Williamstown's Linda Riddell is an example of direct democracy as she speaks at the Williamstown Town Meeting last Tuesday at the Parks Memorial gym. A large crowd was on hand as the voters slashed the school budget by $400,000. Photo by Bill Croney, The Northfield News WILLIAMSTOWN – In a surprise effort, a total of $400,000 was slashed from the school budget at town meeting last Tuesday. The voters also refused to endorse a number of other articles on the Town Warning.

It took four tries and a debate that took over 90 minutes but voters finally agreed to levelfund the school budget at the same $7,760,701 figure they approved a year ago.

One of the chief proponents of the move to slash the budget was Monique Hayden who was facing incumbent Town Treasurer, Bob Cleaves, in her bid to unseat him. The bid failed but her bid to slash the school budget did not.

“It just doesn't seem right that we sit here today and we throw numbers around that we think are the bottom line and at the end of the year they aren't,” she said. “It just doesn't seem fair to taxpayers.”

Eugene LaPerle offered his assessment. “I strongly recommend we turn this budget down,” he said stating that the school budget should just be level funded he proposed, making it the same as last year.

At a time when state workers were taking a pay cut, other institutions are cutting back and those on Social Security were being asked to do more with less, Mr. LaPerle said it was impossible to justify a $400,000 spending increase in a school district where enrollment has flat-lined and test scores have consistently remained woefully below the state average.

Matthew Powell, a supporter of the school, said the latest round of test scores were troubling and that led to thos supporting the cut to vote for it.

“I was ashamed to read these [test results] ashamed,” he said. “The results coming out of this high school are not what they were 20 years ago. These were awful scores … I've always been an advocate for the schools but this is not acceptable.” With Mr. LaPerle's amendment on the floor Doreen Chambers proposed a $7.9 million alternative that would have restored roughly half of the suggested cut but hat amendment was defeated in a round of paper ballots by a vote of 52-82.

Rather, the voters went on to approve Mr. LaPerle's amendment in another paper ballot by 82-49 and before the question on the main motion could be called School Director Rama Schneider offered an amendment that was accepted by Moderator Richard Chase despite the strenuous objection of resident John Taylor who challenged the moderator. But the challenge made no difference. The school budget ended up being cut. Following the school vote, the meeting broke for lunch and things just got worse afterward.

Upon returning, Ronald Saldi proposed passing nearly $29,000 in annual appropriations including $10,000 for the Williamstown historical society as well as an article calling for expanding the property tax exemption for disabled veterans from $10,000 to $40,000.

Mr. Saldi's motion was defeated 57-79.

Then, it took two tries and about an hour for voters to approve the $2.3 million municipal budget requested by the selectboard with the understanding that $40,000 in surplus funds will be used to reduce the amount they'll have raise in property taxes.

Voters agreed to use $40,000 of an $82,911 year-end surplus to reduce the $1.5 million tax effort needed to finance the board's budget request. Mr. Saldi was among those who spoke in favor of the measure, which will erase much, if not all, of the 3.3 per cent rate hike associated with the budget's approval.

“I don't want the surplus to stay in a piggy bank,” he said. The decision to use some surplus funds to finance the budget left a little over $42,000 in fund balance that voters agreed to use as seed money for a public safety building reserve fund.

There were two amendments that failed prior to the budget discussion.

One would have precluded the town from pursuing and accepting any state or federal grants. The other would have required the publication of the names of taxpayers who miss the November 16 tax installment payment on property taxes. Rather, the old system of publishing names only if the taxes aren’t paid by December 31 remains in force.

Before breaking for lunch, voters approved a 100 percent tax exemption for Williamstown Youth Sports Association at Saldi Field but stressed that the exemption, which is good through 2013, would not apply to the abandoned UniFirst drycleaning plant.

Several residents said they were skeptical of plans to convert the plant into a community center because of contamination from chemicals which were detected there over 20 years ago.

Mr. Hurlburt said UniFirst had offered the property, which is located between the local elementary and high schools, to the youth sports association prompting some to suggest the response should be thanks, but no thanks.

”It's an outdated, absolutely no-good facility,” one resident said, suggesting it would be more cost-effective to build a new facility on Saldi Field.

In other matters, the voters agreed to invest $15,000 in new flooring for the elementary school, appropriated $10,000 to a capital improvement fund, $10,000 to a roof fund and $5,000 to a bus fund.

Conrad Beattie urged voters not to shift to Australian ballot school budget votes and the motion was approved 62-42 moments before the meeting was adjourned.

Bob Cleaves defeated Ms. Hayden for town treasurer 231-209.

In the race for a seat on the cemetery commission, incumbent Conrad Beattie lost to Paul Zeller 219-215 in the narrowest of margins.

In the race to replace Chris Peloquin on the Selectboard, former board chairman Francis Covey defeated Freda Hollyer 307-137.

Town Clerk Debbie Palmerwas re-elected in an uncontested race and Winona Johnson received enough write-in votes to win a newly vacant seat on the school board.