RUTLAND — It took less than half an hour for voters to handle the town business at the special town meeting Nov. 16, approving most proposals.
An exception was an article to change the members of the Wachusett Regional School District Committee. That article was passed over by voters at the request of the School Committee.
“The School Committee is asking for no action,” Rutland School Committee representative Sherrie Haber said, based on the fact that Holden and Sterling had not approved the revised wording and the committee “would like to reword for a future date.”
The WRSD agreement revision would change the number of committee members and weighting of their votes, under a plan to reduce the overall number of members from 22 to 16, using a weighted voting system. That amended agreement had been approved by member towns — Holden, Paxton, Princeton, Rutland and Sterling — to reduce the large size of the committee over the course of several years, trimming one from Sterling and two from Holden in 2023. Then two would be eliminated from Holden and one from Rutland for the 2024 town elections.
The amendment would have eliminated only one from Holden for the 2024 election.
For the rest of the warrant, voters approved funding various items, including allocating:
• $203,000 from Water & Sewer retained earnings to pay for costs related to emergency water and sewer infrastructure repairs;
• $52,680 to cover expenses related to hiring a new fire chief, including $13,000 to use for a search firm in the hiring process, plus sets of turnout gear and radios;
• $8,900 for expenses related to recruitment of a new police lieutenant position;
• $10,430 for final costs associated with electrical upgrades at Naquag Elementary School.
A vote of $114,000 to operate the storm water services enterprise included a provision of a fee of approximately $70 per parcel yearly to fund the needed operations.
Voters accepted revisions to exemptions available to local taxpayers, from veterans to the blind, and increasing exemption amounts based on Consumer Price Index figures.
Voters also accepted Nates Way as a public road.
