Two special Town Meetings are scheduled in the Hilltowns Thursday night. Williamsburg seeks to fix an erroneous budget figure from annual Town Meeting, and Cummington proposes a handful of money transfers to pay off debt and restore the town ballfield.
During annual Town Meeting in Williamsburg last month, the community approved a miscalculated tax levy of $8,274,807, a number that did not factor in some state aid and local receipts. Voters will be asked to approve a fiscal year 2027 tax levy of $10,208,326 to account for $2.1 million in aid.
If approved, line items will remain unchanged and property taxes will not go up, Town Administrator Thomas Bernard stressed. A “human error” by various town officials led to the mistake, although Town Clerk Brenda Lessard pointed out the inaccuracy during annual Town Meeting, Bernard said.
The special Town Meeting will begin at 6 p.m. at Town Offices, 141 Main St. in Haydenville.
In Cummington, various money transfers are on the seven-article ballot. Article 4, a proposed payment towards the principal of the town’s broadband debt from fiscal year 2026, is the largest expense to be presented at $88,493.
Article 1 seeks to make a $455 payment toward the town’s broadband from the Broadband retained earnings account. Article 2 will transfer an unspecified number of funds from free cash to the stabilization account. The money would come from the town’s Broadband Retained Earnings account.
Article 3 seeks to transfer $461 for a Fleet Pride invoice from 2020. Article 5 seeks $6,000 for fiscal year 2027, $5,000 to restore the town’s ballfield, and another $1,000 for an electrical rewiring project.
Article 6 proposed to move $9,202 from free cash to the FEMA Grant Account. Article 7 seeks to transfer $431 from free cash to the Opioid Settlement Fund.
The special Town Meeting will begin at 6 p.m. in the Community House, 33 Main St.
