Hatfield Select Board Approves 2020 Annual Town Meeting Warrant Unanimously

HATFIELD — June 8, 2020 — Hatfield Select Board unanimously approved its 2020 Annual Town Meeting warrant and set an emergency budget review before voters convene. The Finance Committee voted to recommend warrant articles 1 through 16, covering items from routine grants to a pair of sewer project borrowing articles, a Town Hall renovation funding fix, and $58,162 in accounting services. A disputed $75,000 sewer enterprise fund entry knocked the town's excess levy capacity from roughly $31,000 down to $4,626.40, prompting the board to schedule a joint session with town accountant Pat Galante for Thursday at 11 a.m. Town Administrator Diana explained that the Town Hall renovation's apparent $448,000 gap stemmed from a funding shortfall present at the project's start — not a construction overrun — with actual construction costs rising from roughly $2.1 million to under $2.3 million. The board also agreed to post notice of a June 16 vote to accept new state authority allowing up to a 90 percent quorum reduction at open Town Meeting under the COVID-19 state of emergency.