Special Town Meeting in Granby covers two articles

By EMILY CUTTS

@ecutts_HG

Published: 04-08-2017 12:23 AM

GRANBY — Town voters will be asked to approve two articles Monday night as part of a special Town Meeting.

The meeting will be held at the Granby Junior-Senior High School, on East State Street, at 7 p.m.

Article 1 involves a bylaw change that would address the creation of revolving funds. The change comes after the state passed the Municipal Modernization Act in November, according to Town Administrator Chris Martin.

The question is “To see if the Town will vote to amend the general by-laws of the town by adding a new section to establish and authorize revolving funds for use by certain town departments, boards, committees, agencies or officers under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 44, § 53E½, or take any other action in regards thereto.”

“Under the act, we now have to create a bylaw to create revolving funds,” Martin said. “Before, it was done during annual Town Meeting.”

Martin explained that previously the town would authorize and set a dollar amount that could be spent in the next fiscal year. Now, though, it has to be done through bylaws.

“The authorization of the spending amount will still be done at annual Town Meeting,” Martin said.

If the article does not pass, Martin said the town would not be able to have any revolving funds for fiscal year 2018.

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Article 2 asks for voters to appropriate $16,500 to cover a required bond rating procedure, Martin explained.

The question is “To see if the Town will vote to authorize and appropriate, borrow or transfer from available funds the sum of $16,500, or a greater or lesser amount, for the purpose of funding the cost of the Standard and Poor bond rating services, or take any other action in regard thereto.”

Prior to being able to bond for the East Meadow School project, the town was required to go through a bond rating procedure as it hadn’t been done in the last three years, Martin said.

If approved, the money would come out of free cash which has a balance of $934,561.92, Martin said.

The money has already been spent and if it is not funded through Town Meeting, Martin said the town would have to find another way of transferring money between other accounts if any is left at the end of the year.

The meeting warrant can be found on the town website under the town meeting tab.

Emily Cutts can be reached at ecutts@gazettenet.com.

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