Barre Finance Committee Backs Warrant Articles Despite $208,000 Budget Shortfall

BARRE -- June 15, 2017, Barre Finance Committee votes favorable on major warrant articles but enters town meeting with a $208,304 deficit. Meeting on June 15, Finance Committee Chair Zachary Macutkiewicz led the panel through more than a dozen pre-town-meeting votes, including a water commission appropriation of $497,035, a general fund and insurance article of $633,499, and snow-and-ice deficit transfers totaling $130,347. No free cash figure had been certified; Macutkiewicz noted that a $150,000 free cash appropriation, if approved, would cut the gap to roughly $58,000. The committee also debated the future of a shared IT arrangement with Rutland after the regional IT director resigned his shared position effective June 30, with members arguing Rutland had not provided the contractually required 90-day withdrawal notice and directing Macutkiewicz to formally request Rutland's plans in writing. The IT budget line was held at $71,500, the standalone Barre cost, pending resolution of the intertown agreement.