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Springfield selectmen confront overspent highway warrant article; approve fire-department stipend rollover
Summary
The Selectmen learned a $200,000 highway warrant article has been overspent because some wages were charged to the article; Treasurer Janet Roberts will consult the Department of Revenue Administration and auditors. Separately, the Board approved rolling remaining Fire Department training funds into the volunteer stipend line for December payout.
Selectmen discussed municipal budget accounting and voted to allow remaining Fire Department training funds to be added to volunteer stipends while also addressing an overspent highway warrant article.
Deputy Administrative Assistant Jill Hastings told the Board that a $200,000 warrant article for highway work has been overspent because wages were charged to that article in addition to paving costs. Treasurer Janet Roberts said she is concerned auditors or the Department of Revenue Administration (DRA) could reclassify those wages back into the 2025 operating budget for audit purposes, which would change reported operating totals and affect future reporting to taxpayers. The Board asked Janet to consult the DRA and auditors and agreed to re-evaluate the town’s bottom-line status in mid-December.
On a separate motion, the Board unanimously approved a motion by Chair Steve Dzubak, seconded by Amy Lewis, to allow monies remaining in Fire Department budget lines 143 and 153 to be rolled into the stipend line and paid out in December. The motion passed by roll call vote of the three selectmen.
The Board also discussed insurance follow-up on an unresolved fire-department fuel-spill claim and said members would look into alternative municipal insurers if Primex does not respond promptly. Finally, the Board discussed a KLPA watershed low-interest forgivable loan that may appear as a warrant article and scheduled a bond hearing for any borrowing at or above the $100,000 statutory threshold.
