Dartmouth Town Meeting amends school budget, OK's legal help for proposed septic rules

DARTMOUTH — Town Meeting voters on Tuesday sat through over four hours of voting and discussion to approve town funds on housing units for senior mental health patients, spending on outside legal counsel relative to proposed state-level septic rules that could be costly to property owners; and a school official's last-ditch effort to pull more funds into the school budget paid off.

When it came to approving Article 11 of the Annual Town Meeting warrant — to fund department budgets, including the schools' — School Committee member John Nunes motioned to amend it by moving $99,275 from the Finance Committee's reserve fund to the school department's budget.

As had been discussed at a prior School Committee meeting, town and school administration heads had worked together in May to close a gap between the town's and School Committee's respective school budget proposals. However, school officials were surprised when the Select Board and Finance Committee later voted a school budget recommendation of $51,496,423, still falling short of the School Committee's proposed $51,595,598.

Local girl doing big things: New Bedford High student crowned Miss Massachusetts’ Teen 2023

As reviewed by Interim Superintendent of Schools James Kiely on Town Meeting floor Tuesday, this was after the School Committee had already reduced their original proposal by $361,000 by cutting four teaching positions and shifting some school choice funds.

"The committee has already reduced services. We’ve already looked at increasing class size, reducing instructional technology support, reducing instructional coaching support," Kiely said. "So at this point if we were to cut further ... it would be staffing, and that would be directly staffing that works with kids."

In response, Finance Committee Chair Robert Gauvin came back with an amendment to Nunes' amendment, which would have taken the $99,275 out of the school department's own kindergarten reserve funds. However, Town Counsel Anthony Savastano advised that action would have been illegal as proposed due to how that fund is classified.

After lengthy discussion, Nunes' motion to amend Article 11, and then the article itself, were approved by Town Meeting.

Affordable housing for senior mental health patients gets needed funding

Article 2, asking to pay $500,000 in Community Preservation funds to Partners In Housing, Inc. for the Mendes-Monteiro housing project, also generated some discussion but was ultimately passed. The project will construct 10 units of affordable housing on Anderson Way property owned by the Housing Authority, to be occupied by residents aged 55+ who are receiving Department of Mental Health services.

"In October of 2018 the town approved $500,000 for the development of this housing," said Community Preservation Committee Chair Howard Baker-Smith. "Additional funds are needed to go into construction and this $500,000 is to fund that gap to enable the project to go forward."

Care to help?: Senior meal programs face challenges with increasing demand, reduced funding

According to Partners In Housing, Inc. President Michael Gagne, the facility will be staffed 24/7 and the total project cost will be for $5,341,000, much of which has been funded from state sources and private donors. Gagne said Dartmouth's total contribution, counting the $500,000 approved Tuesday, makes up about 20% of the funding.

Gagne also noted the units would help Dartmouth toward fulfilling its affordable housing quota.

Town free to pay for outside counsel on septic rules

Article 26, a citizens' petition submitted by Town Meeting member John Haran, asked for $200,000 to potentially be spent on outside legal counsel relative to Mass. DEP's controversial new septic rules, predicted to be entail costly upgrades to property owners.

"Forty-nine percent of the taxpayers in the town of Dartmouth are on septic systems and I believe we have a duty to help these people," said Haran. "The costs they could face in the future could be astronomical."

Selectmen Stanley Mickelson and David Tatelbaum said they were against the idea of hiring outside counsel.

Get some background: Landfill standstill: Two years later, questions remain over Cecil Smith site

"We have a fine lawyer that we have as our town lawyer," Mickelson said after expressing his satisfaction with Town Counsel's past work taking on the DEP in a conflict over the Cecil Smith Landfill back in 2014.

"It's good seed money to start," said Selectman Shawn McDonald after sharing he was in favor of the article, noting that although he has "full confidence in [Town Counsel] Anthony Savastano and Brian Cruz in dealing with this," he also doesn't "mind having a little bit of extra help to help them fight DEP and the Conservation Law Foundation."

The article passed, after being amended not to specify the funds are for "outside" counsel. As was noted by town officials and Haran, if the funds are not spent within the year, they are to be returned to the town's general fund.

Other articles passed

Other articles approved on Tuesday include:

Article 24, which appropriates $451,974.09 plus $41.95 interest to improve roads at the Gendreau Estates subdivision left unfinished by the developer;

Get the latest town news: Fairhaven voters said 'no' to a Proposition 2½ override. Now what?

Article 25, which sets rules for donation bins set up in town;

And Article 10, which included a $6,568 pay increase for the Town Clerk. That item within the article generated some debate before being passed.

*Editor's note: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of a Town Meeting member's last name.

This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Dartmouth Town Meeting amends school budget