Halifax select board approves $8,500 stormwater transfer, tables $7,000 street-light transfer

Tom Pratt, chair of the Halifax Select Board, moved and the board approved a transfer of $8,500 from the capital projects stormwater account to the highway stormwater management account to cover professional-services costs.

"So I will make a motion to approve that, line item transfer as printed," Pratt said before the board seconded the motion and carried it in a roll-call vote.

The vote was recorded during roll call: Jonathan Sealy — yes; William Smith — yes; Tom Pratt — yes.

Later, the board considered a second adjustment: a $7,000 transfer from the street lights electricity account to the town barn electricity account. Pratt said the printed warrant showed a negative balance in the source account and that the board should not make it more negative without clarification. He withdrew the motion and moved to table the item.

"We're just gonna skip right over that line of transfer to readdress it on the 14th," Pratt said, and the board agreed to revisit the transfer at its July 14 meeting.

Why it matters: the approved transfer covers an overrun in highway stormwater management professional services, shifting funds within the municipality’s year-end budget to avoid deficits. The tabled item was paused because board members identified a discrepancy in the printed account balances and wanted staff to verify which account should be debited.

Next steps: the $8,500 transfer is approved and will be reflected in the town’s year-end budget adjustments. The $7,000 street lights/town barn transfer is deferred to the July 14 meeting for clarification and a subsequent vote if needed.

Quotes in context: all direct quotations are drawn from the meeting transcript and attributed to the speaker list.