Voters consider the 31 town warrant items in booths at the Jefferson Town Meeting by Referendum on Tuesday, April 16, 2023. (Molly Rains photo)
Jefferson voters approved all 31 town warrant articles at the town’s annual town meeting by referendum on Tuesday, April 16, including a municipal budget of $1,376,164 and the use of $100,000 from the Jefferson Village School’s long-term maintenance fund for a special-education-related project at the school.
Incumbent Jefferson Select Board Chair Pamela Grotton was reelected in an uncontested election with 72 votes, while one write-in vote was cast and 10 voters abstained.
The budget category that passed most narrowly was the cost center for administration of local government, which totaled $460,476. This cost center was approved with 68-14.
An article submitted by the Jefferson School Committee to approve the transfer of $100,000 from the school’s long-term maintenance fund for a special-education related construction project passed 61-20. The funds will be used for renovations required to bring more in-house special education programming to Jefferson Village School.
An article to decrease the size of the Jefferson Budget Committee from 12 to seven members passed 66-16. Town administrators struggle to find enough willing volunteers to fill the committee’s seats, Jefferson Select Board member Claudia Orff-Reed said on April 8.
Another approved article will grant the town the ability to deposit funds from the annual alewife harvest into a reserve account for the Meserve Dam. Prior to this measure, there was no account for dam funds, select board member Robert Clark said.
Other approved articles included the appropriation of $70,000 to a Jefferson Fire and Rescue Fire Truck reserve fund, which passed 70-11, and numerous charitable contributions to social and community service organizations including the Jefferson Snopackers, Spectrum Generations, Healthy Kids, and the Jefferson Food Pantry, among others.
With all articles approved, the $1,376,164 municipal budget is an increase of $103,279 or 8.11% from last year.
The next meeting of the Jefferson Select Board will be held on Monday, April 22, at 5 p.m. in the Jefferson town office.
