A petition warrant article calling for the town to adopt an ethics ordinance for town employees, elected officials and volunteers was amended during Rindge’s deliberative session Saturday to the town forming a committee to study and propose such an ordinance.
Judy Unger-Clark presented the article. Unger-Clark has spoken multiple times about her objections to Planning Director Kirk Stenersen, who works part-time for the town and full-time as an engineer, and has presented applications before the board as an engineer on behalf of his clients. Although he recuses himself from those cases, Unger-Clark and others have protested that his work outside the town office creates an inherent conflict of interest.
Unger-Clark first attempted to amend the article’s wording slightly, to clarify the ordinance was being adopted “under the authority of” state law, rather than “based on” it, but that amendment failed.
Resident Anthony Aho then offered an amendment for the advisory committee to study and propose an ordinance.
“I don’t know what a year’s worth of study is going to bring. I think we’ll be in the same place,” Unger-Clark said, but Aho’s amendment carried.
Another petition article that was amended was proposed by Marcia Breckenridge, a member of the Planning Board who put forth an article requiring the Select Board to provide funds to defend decisions of the planning or zoning boards in court or before the State Housing Appeals Board.
Breckenridge clarified the board already has this power, but is not required to defend all decisions. This article, she said, would compel them to in all cases. She said the town already allocates funding for legal battles, and she is not advocating for additional funding, only that the boards use what is already in the budget to defend the decisions of the boards.
Kale Stenersen proposed an amendment to change the wording from “shall” to “may,” which essentially maintains the Select Board’s current rights to chose whether or not to engage in a legal defense.
Resident Jeff Dickler said the change in wording would “totally gut this warrant article, and put us right back where we were.” However, residents voted 50-31 to amend the wording to “may.”
Residents also voted to simplify a proposal for a Solar Energy Subcommittee. The petition article, as originally written, would require the Planning Board to create the subcommittee, with the mission to create a solar power ordinance, which would be put forward for Town Meeting vote in 2023.
Voters agreed 75-19 to eliminate most of the requirements of the article, leaving it only to recommend the Planning Board create a Solar Energy Subcommittee.
On most monetary items on the warrant, the bulk of the town-sponsored articles, residents offered no objections, including the budget.
The budget proposal is set at $4.69 million, which is about a 6% increase from the current budget. The default budget is set at $4.58 million.
The town is requesting $55,011 for the third payment on the fire rescue truck and, in a separate article, $92,976 for the fifth and final payment on Fire Engine 1.
Members of the Select Board who presented the articles explained that the vehicles are on a multiyear payment plan, with an escape clause. If voters to not vote to continue payments, the vehicles are returned.
The town is also proposing to purchase an new vehicle this year, a replacement for the Highway Department’s 2011 International six-wheel dump truck and plow. The total cost of the vehicle is $186,000, with $100,000 to come from the town’s capital reserve funds, and $86,000 from taxation. The town anticipates offsetting the taxation with the trade-in value of the old truck, which is anticipated to be about $10,000.
There is also a proposal to spend $12,000 to complete a multiyear project for improvements at the town’s cemeteries. Selectman Bob Hamilton explained this request has been on the warrant for the past four years as the town has addressed tree-cutting, repair and straightening of historical monuments and repairs to the stone walls, This year will be the last year of the project.
The town is also requesting $15,000 for the Meetinghouse Maintenance Expendable Trust, $10,000 for the Ingalls Memorial Library capital reserve and $12,500 for the Revaluation Capital Reserve.
Article 10 requests funding for a 10th full-time officer for the Rindge Police Department. The article would raise $57,736, which represents a partial year’s salary and benefits.
Tom Coneys of Rindge presented the article, and said that in his 12 years serving on the town’s Budget Committee, he has seen staffing be a lingering issue. He said an additional officer would bring the department “on a level that was par, at the very best.”
Rindge voted to add a ninth officer last year, though statistics show that a town the size of Rindge requires a department of 12 or 13 to be fully staffed.
“When you look at the thing, it’s really a no-brainer,” Coneys said. “If we don’t meet our staffing needs, it’s going to catch up with us.”
All articles, including the election of town officers, are scheduled to be voted on during ballot voting Tuesday, March 8, from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. at Rindge Memorial School.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.