Special Town Meeting Wrap-up

Milford Town Meeting members approved funds to dredge and restore a portion of Milford Pond, provided a raise for firefighters, and directed $1 million in town savings to offset the tax rate for 2013. Those were some of the highlights of the articles that were approved. 

A recap of some approved articles:

Town Finances: $1 million to offset operating, capital and debt expenses to decrease the tax rate for fiscal 2013.

Public Safety: $450,000 for a new fire engine; $385,000 for a new roof at Milford Police Department, including ductwork repairs; $77,093 to meet the third year of a contract for Milford firefighters.

Highway Department: $171,000 for a sidewalk tractor, to replace a 17-year-old tractor, which will allow the bike trail and sidewalks to be plowed; $190,000 for a front-end loader with a snow plow and patrol wing.

Parks and Recreational: $18,000 for the July 3, 2013 town fireworks; the parks department will get a new lawn mower; $1.8 million to dredge Milford Pond; $35,000 for a new parks department vehicle; $20,000 for maintenance of the Milford Upper Charles Trail; $9,500 to improve the basketball courts at Milford Town Park; $125,000 to regrade Plains Park and repair monitoring stations.

Other: $39,000 for new furnishings at Milford Town Library; a new definition for sheds; a zoning bylaw for solar powered facilities; $35,000 to help legal efforts to fight the Milford Water Co. rate increase proposal; $480,000 for new Town Hall windows.

Passed-over, or Deferred: $17,500 for a handicapped accessible fishing platform at Louisa Lake; $78,709 transfer from tree warden expense budget to Highway Department expense budget.

Rejected: An article that would have deleted a bylaw concerning the Capital Improvement Committee, and made the Finance Committee the reporting authority on town departments and capital needs.