All money articles on the municipal budget

were passed.
By Gail Geraghty
Staff Writer

STOW – Voters rejected a new building code but passed all the money articles of a $183,406 municipal budget at Saturday’s town meeting.

Questions were raised about the impact of new language in the Planning Board’s Building Safety And Health Code. Voters agreed to ask the board to fine-tune the document after getting feedback from the public, and to bring it back for a vote, perhaps at a special town meeting.

The move to table the ordinance was made by newly elected Selectman Jonathan Sarty, who won the balloting against incumbent Alvin Emerson.

Selectman Paul Lusky said that with the $750,000 increase in valuation this year, and figuring in a $20,000 increase in the school budget assessment, taxpayers will see only a 25-cent per $1,000 increase in taxes, bringing the tax rate to around $17.50 per $1,000 of valuation.

The local share of the budget was passed at $84,900, with another $80,000 coming from surplus and $20,000 coming from state grants.

Lusky pointed out that the overall budget increase comes from school, not municipal, spending. “There’s been an $85,000 increase in costs for the school in the last five years,” he said.

Dave Tenney asked how the town’s valuation would be affected if the Legislature’s proposal to cut back on the Homestead Exemption passes.

The town gets $491,000 from the state’s Homestead Exemption program, Lusky said. The town’s valuation would not be affected, he said – but taxpayers who receive the exemption would have to pay a larger tax bill.

Lusky said the town’s $85,500 highway budget will help pay this year for much-needed repairs to Union Hill Road.

Voters went along with a recommendation from selectmen and the Budget Committee to give the Charlotte Hobbs Memorial Library in Lovell $1,000, not the $1,500 the library had requested.

Selectmen said the library request has jumped in recent years.

“For a long time it was $500, then it went to $1,000, and then to $1,500” in this year’s request, said Selectman Kathleen Ela.

“It’s more money than we pay for rescue,” said Lusky, adding, “I think $1,000 for a library that’s not in town” is a reasonable amount.

Richard Meserve, Stow’s representative to the SAD 72 School Board, was praised for doing an outstanding job during his first year on the board. Meserve has a background in the building trades and has been studying the maintenance needs of schools in the district.

Paula McInnis was chosen to serve as Meserve’s alternate, replacing Edie Day.

In a straw poll, a majority of voters agreed to consider at next year’s town meeting switching the road commissioner’s position from an elected to an appointed position.

Selectmen favor the change since it will make it easier to commit to a contract from year to year, Lusky said. William Parmenter was then re-elected as road commissioner for another year.

Dave Tenney, a Planning Board alternate, was elected to fill the unexpired term of Barbara Hill, who is moving out of town. Clifford Brown and Anthony Higgins were also elected to the planning board, while Henry Neddenrip will serve as alternate.

Voters agreed to grant new terms to Barbara Hill on the Cemetery Commission, Sharon Peterson and Edie Day on the Budget Committee and Sarah Martin on the Conservation Committee.