ROYALSTON – With relatively little discussion, voters at Saturday’s Annual Town Meeting approved three Proposition 2½ overrides.

All three of the spending proposals were included in a single warrant article, but each was voted on separately by the 66 voters in attendance.

The first proposal addressed by the meeting called for an override of just over $155,000. That would cover the $50,000 needed to fund the town’s assessment for the Athol Royalston Regional School District, as well as restoring some of the funding requested by department heads to maintain level services. Royalston’s portion of the school budget was set at just over $805,000.

“That’s an increase of twelve and a half percent,” said Selectboard member Linda Alger. “We have no choice but to fund that amount.”

Alger added that committing another $50,000 to the school assessment left a shortfall of $155,000 to cover local services.

“Every year we don’t fund things that we should fund,” she continued. “This year we cut money from other departments because we had no choice but to fund $50,000 for the state minimum requirement for the schools. That’s not an easy task. So, we cut things that we felt were painful, but not as painful as they could be. We can’t continue to manage like this.”

In response to question from the audience, Alger said, “When you do an override, and it’s a general override, it goes to specific costs and the next year it doesn’t; it goes to whatever is needed. Do I think we’re always going to be in a situation with the schools where we’re going to need that $50,000 every year? Absolutely.”

The override subsequently passed by a vote of 64-4.

The next proposed override called for nearly $173,000 to fund the hiring of two full-time police officers, one of whom would serve as chief.

Joe Liebman, a member of the Royalston Policing Committee, argued strongly in favor of passing the override. Liebman pointed out that he was among those who argued against the hiring of a full-time officer at last year’s Annual Town Meeting. As a result of what he learned as a member of the committee, he said, his views on policing in the town have changed.

“We are the one town in this area and one of two left in the state that has part-time police officers only,” he said. “A department that depends on part-timers is no longer sustainable.”

The Police Reform Act passed by the Legislature, he said, has resulted in a loss of part-time officers due to the stringent training requirements enacted in 2020.

“In 2021, the year after the reform passed, we had 18 part-time officers,” Liebman continued. “Now we have seven, and of those seven, only one is available to work Monday through Friday.”

The override was approved on a vote of 62-1.

The final proposed override called for $85,000 for wages and benefits for a full-time town administrator. The person hired to do the job would, among other things, handle correspondence between the town and local, state, and federal officials, be responsible for researching grants and grant writing, handle procurements, and assist with constituent services.

Town officials have considered the need for an administrator for several years, given the increasing amount of responsibility that has fallen on members of the Selectboard. Most board members have full-time jobs.

Arguing in favor of the override, Alger pointed to her two fellow board members and said, “These guys are lucky I’m retired. I can do a lot of this stuff, but I can’t do everything. We really need someone who can cover all of the day-to-day responsibilities on behalf of the town.”

The final override also passed by a 62-1 margin.

The overrides will go before Royalston voters in a Special Town Election to be held later this year.

Voters at Saturday’s Town Meeting also approved a FY26 operating budget of $3,029,392, an increase of about two and a half percent over the FY25 budget of $2,948,507.

Voters also approved the town’s $805,000 assessment for the Athol Royalston Regional School District, and the $83,597 assessment for the Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School District.

Greg Vine can be reached at gvineadn@gmail.com.