Barre Annual Town Meeting Adopts FY2018 Budget and Marijuana Moratorium

BARRE -- June 20, 2017, Barre's Annual Town Meeting adopted a fiscal year 2018 operating budget and imposed a temporary moratorium on recreational marijuana establishments at its June 20 session. Finance Committee Chairman Richard Anowskis thanked department heads and Quabin Regional School District Superintendent Marshall for working through what he called a difficult budget year, with the school district assessment set at $5,288,612 and Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School funded at $367,000. Voters transferred $344,282 from free cash to stabilization and, over the Finance Committee's initial unfavorable recommendation, approved a $25,000 seed transfer to a new other post-employment benefits fund after a selectman explained a consultant had advised the higher starting balance. The recreational marijuana moratorium, amended from the floor to explicitly exclude medical marijuana facilities, will run through December 31, 2018, or until the town enacts its own zoning bylaws. Voters also authorized a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement with solar developer Berago Solar and introduced Andrew Golas, identified as the town's incoming town administrator pending final contract negotiations.