Great Barrington, Massachusetts residents will gather at Monument Mountain Regional High School for town meeting tonight at 6. They’ll consider a 28-item warrant, including a $16.4 million general fund for fiscal year 2025, $4.7 million in capital authorizations, two citizen’s petitions, and more. It’s the first town meeting since controversy over a police search of a middle school for a book on gender queer identity overtook the community late last year — and the first since multiple cannabis businesses launched a $6 million lawsuit against the town over community impact fees. Steve Bannon is chair of both Great Barrington’s selectboard and the Berkshire Hills Regional School District School Committee. He previewed tonight’s meeting with WAMC.
BANNON: If you look at the town warrant this year, the spending is good- It's normal what it is. The problem is that revenue is down, especially, COVID funds are down, cost of goods and services are up, payment for debt services is up. So, it's a fairly large increase this year in the budget.
WAMC: Give us some numbers. About how much is that increase?
Well, I'll go with percentages, that makes more sense. The increase in the expenses is about 12%, and when you factor in revenue, you get it down to about 8%, which is a much larger increase than Great Barrington usually sees.
Where do you think there'll be the most conversation about spending hikes? Is there any area that you think will be the topic of debate at tonight's town meeting?
Yeah, I think when we look at the budget, when we crafted the budget, there's vehicles for fire department and police department, that that will create some discussion. I think there'll be a lot of discussion on capital, which doesn't necessarily affect next year's budget, but it will affect future budgets. So, roads, bridges, sidewalks, and other projects. You do have to pay him back eventually, even if you're borrowing. So, I think there will be discussion on that.
Now, there's also talk of zoning amendments at this year's town meeting. Walk us through that- What is on the docket for changes to Great Barrington zoning?
I think all the zoning amendments, and I'm not an expert in zoning, that's really a planning board issue, but I think all the zoning amendments are fairly straightforward this year, have to do with housing and the usual, and I don't think there'll be a lot of discussion on those. They seem to be, as usual, well thought out by the planning board.
Housing has been an ongoing issue in Great Barrington and a major topic of conversation. The community preservation projects on tonight's warrant call for an additional $533,000 to be dedicated to affordable housing work in Great Barrington. Can you break that down a little bit? What does it actually mean on the ground for folks looking for affordable housing in the town?
Well, the affordable housing trust, which is, will be one of the recipients of the community preservation, is where our local citizens can help people who need to find housing, and they can do that help, they'll get that help financially. I think that's probably where the money, most of the money will be going to. As usual there's always people who, you know, private contractors who have asked for money for their projects, and in return, they guarantee a limited time affordable housing as part of their project, and that may be a little bit of a discussion- How much money should go to private contractors and how much should stay within the town purview.
This is the first town meeting after the outcry over police intervention into WEB DuBois Middle School to confiscate the book “Gender Queer” by the author Maia Kobabe. That's reflected in the warrant by article 27, a citizen’s petition about the values of community policing in the Great Barrington Police Department. Can you sort of break down that article for us and sort of contextualize how that plays into this ongoing conversation about that action last year?
It's a citizen’s petition and the citizens tonight who brought that forward will explain it, but I think it's basic context that the police should go not directly into the school. They should, is what the citizens petition is asking for, it's more that they should call the school do some research before they go into the school.
And what are your thoughts as someone who sits not just on the school committee but on the selectboard, both in authoritative roles- What are your thoughts on that call?
I think the citizens petition is a good one. I think we've learned a lot, without pointing fingers, I think the district in the town have learned a lot, and mistakes happen and they need to be corrected. And I think that petition is not a bad one at all.
Now, the teacher at the heart of that controversy, it's been publicized that that they intend to sue the town over this situation. Is that something that you can speak to?
No, it's not, because of possible litigation.
Now, turning back to the spending of it all, this hike this 8% hike after revenues are factored in- Is that going to be reflected in the tax rate for Great Barrington residents?
It will be reflected in the tax rate for Great Barrington residents, but majority of our money comes from the taxpayers, from landowners and businesses.
There's also been a lot of talk about the ongoing litigation between cannabis companies in Great Barrington and the town over community impact fees. Is that playing into tonight's meeting at all? Or is it playing into new, long-term financial planning, knowing that there could be a very costly agreement coming with these businesses?
Yeah, the money that set aside for the host community agreement is not being used at all tonight, won't, shouldn't be discussed at all tonight. The only way it's being, affecting long-term fiscal planning is that we're not planning to spend any of that money that was earmarked for host community agreements from the host community agreements until the litigation is over with.
Another ongoing Great Barrington saga is that of the Housatonic Waterworks. Can you update us on where the town is at with that ongoing situation with tainted water in the village of Housatonic, and how that is reflected in tonight's warrant or long-term financial planning?
Yeah, there's, right now there is a study going on, which has already, money's already been earmarked to look at the Housatonic Waterworks from a financial point of view so that the town can look whether they're interested in purchasing it or not. So right now, it's kind of at a standstill until the study is done, hopefully within the next few months.
Now, Great Barrington town meetings are not known for their brevity, and they're not known for being quiet. Where do you think the biggest issues and conversations will arise at tonight's meeting? And what's your forecast for the tenor and length of the annual gathering?
Well, for the tenor, I'm hoping that citizens and everyone is respectful. I think we can all discuss this in a respectful manner. It could be a fairly long meeting, because there are a lot of articles, and one we haven't talked about is $150,000 for Ramsdell Library, for, they're applying for a grant to do a major renovation of the library, and that $150,000 gets their foot in the door to apply for the grant. So, I think that'll be a very long discussion tonight, and I assume the meeting will go three to four hours. It normally does, and I don't see any reason that this one won't.
