GRANBY — Town and school budgets and other major expenditures will be presented to voters for approval when the second half of the annual Town Meeting gets underway Monday, June 5.

What isn’t on the warrant this year but could be in the near future worries town officials even more — what to do about much-needed repairs to the Junior-Senior High School building.

A special Town Meeting concerning fiscal 2023 items will be held beforehand. The meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the gymnasium at the East Meadow School.

Town and school budgets for 2024 total $24.3 million, a 5.7% decrease compared to the current year’s budget, according to the Finance Committee’s report. The decrease is mainly attributable to a $2 million reduction in capital requests for the schools.

The town budget shows increases in general government expenditures at $2,135,320 and the public safety budget of $2,989,546, but the public works budget is down by $147,813 at $1,677,838. Fixed expenses are up by almost $500,000, while proposed school spending at $9,994,623 is down by $1.82 million.

Other articles on the warrant seek approval for a $539,346 appropriation for the solid waste department, $2512,321 for the sewer department, and $421,782 for the ambulance department. Transfers of $11,989 from bond premiums, $152,400 from the capital equipment stabilization fund and $600,000 from free cash are requested to reduce the tax levy, which is budgeted at $14,571,009.

The Finance Committee reports increases in total state aid for the coming year. The budget relies on approximately $1.8 million in free cash on the revenue side — almost $1.2 million less than was used to balance the FY23 budget.

The committee has some sobering words in its consideration for the future, saying the days of “business as usual” for the town are gone.

At last year’s Town Meeting, voters approved two warrant articles for renovation to the Junior-Senior High School building. Officials learned that only one part of the renovations could be done without running afoul of a state law requiring the whole building to be brought up to code for accessibility.

“A day of reckoning is coming,” the committee states. “What Granby can’t do is ignore the towns’s biggest fundamental fiscal problem: What happens if the Jr.-Sr. High School building figuratively falls apart?”

The special Town Meeting concerns five fund transfers into accounts from the FY23 budget. The articles request approval for transfers from various accounts totaling $155,000 to fund legal expenses, public buildings expense and capital budgets, Fire Department personal services and expense and health insurance, as well as $1,000 for the dog revolving fund.

The warrant for the meetings may be viewed at the Town Hall Annex, 215B West State St.; the Select Board’s office at the COA Building, 10 West State St.; or the post office, public library, public safety complex, Florence Bank, and Polish National Credit Union.

The warrant can be viewed online at www.granby-ma.gov.

The last day to register to vote in this meeting is Friday, May 26. Voters may register anytime during regular office hours at the town clerk’s office, and may also pick up mail-in registration forms at the Granby post office or the public library, or register on-line at the town website www.granby-ma.gov

Mail-in forms must be postmarked by May 26 to be eligible.

Questions or concerns can be directed to Town Clerk Kathy Kelly-Regan at the Town Hall, 467-7178.

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