Overview:
Royalston Town Meeting voters have approved a $3.3 million budget and a $350,000 Proposition 2 1/2 debt exclusion for the Department of Public Works to replace a 2002 dump truck. The budget includes increases for the town's assessment for its share of the Athol Royalston Regional School District and Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School budgets, as well as a 2.5% increase for other line items and raises for town employees. The debt exclusion needs to go to a special election in September, and if passed, the money will be available in about a year.
ROYALSTON – Saturday’s Town Meeting saw the approval of a $3.3 million budget and a $350,000 Proposition 2 ½ debt exclusion for the Department of Public Works.
Sixty-six voters showed up to vote on the 29 articles. Among other items, voters approved a FY27 town budget of just over $3.3 million. The current fiscal year’s budget was around $3.2 million.
The town’s Selectboard, Finance Committee, and department heads – after many meetings and lengthy deliberations – were able to construct a budget that avoided the need for a Proposition 2 ½ override, something which many towns have sought to cover unexpected increases in expenses such as health insurance.
One of the biggest increases seen in the budget was for the town’s assessment for its share of the Athol Royalston Regional School District, which jumped $47,000, from $805,000 in the current fiscal year to $852,000 for FY27.
The town’s assessment from Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School also rose, from just under $84,000 this fiscal year to nearly $96,000 for the next fiscal year. The is due to more Royalston students who plan to attend Montachusett.
Increases in other line items were generally kept to around 2.5%, as were raises for town employees. While negotiations with the union representing public works employees are ongoing, the budget presented at Town Meeting was based on the assumption that the union will agree to the same raise given to other town employees.
Voters approved a $350,000 Proposition 2 1/2 debt exclusion for the purchase of a new dump truck for the Department of Public Works. DPW Director Jaret Thiem, speaking with the Athol Daily News, said that the money will be used to replace a 2002 International dump truck.
“The reason for that is that we’ve put a lot of money into that truck in the last few years and it just doesn’t make sense to put any more money into the upkeep,” he said. “It has outlived its usefulness.”
The new vehicle, he said, “Will pretty much be an identical truck. It will be an International, but it will be set up with an all-in-one dump/sander body. If I have to order a truck, it’ll be a turnaround of about a year.”
Thiem explained the debt exclusion needs to go to a special election in September.
“If it passes, the money will be available and it will be about a 10- to 12-month lead time,” he said, adding that he’s hopeful a dealer may have one ready to go.
A pair of articles seeking the use of monies from the Community Preservation Historic Preservation Reserve Fund were passed. The town will use $43,000 from the fund for the ongoing renovation of the former Raymond School, which is being transformed into municipal office space. Thiem said the money will pay to bring the building into compliance with requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
“We’re going to recreate the original facade so it can accommodate a new ADA ramp so that it meets Historic District requirements and preserves the historic nature of the building.”
Another $3,000 from the fund will pay for installation of new gutters for Old Schoolhouse #1 on The Common.