town employees and members of town boards and committees.
“Town Counsel has indicated that a citizens petition cannot set policies and most of these things are already covered by state law,” Select Board member Wayne Glaser said, adding that he supported the spirit in which the petition was written. “The appropriate way to deal with something like this is to have the people that wrote the petition meet with the Select Board and actually come up with a town policy.”
This story was updated on Wednesday, May 23, at 11:45 a.m. to reflect that Wayne Glaser is a member of the Goshen Select Board. Additionally, it is the Board of Assessors receives a stipend for their services; the Finance Committee does not.