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.