Lanesborough Staff to Participate in Administrator Search Committee

By Brian RhodesiBerkshires Staff
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LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — The Board of Selectmen has formed a steering committee for a new town administrator, a little under a year after it last filled the position. 

 

The new committee will consist primarily of Town Hall staff, who were invited to be a part of the search. The board also appointed community member Claire Kristensen to be the committee's chair. 

 

"Basically, we're having a Town Hall staff, be the search committee for the position of the new administrator," said board Chair John Goerlach. 

 

Board member Timothy Sorrell said he would additionally like to see someone from Berkshire Village on the committee. 

 

"Take this moment to offer to anybody from Berkshire village [to join]. They can reach out to us and fill out a participant participation form," he said.

 

The town's last search committee concluded its work in November last year, picking Joshua Lang of Pennsylvania for the position after interviewing three candidates. Lang, who announced his resignation in late August to return to the Keystone State, has stayed with the town, for now, primarily working remotely until a replacement is found. 

 

Lang said he would work with the committee to get its first meeting set up. He said he and the board decided it was best to include public staff on the committee. 

 

"It was discussed to include those folks in on it so that they could participate in the process," he said. 

 

In other business, the board approved early voting hours for the Tuesday, Nov. 8, state election, beginning from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 22. Additional hours will be held Monday through Thursday from 9 to 11 a.m. for the following two weeks, with another Saturday on Oct. 29. 

 

The board voted to pick EDF Renewables to design, permit, install, finance, own, operate and maintain two solar photovoltaic systems in town. The lease amount is $116,000 a year over 25 years. 

 

Kirt Maryland, of Housatonic Solar LLC, recommended the company after looking at several options for the project. He said any of the companies he looked at could have done the job, but EDF stood out. 

 

"If I had to pick I'd take EDF right now. They were real professional when they got back to me. They had engineers redo everything, made long, thoughtful decisions," he said.

 

Lang said he agrees with Maryland that EDF is the best option for the town. 

 

"I think it's going to be a good start for the from town," he said. "It'll be a process to getting it up and running. But this is a big first step." 

 

• Kristen Tool of the Police Station Building Committee provided an update, noting that the open house for the temporary station will be held on Nov. 12. 

 

"That'll just be a chance for community members to come take a look at the temporary space, see how it's set up," she said. "Just reminding everyone that it's paid for with ARPA [American Rescue Plan Act] money, so it's not any burden to the taxpayers." 

 

Tool also provided clarification on the committee's discussions on a space for the permanent station. She explained that several people had asked about the Berkshire Mall property, saying it has not been discussed at this time. 

 

"The committee didn't look at the Berkshire Mall because it's privately owned, and it wouldn't be appropriate for a town committee to pursue private business owners for that purpose," she said. "So no one from the mall has come to the committee. Of course, if private business owners want to come and talk with us at the committee about what they have to offer, we're open to that." 

 

• The board appointed Ben Gelb to be the town's treasurer/collector, replacing Jodi Hollingsworth, who resigned last month. The board also appointed Regina DiLego to the position of part-time assessor and approved the posting of an assistant treasurer position and 

 

"I'd hope to hire somebody from the town," Gelb said. "College students, parents who need those flexible hours, or senior citizens who don't want to affect their pension and Social Security." 

 

• The board approved trick-or-treat hours for Oct. 29 from 5 to 7 p.m.

 

• The board publicly thanked Betsy Bean and Roberta Corey for obtaining and maintaining flower planters at Memorial Park. 

 

"They add a touch of beauty to our town for residents and visitors alike," Goerlach said. "This year was extremely, extremely dry and we applaud your efforts to provide water on a daily basis."


Tags: search committee,   town administrator,   

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Letter: What's Happening With Dalton's Finances?

Letter to the Editor

To the Editor:

What's the problem? We are approaching our tax levy limit. As a result of rapid increases in spending over the last four years, Dalton's buffer before we reach our tax levy limit has dropped from $1,200,000 to $772,000 in 2023, which is OK, and likely to be approximately $140,000 in 2026, which is very concerning. If it gets to $0, the town of Dalton will have to cut services and reduce spending in many ways.

What is the levy limit? Proposition 2.5, which is part of Massachusetts law, says that the maximum amount a town can tax its residents (the levy limit) is 2.5 percent of the total assessed overall value of the homes in Dalton plus new growth. New growth in this town has been small for several years. In 2024 the total assessed value of all property was $895,322,865 so the total amount the town could raise from taxes is approximately $22.4 million. In 2024 the total amount of revenue collected was $21.2 million, which means we had $864,000 buffer that we could collect before reaching the levy limit. Each year the assessed value of homes increases, which in turn increases the levy limit and helps Dalton meet its ever-increasing obligations. Over the last four years, the increase in our town's expenses has been outpacing these increases, cutting into our buffer.

Does a Proposition 2.5 override save us? A Prop 2.5 override is intended for large capital purchases. It's like a mortgage, but town governments call them bonds. We did overrides for the new school, repairs to Town Hall and Dalton Division Road, which were then covered by bonds. But overrides are not helpful for annual expenses like salaries, benefits, supplies or any other expense. An override may help us not hit our levy limit, but it is still money that must be raised through taxes to pay for the debt, so it still appears in your taxes.

Speaking of taxes, do you know that if this year's proposed budget passes Dalton's resulting rate of approximately $18.13, which combines the town and fire district tax rates, will likely be one of the highest rates in Berkshire County? Do you know that if a new building is built that costs $15 million this would require a Proposition 2.5 override that would result in an average annual increase in our taxes of approximately $250 per household? If this bothers you, when the time comes you should vote!

What can we do?

Attend the annual town meeting on May 5 at 7 p.m. at the Wahconah Regional High School and VOTE. It might be a long evening but your vote on each item is extremely important in controlling costs and increasing the tools our town government has for the future.

To prepare for the meeting every Dalton resident who is concerned about their taxes and their town should read the annual Town Report, which contains all the financial and policy items that you will be asked to vote on at the meeting. The report will be dropped off at your door by the Boy Scouts on Saturday, April 19. If the report is not clear or, like many others, you have questions, I hope you all will feel comfortable stopping by and talking with me about them. Getting ahold of me is easy. I will be at my campaign office in the old bank across from the Town Hall each weekday from 4:30-6:00. I can also be reached on Facebook at William Drosehn Candidate or instant message me.

Please vote yes on Article 27 for the Capital Planning Committee.

Thank you!

William Drosehn

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