Town Council postpones TIF committee appointments, continues budget items to next meeting
Council members cite incomplete committee membership and need for finance committee review as reasons for delays on key agenda items.
BRIDGEWATER - June 17 - The Bridgewater Town Council postponed several key agenda items at its June 17 meeting, including appointments to a new Tax Increment Financing ad hoc oversight committee and multiple budget-related orders requiring finance committee review.
Council members voted 5-3 to postpone appointments to the TIF ad hoc committee until the first meeting in July when the new Town Manager takes office. Councilor Marillee Hunt made the motion, citing concerns about the committee's structure and membership eligibility.
"The Committee on Economic Development already exists within our council, and one of the three members assigned to the new committee is actually on that old committee," Hunt said. "I think we would have heard that two of the members of the newly assigned committee would not be eligible to serve on it."
Town Manager Blythe Robinson confirmed that two proposed non-resident appointees cannot serve on the committee due to charter requirements, though they could still provide professional advice in a non-official capacity.
The council had successfully appointed three members to what was originally planned as a five-member committee: Councilors Sonya Lee Striggles, Paul Murphy, and Mary McGrath. All three appointments passed by votes of 6-2, with Hunt and Councilor Mark Linde voting against each motion.
The TIF district proposal for 60-86 Broad Street was also continued to the next meeting due to the incomplete committee structure. The proposed district would be confined to that specific address range and represents a suggestion for the ad hoc committee to review and potentially amend before returning recommendations to the full council.
Three budget-related orders were continued to the next meeting after the Budget and Finance Committee met earlier that day, but the Finance Committee did not meet as scheduled. The postponed items include United Steel Workers bargaining contract ratification, a collective bargaining appropriation transfer, and a non-union affiliated positions appropriation transfer.
"[The] Finance committee did not meet last night. Budget finance did meet tonight," said Council President Johnny Loreti said. "We decided to continue this order to the next scheduled Budget and Finance meeting."
The council also referred a proposed Town Clerk salary adjustment to the Budget and Finance and Finance committees. The proposal would increase the current salary from $87,127 to $93,270, representing a $6,143 increase or 6.9 percent raise.
"That's a big, in my eyes giant, step," said Councilor McGrath during discussion. "I think that is a large increase and as it stands now this is what is being proposed."
Loreti expressed similar concerns about the percentage increase given the town's financial situation, noting it would be something to examine closely during committee review.
The council approved numerous board and commission reappointments, including positions on Conservation Commission, Elder Affairs Commission, Historical Commission, Open Space Commission, Parks and Recreation, Planning Board, Tree Committee and Zoning Board of Appeals.
Watch the complete meeting courtesy of the Town of Bridgewater.
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