WHATELY — A new highway truck, police equipment and several Community Preservation Act (CPA) allocations are on the table for Whately’s Annual Town Meeting on Tuesday.

The meeting will be held at Whately Elementary School on Tuesday, May 23, at 6 p.m. Residents will consider a 29-article warrant that includes a proposed $6.02 million operating budget for fiscal year 2024, which represents a 5.04%, or approximately $290,000, increase from fiscal year 2023.

While a slight increase is proposed, the budget, according to Town Administrator Brian Domina, is in a good place heading into the new fiscal year and residents will be asked in Article 10 to appropriate $225,000 from free cash to reduce the tax burden.

“The town’s financial position remains positive and stable entering into the next fiscal year. The town has more than adequate reserves, no long-term debt and has continued to maintain its favorable position relating to Proposition 2½ limits,” Domina wrote in a Town Meeting informational packet, adding that while the budget has increased, it is “reasonable and necessary for the town to continue providing the high level of services as in the previous fiscal year.”

Beyond the request to lower the tax burden, the largest transfer of money residents will be asked to consider is Article 14, which proposes transferring $100,000 from free cash to purchase a new heavy-duty pickup truck for the Highway Department. The town’s current 2008 Ford F-550 has more than 73,000 miles on it and thousands of operating hours, and “additional strain” is put on the truck because it is used for plowing roads during the winter, according to the town’s capital project recommendations sheet.

Immediately following the truck, Article 15 requests an appropriation of $55,000 from free cash to pay for the purchase and replacement of Police Department equipment, such as body cameras and tasers.

“The Police Department anticipates that its existing tasers and body cameras will be considered out of compliance with the forthcoming regulations to be adopted under the 2020 police reform laws,” Domina’s explanation reads.

Articles 21, 22 and 23 concern CPA funding appropriations in the amounts of $11,411 for Frontier Regional School tennis courts, $8,000 for the S. White Dickinson Memorial Library’s front steps and $27,350 to restore a masonry silo at Quonquont Farm.

While Quonquont Farm is a private entity, the Community Preservation Committee has determined the silo to be historically significant, thus making it eligible for CPA funding. In the farm’s application, Jenelle Wilkins wrote that the silo, which was built in 1923, “urgently requires replacement of the roof and complete masonry restoration.”

“There are no other examples of ceramic silos in Whately. We know of only one other in the valley area at the Hall Tavern Farm” in Charlemont, Wilkins wrote, noting this sort of appropriation would not be the first of its kind. “A ceramic silo on land trust property in Falmouth was restored in 2014 with historic preservation funds.”

There are also several bylaw changes proposed on the warrant, with Articles 24, 25 and 26 submitted by the Planning Board.

Articles 27 and 28, however, are submitted by Debilitating Medical Condition Treatment Centers (DMCTC), a marijuana cultivator, manufacturer and soon-to-be retailer in town. The company is proposing the creation of a “(Limited) Marijuana Product Manufacturer” land use to allow production of marijuana products without the use of hazardous materials, which it said can spur economic activity in town. The Planning Board laid out the pros and cons of the proposal, but ultimately took no official stance on the bylaw.

To end the meeting, residents will be asked to consider a citizen’s petition to add a new general bylaw titled “Personnel Bylaw,” which would create a three-member personnel committee that would act in an “advisory capacity to the Selectboard” with the restriction that “all voting members appointed must not be a current employee, elected official or direct relative” of the town moderator or any member of the Selectboard or Finance Committee, according to the proposed language.

Whately, however, already has a five-member Personnel Committee featuring a Selectboard member, a town employee and a Finance Committee representative, alongside two moderator appointments. This existing committee was adopted through a Selectboard policy in 1991.

The full Town Meeting warrant can be found at bit.ly/3WiFexo. The informational packet can be found at bit.ly/3We5Yz3.

Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com or 413-930-4081.

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