GRANBY — Contradictory and incomplete information about financial aid from the state has vexed Massachusetts cities and towns this year — a point made by the Granby Finance Committee prior to and during Saturday’s annual Town Meeting.
Granby’s legislative body approved a fiscal 2021 budget of $22.6 million, which is 2% less than the previous year’s $23 million spending plan.
Finance Committee members said they spent all of the town’s free cash reserves of $1.3 million to create a balanced budget.
In an overview of the town’s financial condition, the committee wrote: “When a person or a Committee is charged with the responsibility of developing a Fiscal Year budget for a Town, perhaps the second worst situation to be in is having no information available. The worst situation? Having contradictory information. That is where we are, and welcome to the pandemic.”
“As of the writing of this document, not only is there not a State budget to tell the Town how much State Aid we will receive in Fiscal Year 2021, there is not even a credible draft of a budget,” the committee wrote. “A draft budget from the Governor did exist last January, but that has been disavowed since the declaration of the emergency caused by the coronavirus pandemic.”
The state Legislature adopted a three-month interim budget Tuesday; it is pending approval from Gov. Charlie Baker.
In other business, Town Meeting voters rejected articles that would have removed the Granby fire and police chief jobs from the so-called “strong chief” provisions of Massachusetts General Laws. The body previously approved the strong chief statute to apply to police in 1974 the fire department in 1968.
Town Administrator Christopher Martin said the Selectboard recommended against approval to allow more time to research whether a change is a good idea, and to permit additional comment from residents during upcoming public forums.
The law means the fire chief is the appointing authority for members of the department, instead of the Selectboard, and that the chief may only be terminated for cause.
A strong police chief may only be removed for “cause at any time after a hearing,” according to state law.
Town meeting approved spending in a number of areas:
- $150,000 for tree removal
- $200,000 for highway paving
- $220,000 for a highway department dump truck
- $32,000 for police computer server
- $51,345 for a police cruiser
- $115,000 for a mowing machine