WESTHAMPTON — All articles brought to a vote passed at a Town Meeting on Saturday morning, while an additional two articles were placed on hold as the town awaits more information from the state.
The 26 articles on the Town Meeting warrant asked voters whether the town should approve certain budgetary measures and line items, in addition to an article that lays out steps for the town to become a pollinator-friendly community.
The town’s proposed total operating budget for fiscal 2022, $6.32 million, presented an increase of 3.65%, or $222,264, over the current year’s budget.
The overall fiscal 2022 budget includes $3.9 million allocated to schools and libraries, up from $3.74 million in fiscal 2022, which interim Hampshire Regional Superintendent Michael Sullivan previously told the Gazette was due to “increases in salaries and a small number of additional positions.”
Under public safety, the budget also includes an $8,000 allocation for the school resource officer payroll and $7,500 for police reform training. It allocates an increase of 1%, or $772, to the Police Department, and 2.5%, or $847, to the police chief’s salary.
The final article on the warrant, which directs officials to declare Westhampton a pollinator-friendly community, requires the town to take steps such as providing increased community education on pollinators, adding to pollinator habitats in town, and following the state’s Pollinator Protection Plan best practices.
An article to fund the construction of a break room in the highway department garage and an article that would appropriate money from free cash to balance the budget were put on hold, and will be voted on at a reconvened Town Meeting at a date that has yet to be announced. Two line items related to long-term debt principal and interest were also held.
These delays were mostly related to state aid yet to be announced by the Commissioner of Revenue, according to Select Board Chairman Phil Dowling. The town is also awaiting loan information related to the new public safety complex voters approved in March, which Dowling said should be available in a few weeks.
The meeting “moved very quickly,” Dowling said, and was finished in less than an hour and a half.
Town officials and voters gathered outdoors at Westhampton Elementary School for the meeting. Around 70 residents attended, according to Dowling, who said that around 70 to 100 usually attend.
Jacquelyn Voghel can be reached at jvoghel@gazettenet.com.