Council Recommends 5 Articles Set for Warrant

The 2012-13 warrant will go to the March 14 deliberative session with a recommendation from the Town Council to approve all five money items up for a vote this year.

The Council held little conversation on Thursday night before voting unanimously to recommend each article.

Articles two and three on the warrant are both projects at the Waste Water Treatment Facility that each need a two-thirds majority to pass.

Article two asks for $4.3 million for plant upgrades and installation that will replace aging equipment and help the facility maintain its compliance with the Environmental Protection Agency's discharge permit.

The project will be funded through the existing user fees paid by sewer customers. It will not require tax dollars or affect the tax rate, nor will it force a sewer rate increase next year.

Town Councilor Bill Boyd said he felt confident fully supporting the proposal.

"They wouldn't have sat before us last week asking us for this if it wasn't a necessity," Boyd said.

Article three, also pertaining to the Waste Water Treatment Facility requests $2.87 million to perform upgrades to the compost facility. The upgrades will also be paid for with sewer user fees and will not require tax dollars or force a fee increase next year. Patch will have more on both of these articles at the beginning of next week.

Article four asks the town to raise  $30,130,792 for the operating budget. The budget represents and even tax rate with last year despite an increase in $150,000 that will be offset, Town Manager Eileen Cabanel said, by revenue generated from the Merrimack Premium Outlets.

Article five asks for $31,916 for the recently agreed to collective bargaining agreement reached between the town and the New England Police Benevolent Association, Local 12, which calls for 1 percent wage increase. Boyd said the NEPBA, Local 12, agreed to some "major health care concessions" which helped negotiate the agreement. This agreement covers the patrol division.

Article six represents the dispatch and office staff side of the police department and reflects a collective bargaining agreement that includes a 1 percent wage increase. It calls for $2,921 to be raised for the NEPBA, Local 112, agreement with the town.

Boyd said from everything he's heard about both agreement negotiations, both sides should be commended for professional and cordial work that allowed these agreements to come to fruition.

"I think the community should be grateful to the Local 112 for stepping up the way that they did," Boyd said.

All five articles will be up for discussion at the town's deliberative session at 7 p.m. on March 14. Voting on the articles will take place at the polls on April 10.