IT’S TIME TO VOTE FOR EGREMONT

IT’S TIME TO VOTE FOR EGREMONT

          The OneEgremont meeting on Saturday went very well. They had representatives from the water company and the fire dept. The issues discussed were the water company report and the warrants for the two town meetings which will be held on Tuesday May 7, 2013 starting at 6:00 pm. at the Mt Everett School in Sheffield. It’s imperative that everyone be there to cast their vote. We have been going over the issues for several weeks now and it’s time to vote on them. We will be voting to spend over three and a half million dollars and every vote counts.

          Because there were several of the volunteer firefighters in the crowd we got a better understanding of the fire truck that the dept is asking us to consider. What I got out of their comments is that they would rather put off the purchase for a year than settle for a piece of equipment that does not meet their needs. I trust that they have looked at all the options and built a piece of equipment that will serve the town for another twenty plus years. We have to decide if we will vote to spend up to $400,000.00 on a new fire truck for the town. $100,000.00 will be spent out of free cash and $300,000.00 will be borrowed over 7 years.  If this truck lasts as long as the one we are replacing it will cost less than a nickel per person per day.

The water company is one of the most controversial issues we have to decide on. First the water commissioners will be asking the town to take over the debt service of over one million dollars on a water company that has been so mismanaged that it has already cost the town over a half million dollars in taxpayer subsidies. To add insult to injury we are forced to continue to employ a man who, according to the finance committee, has contributed to the loss of over $200,000.00 in tax revenue. We need to dispel the lie that this is how we help our neighbors. We already have to cover any cost the water company can’t raise through fees. This is a far cry from “not one thin dime” of taxpayer money. This article needs to be defeated, please vote no on this article.

          Reena Bucknell, Egremont’s only chief of police attended the meeting and made a brief statement. Still getting over a long bout with pneumonia it was difficult for her to make it out, but she did. I was glad to finally hear a public statement from her. She introduced herself as the current Egremont Chief of Police. She said in spite of what has been happening she wanted to continue to serve the town of Egremont. However, because of the ongoing investigation she was limited as to what she could discuss. She did invite people to call or email her with any questions they may have. She will answer those that she can.

          This brings us to the police dept issues. In addition to the budget of nearly 300 thousand we have the interim chief issue. The BoS is asking us to pay for a temporary chief for anywhere from three to six months. If the BoS wants to appear impartial then why can’t they allow an outside agency like the State Police to investigate this matter? The District Attorney and the Attorney General have already cleared Chief Bucknell; what are the BoS looking to do? We need to learn to just say NO to this BoS. We do this by voting this article down at the 6:00pm Special Town Meeting. Please be there with me.

          There are many other issues to be voted on, but you can read them on the warrant. In all there are 27 articles to decide on and there will be lively discussion on all of them. To cast your vote you need to show up at Mt. Everett High School at 6:00pm on Tuesday May 7^th. I hope to see you there.

KevinZurrin