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Hubbardston board votes to honor quarterly dispatch payment after Central Mass board seeks full assessment
Summary
Select Board members voted unanimously to pay only the 25% quarterly assessment to the Central Mass Regional Emergency Communication Center, saying the district’s board moved to change the payment schedule without plainly notifying member towns and prompting legal review.
The Town of Hubbardston Select Board voted unanimously to pay one quarter (25%) of the town’s assessment to the Central Mass Regional Emergency Communication Center on July 1, reaffirming the quarterly payment schedule in the town’s signed contract.
Select Board member Peter said the district’s board held a rushed Friday meeting that proposed sending the entire annual assessment at once and questioned how an appointed, largely unelected administrative board could alter a contract signed by elected town officials. “How can an unelected board… change the will of the people that we support,” Peter said, urging the town to honor the signed agreement and pay 25% on July 1.
Chair (the Select Board chair) moved to carry out that stance and the board approved the motion by voice vote. The board also directed Town Administrator Sean to consult legal counsel and to notify the district of Hubbardston’s decision.
Town Administrator Sean said the signed contract does include language about bonding and about member towns’ ability to respond to additional appropriations. He urged caution with sudden end-of-fiscal-year requests, saying scheduling a meeting days before the fiscal year end to demand full payment “is not the way to run” fiscal relationships between the district and member towns.
Board members said the district’s decision was driven by short-term cash-flow issues—members noted the newly independent district must carry start-up costs until more towns join—but they emphasized that routine contractual processes and town budgets expect quarterly assessments. The board asked legal staff to review whether the Central Mass board’s action complied with the contract and said it would coordinate communication to other member communities.
The board also reappointed Peter as Hubbardston’s representative on the dispatch board of directors at the same meeting.
What’s next: The town administrator will consult with counsel and the Select Board expects further updates on the district’s cash-flow plan and any legal remedies available to member towns.
