SAUGUS — Four financial items were approved during a special Town Meeting held via Zoom on Monday night.
Forty-four of the 50 Town Meeting members in attendance voted in favor of replacing $1.4 million from the town’s stabilization fund, matched a grant for dam repairs at Spring Pond to pay for charges used last fiscal year, and allocated funding for a study for a new cable-access network.
Finance Committee Chairman Kenneth De Patto described the agenda as an economically-stable plan and urged the town to vote in favor of it.
“We are showing a sound business practice,” De Patto said to the members on the call. “The reason that we made these decisions is that it is more financially sound.”
The $1.4 million from the stabilization fund would replace an equal amount of money from the current fiscal year, known as “certified free cash.” The town has about $4.6 million that it can use.
Town Manager Scott C. Crabtree said the rest of the funds would be for the upcoming snow season and any other emergencies the town might face. He also said this would help counter the financial challenges Saugus is facing, such as inflation and higher gas prices.
“We’re balancing the budget with free cash,” Crabtree said. “The last thing we want is a reduction in our services or our staff.”
The meeting also saw the approval of matching a grant given to the town to repair the dam structure at Spring Pond. The Commonwealth provided 75 percent of the funds in the grant and the town would pay for the other 25 percent.
Town Meeting member Martin Costello of precinct 10 raised a question of whether supply-chain issues would affect the amount of money in the grant. Crabtree acknowledged that the town might have to return to ask for more grant money.
“When we applied for a grant the supply-chain issues did not exist,” said Crabtree. “We’re taking our best guess but if it’s significant we would have to come back.”
There were questions about financing an audit for a brand new public, educational, and government channel, specifically regarding cable company roles in the process. Crabtree agreed with their concerns and said there would be conversations about this in the future. There was no objection to the audit and paying for past town charges.
The annual Town Meeting is scheduled for the first Monday in May.
