At the March 24 meeting of the Charlton Select Board, Town Administrator Andrew Golas provided a quick over view of the fiscal year 2027 budget, which has not been finalized, stating “total revenues that we’re projecting are $50.46 million with a total expenditure budget of $48.3 million essentially leaving a margin of $2.6 million in unused tax levy capacity. It’s projecting $250,000 in new growth and some increase in ambulance receipts. Overall educational spending increases 6.79 percent primarily driven by an 11 percent increase in minimum net school spending. There is an increase for police, fire, and DPW departments reflective of their respective collective bargaining agreements. An increase to the fire and EMS budget will fund four additional firefighters to staff the second station. We’ve included projected benefit costs and increases in debt service and overall, I think it’s pretty strong and shows our strong financial position especially where our right out of the gate budget is showing a net positive where a lot of communities this year are showing net negatives and trying to figure out how to dig out of that hole,” he said.

The budget review required no Select Board vote.

The Board then reviewed potential changes to the town’s medical insurance provider which appeared to provide cost savings but more research and cost reviews are to be done by the town’s insurance reviewer.

The Board then briefly examined Town Administrator Golas’ performance review where he was given a score of 4.79 out of a possible 5.  Mr. Golas thanked the Board for a positive review.

Candidates’ Forum Scheduled

Also at the meeting, the Charlton Select Board heard from resident Kathleen Walker about the town board candidates’ forum to be held on Saturday, April 11, at 10:30 a.m. The forum will be held at the Charlton Library located at 40 Main Street. Ms. Walker stated that “all 16 candidates who are running for elected positions will have the opportunity to present their visions and answer your questions. Why does this matter and why should you care? Our elected officials directly affect every aspect of our lives from our children’s education to our tax bills from public safety to the character of our community. Our towns usually see lower voter turnout than state or national elections and many of our local decisions are made by a relatively small percentage of eligible voters.” She urged voters to attend the April 11 candidates’ forum.

New Deputy Fire Chief

Fire Chief Barton introduced newly-appointed Deputy Fire Chief Joshua Bennett. Deputy Chief Bennett thanked the Select Board for the opportunity of his new position. The Board then voted on the town cyber-security incident response policy. Town Administrator Andrew Golas reviewed the policy recommended by the town insurer which would add the following wording to the process: “if the incident reported is severe, it must be reported to the town cyber liability insurance provider immediately to facilitate the ability to deploy critical breach response resources.” Golas recommended that the Board approve the revision and the Board voted unanimously to approve. 

Not All Trolls Are on 

the Internet

Other business included an interesting project by Thomas Dambo, who places large elf-like troll figures in selected areas, specifically at Charlton’s Capen Hill Nature Sanctuary. Mr. Dambo’s goal is to place his creations in every U.S. state as presented by Diane Doherty, former Recreation Commissioner, and Barbara Frederick, Director of the Capen Hill Nature Association. More details will be provided in the near future.