HEATH — Cuts to the Highway Department may inspire discussion on the Annual Town Meeting floor on Saturday, when voters will be asked to consider the proposed $1.53 million operating budget for fiscal year 2024.
Town Meeting, which will take up a 31-article warrant, will start at 9 a.m. in the gymnasium at the Heath Municipal Building, 18 Jacobs Road.
After seeing a large budget increase due to a more than $75,000 increase in the debt payment for broadband service installation, members of the Finance Committee knew they would have to make cuts.
“Broadband payments for the first couple years were low, then there was a big jump,” said Selectboard member Brian DeVriese. “We knew that was coming.”
The Finance Committee recommended laying off a Highway Department employee. When the Selectboard decided to eliminate the laborer/operator position held by Mike Shattuck, more than 30 residents attended a meeting to protest the decision.
Shattuck has worked for the town for 15 years. Residents argued the board should have considered seniority and promoted Shattuck to the foreman/mechanic position and laid off the current person in that position, Kyle Jarvis, who has worked for the town for less than a year.
Eliminating the laborer/operator position held by Shattuck saves the town an estimated $70,000, according to Town Coordinator Hilma Sumner. This includes wages as well as benefits. By comparison, Sumner previously explained a member of the Selectboard calculated the cost to hire extra personnel during snowstorms, and found it would likely be $15,000 if there are 20 snow events.
To further reduce the budget, the Selectboard also considered cutting the town nurse position but decided to keep it because of Heath’s large population of elderly residents who rely on the nurse.
Articles 18, 19 and 20 on the Town Meeting warrant ask voters to approve changing the Mohawk Trail Regional School District’s regional agreement that outlines the funding formula for town assessments. These articles came to the town last minute, and are several pages long.
“We are not recommending it,” DeVriese said. “We need time to see the impact on the finances of the town.”
Should the town assessment formula change, it would better align with the state’s funding formula by factoring in School Choice students and residents who opt to attend a charter school.
Voters will also consider making a capital investment in a new highway cab and chassis. This will cost $195,000, with funds coming from free cash and the Equipment Stabilization Account. The Highway Department owns two vehicles that are both 20 years old and have broken down during the past snow season.
“It is time to replace one of them,” DeVriese said.
Also at Saturday’s Town Meeting, residents will vote on paying $20,000 to cover half of the Mohawk Trail operating assessment error that occurred in 2022, and pay for the other half next year.
“The big hit was the broadband repayment,” DeVriese said, “and obviously, the school budget was up, too.”
To download the full Annual Town Meeting warrant, visit townofheath.org.
Bella Levavi can be reached at 413-930-4579 or blevavi@recorder.com.