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SPENCER – Town Meeting approved appropriations contingent on Proposition 2 ½ votes passing on the May 12 election ballot.
With a vote of 133-15, members okayed $368,390 to pay for four existing firefighters to remain in those roles. Grant funding for the positions runs out in February 2027, so the first payment would amount to $184,195 for half the year.
Members also approved funding of $264,455 for the Spencer East Brookfield Regional school district’s operating budget. The vote was 104 in favor and 49 against.
Town Administrator Jeff Bridges explained that Town Meeting’s vote is the first step in a two-part process. The allocation of these funds will not take place unless the ballot questions are approved next week.
A “yes” vote allows the town to exceed the 2 ½ cap and raise taxes. A “no” vote nulls Town Meeting’s action.
A few speakers noted how Spencer is down to around 20 on-call firefighters, half the number the town used to have.
Selectman Ralph Hicks said a positive vote ensured there would be two firefighters working 24/7 at the fire station who could respond to emergencies quickly.
A negative vote means the station would not be covered from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. and the residents would have to rely on call firefighters, many of whom work elsewhere full-time, he said. If they respond, it takes longer for them to travel to the station to get their gear and proceed to the fire.
Town Meeting member Jake Nadreau said he “staunchly supports,” the firefighters but asked why there was no plan in place to fund the positions when the grant ran out.
Bridges replied that when receiving the grant four years ago, “it was a different economy and different amount of state aid…The money we thought we had did not materialize as expected. Trying to squeeze (the firefighter funding) into the budget did not happen as we hoped.”
Hicks added that grants are allocated with the expectation of the town picking up the funding following a certain time period.
Regarding the school vote, School Committee chair Jeff Sauvageau said that the thought of overrides “puts people on edge.” He asked the townspeople to “stop pretending this is a money grab,” and realize positions have been eliminated in the district and $1 million cut from the budget to get to this point.
“The belt has already been tightened,” Sauvageau said. He added the funds were for custodians, maintenance, utilities and other “basic operation needs,” and “not extras.”
“As a resident,” Sauvageau also expressed disappointment that his speaking out in favor of an override had resulted in his family and business “being dragged…It is not healthy and not what Spencer should be.”
He urged people to “step back from the anger and noise and think where we want the town to be five, 10, 20 years from now.”
Member Ashlee House said she felt privileged to live in Spencer and thanked her son’s teachers at Knox Trail Middle School for giving him “so much hope.” House said the school district here is a large improvement over where her family used to live and she encouraged support of it.
Other action by Town Meeting involved approval of the general fund operating budget totaling $15,668,854; and a list of capital items amounting to $662,620. Among the latter was $243,700 for mandatory battery site cleanup on Meadow Road.
If the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) picks up the cost for the cleanup, the money would be used for two vehicles in the highway department, Bridges said.
Police Chief Michael Befford, in answer to a question about a $20,735 police drone, said it is used to search for missing children and elders as well as for mapping of accidents.
Befford said the drone is a “valuable asset,” for the police department, able to work in case of an incident within the schools or other buildings as occurred in the February shooting in town.
“It helps us help the community stay safer,” the police chief said.
At the start of the meeting, Mary Baker Wood and Emily Baker spoke about a flag marking the bravery of Charles Adam Hunter in the Civil War now at Town Hall.
“It’s a story of a brave man who served in the Civil War and a story of a family who kept history alive,” said Baker Wood.
Hunter is a medal of honor recipient from Spencer and the flag, was a “point of pride,” in her grandfather’s home, Baker said.
