Pepperell Holds First Citizens Engagement Night Before June 22 Town Meeting

PEPPERELL — June 15, 2020 — Pepperell holds first-ever Citizens Engagement Night to preview $30.3 million FY21 budget. Town Administrator Andrew and Finance Committee Chair Quentin Cutler led a virtual session June 15 answering resident questions on a proposed general fund budget of $30,331,557 heading to a town meeting vote June 22. A new regional emergency communications center with Ashby adds more than $450,000 to the public safety line but is fully offset by state aid and Ashby payments, with Pepperell saving roughly $40,000 net over fiscal 2020. A Middlesex Retirement System one-year adjustment of 22 percent adds approximately $300,000 to the benefits budget. Cutler noted the budget does not draw on free cash for the first time in several years, projecting a surplus of roughly $100,000. On COVID impacts, the town has spent roughly $50,000 in unbudgeted expenses, most expected to be reimbursable through FEMA at 75 cents on the dollar, with approximately $1 million in CARES Act funding available through at least December 2020. Select Board member Joe Radwich, who voted against recommending the stormwater enterprise fund, told attendees his opposition was about "clarity" on how $245,000 would be spent, stating, "I am not for dirty water — I am just concerned about how it's going to be done."