Special Town Meeting set to plug $600K budget gap

Local News

Discussion

The Salem News has a real-name policy for commenting. Users may sign in using the Facebook Connect tool above the comments field. Once your first comment is posted by a moderator, all future comments will post automatically. If you prefer not to use Facebook, send an e-mail with your comments user name (which must be the same as your real name), city or town, street address and daytime phone number to comments@salemnews.com. A staff member will contact you directly to confirm your identity. It may take a day or two before you can post comments. Only your user name will be public. All users are required to follow our rules for commenting, which can be found here.

comments powered by Disqus

November 20, 2009

By Ethan Forman The Salem News Fri Nov 20, 2009, 12:39 AM EST

DANVERS — This year may be remembered as the year of the Special Town Meeting.

There have been three so far, including one held on the same day as the regular Town Meeting in May, and two more are on tap.

Tuesday, selectmen voted to hold a Special Town Meeting on Dec. 14 for the sole purpose of plugging a $600,000 budget shortfall.

Drops in projections for revenue from motor vehicle excise taxes, building permits and investment income caused the shortfall.

The town has money squirreled away in various accounts, but it needs a Town Meeting vote to appropriate it. A Finance Committee hearing is scheduled for Dec. 9.

In August, the town held a Special Town Meeting to discuss a hotel/motel room tax, a meals tax, and the merger of North Shore Technical High and Essex Agricultural and Technical High.

This past Monday, Special Town Meeting approved nearly $80 million for the Danvers High renovation and addition project.

Another Special Town Meeting is planned for January or February to tackle zoning articles.

To close the budget gap, Town Manager Wayne Marquis plans to tap a $636,000 revenue stabilization fund and move money from other reserve accounts. The account was created in May to cover the potential for revenue shortfalls.

Marquis said the town will tap half of this fund, and find money elsewhere, from projects that came in under budget, such as the Riverside School parking lot, savings on vehicle and computer purchases, and savings from the public works budget.

Staff writer Ethan Forman can be reached at 978-338-2673 or by e-mail at eforman@salemnews.com.

Text Only | Photo Reprints

Local News

Peabody picks superintendent

PEABODY — Joseph Mastrocola has been hired as the new superintendent of the Peabody School District after a unanimous vote by the Peabody School Committee Thursday night.
Mastrocola worked as the assistant superintendent in Peabody from 2007 to 2010 before leaving to become superintendent at Groton-Dunstable Regional School District.

Feb 11, 2012 4:50 am
Colossal campaign collection

Many know Alan Hartnett as a guy who operates a popular, family-owned car wash and auto body shop on Water Street in Danvers.

Few realize he is really cleaning up when it comes to political memorabilia.
However, in a year when Republicans are furiously vying to unseat President Barack Obama, the political item pickings are few and far between, despite the hundreds of millions that will be spent on campaigns.

Feb 11, 2012 4:48 am
4th man charged in Hilltop probe

SALEM — A former resident of a Boston Street rooming house, where two men died last fall of apparent drug overdoses, has been charged in connection with one of the deaths.
Salem police obtained an arrest warrant yesterday for Anthony Burney, 36, in connection with the Dec. 4 death of a 40-year-old Lynn man who resided at Hilltop Manor, a lodging house at 179 Boston St.

Feb 11, 2012 4:46 am
6 years and counting, restaurant still on hold

After Mayor Bill Scanlon's State of the City address Monday night, City Council President Paul Guanci asked the question that residents have been asking since 2006.
What's up with the Black Cow?
Guanci was not talking about farm animals or the 1977 Steely Dan song. He was talking about the Black Cow restaurant that was first proposed six years ago this month but has yet to be built.

Feb 11, 2012 4:44 am
No water woes for region — yet

Water levels on the North Shore are still close to average but dropping fast due to a recent lack of precipitation.
Up through last night, not a single drop of moisture had fallen in February, and January saw just 2.67 inches. That's almost three-quarters of an inch less than the 30-year average, according to The National Weather Service. In total, the North Shore has received about an inch-and-a-half less precipitation than normal in January and February.

Feb 11, 2012 4:43 am
Police respond to NSCC Feb 11, 2012 4:41 am
Police Feb 11, 2012 4:40 am
Correction Feb 11, 2012 4:29 am
Health care law debated Feb 10, 2012 4:50 am
Borders site is next chapter for auto dealer Feb 10, 2012 4:48 am
Road race issue crosses finish line Feb 10, 2012 4:47 am
Salem businessman offers firsthand insight on Egypt Feb 10, 2012 4:46 am
A Salem flag-raising in Afghanistan Feb 10, 2012 4:45 am
Body-moving case in court next month Feb 10, 2012 4:45 am
Hamilton looks to share emergency dispatch facility Feb 10, 2012 4:44 am
Chocolate and ice festival this weekend Feb 10, 2012 4:43 am
New trash rules boost recycling, officials say Feb 10, 2012 4:41 am
Police Feb 10, 2012 4:40 am
Police nab shoplifting suspect Feb 10, 2012 4:39 am
Ruling: city must pay cop Feb 9, 2012 4:50 am
'Her name is going to change things' Feb 9, 2012 4:49 am 2 Photos
Salem State lands Valentine, Cooper for Speaker Series Feb 9, 2012 4:48 am
Peabody squelches mulch operation Feb 9, 2012 4:47 am 1 Photo
Rep tackles health care reform at chamber breakfast Feb 9, 2012 4:46 am
Peabody council to debate new health care law Feb 9, 2012 4:45 am
Town moves to solve dispatch center's space crunch Feb 9, 2012 4:44 am
Ipswich gets money for Farley Brook project Feb 9, 2012 4:43 am
School schedule changes, fees on agenda in Ipswich Feb 9, 2012 4:42 am
Teller blocks attempt to cash stolen checks Feb 9, 2012 4:41 am
police Feb 9, 2012 4:40 am

Click here for more Local News stories

Local News

Search Results

Discussion

Special Town Meeting set to plug $600K budget gap

Site Map

Reader Access