Pepperell Selectmen Unanimously Approve FY2018 Town Budget Monday Night

PEPPERELL — February 27, 2017 — Pepperell selectmen unanimously approved the town's FY2018 operating and capital budget Monday while hearing school district presentations that highlighted a North Middlesex Regional assessment increase of roughly $587,000, or 5 percent, still under negotiation ahead of a March 6 school committee deadline. Town Administrator Mark Andrews presented what he called the town's third straight balanced budget, including a $50,000 police cruiser, $45,000 for a highway dump truck, $5,500 for a senior center outreach worker, and plans to hire a full-time police officer in the fall contingent on free cash levels. Andrews also reported that a $152,910 Green Communities Program grant — which funded a library boiler conversion from oil to gas and building weatherization across multiple town facilities — is projected to save Pepperell $35,672 annually and has leveraged more than $250,000 in utility rebates, with a new $250,000 competitive grant filing due by week's end. Nashoba Valley Technical High School Superintendent Denise Pigeon presented a 3.3 percent budget increase and reported a $101,000 Life Science Grant award and a $500,000 engineering grant application pending. Selectman Melissa Tzanoudakis pushed back on the North Middlesex figure, noting that an increase above 3 percent translates to roughly $177,600 — "a huge impact to our budget" — for a town still operating Town Hall and public safety at reduced capacity.