MIDDLEBORO — Voters will head to Middleboro High School Monday, April 24 to decide on the annual town budget and respond to a citizens’ request to change oversight of revolving funds, among other issues.

The annual meeting, which begins at 7 p.m., may not feature hot-button topics that other years have seen, but voters will still make key decisions that will keep the town operating for the year ahead.

The major issue to be approved is the annual town budget of $112.9 million.

Expenses include $4.4 million in general government; $38.9 million for education; $11 million for public safety; $2.2 million for Department of Public Works; $1.3 million for library and parks; $4.4 million for school transportation; $9.6 million to fund the debt; $21.9 million in employee benefits; and $3.7 million in the unclassified category.

Of this total budget, $57.2 million will come from property taxes. State aid will cover $26.5 million and $8.1 million will come from local receipts, which is money brought into town through such payments as excise taxes and service fees.

The Finance Committee, which is composed of residents who review and recommend budget spending issues at the meeting, recommended the item for approval, as did the Select Board.

Voters will also be asked whether to fund a $59,000 new 2023 Chevrolet Silverado 4x4 pick-up truck for the animal control officer to use. This will help the animal control officer with the daily job operations, including transporting road kill to the landfill. This will be paid with free cash, which is surplus money from the previous year’s budget. The Finance Committee and the Select Board recommend approval.

With voter approval, surplus money from previous year’s budget will cover a replacement heating/air conditioning system for the Council on Aging at $41,400; a software upgrade to the elections department at $10,500; and $456,000 to fund a new personal protective system for firefighters and a new station alerting system for the Fire Department, which will upgrade the way that emergency information is received. The Finance Committee and the Select Board support this spending. 

The Fire Department is also requesting support for the town to enter into a lease agreement for a new fire pumper apparatus, which the department could own outright after the lease term expires. This equipment will be the primarily all-hazards response out of the South Station on Wareham Street and will feature a 1,000-gallon water tank with capacity for 1,500 gallons per minute, extrication tools to remove injured people in accidents and seating for at least four firefighters. The Finance Committee and the Select Board recommend approval.

Other expenses to be voted on and paid for with budget surplus include: $350,000 to fund a pavement management plan by the Department of Public Works. 

This money, along with state aid, will be used to repair and reconstruct public roads, which Town Manager James McGrail and Select Board members have described as a significant need in town. This spending has the approval of the Finance Committee and Select Board.

Voters will also decide on the potential purchase of the School Street parking lot in the town center for a cost of $750,000. The cost could be offset by the swap or auction of vacant land parcels at 15 Station St.; 2 Cambridge St.; and 10 Cambridge St, which voters will be asked to approve. The Finance Committee and Select Board supported both issues. 

Several items to be decided involve spending through the Community Preservation Act, which is funded through a portion of residents’ tax bills and can only be used for specific purposes, including open space and historic preservation.

Requests for spending include: cemetery restoration at $20,000; Soule Homestead building restoration at $25,000; Oliver Mill Park restoration for $100,000; and an engineering study at $25,000 to consider upgrades to West Side Fields, including creating lacrosse fields, renovating the parking area and playground; and creating a concession/utility/restroom building. The Finance Committee and Select Board recommend approval on all these requests.

Voters will also be asked to authorize adding a permanent historic preservation restriction to the exterior of the Peirce Building, 99 North Main St. 

This restriction will protect the exterior of the building permanently but will allow the town to pursue private funding to change the building’s interior. The town will be issuing an RFP this summer with the goal of locating a private sector partner to assist with renovation costs. Select Board and Finance support this move. 

Two issues to be discussed were proposed by residents through a citizens’ petition.

One article would require the Town Manager to approve all expenditures made by the Tourism Committee and the Middleboro-Lakeville Herring Fisheries Commission. This vote follows questions raised by some residents about spending approved by the Tourism Committee, including repairs to a trailer owned by committee chair and former select board member Nathan Demers that was used for tourism work. A financial audit released recently found no wrongdoings but suggested clearer oversight of revolving accounts, which are funded through revenue generated by the committees in question. The Finance Committee and Select Board voted to take no action.

Another request from citizens asks that residents of 445 manufactured homes at the Oak Point Community be reimbursed a total of $80,950, due to excess monthly fees that were charged because of what the wording describes as insufficient monitoring by the Town of Middleboro Rules and Regulations for Mobile Home Parks Accommodations, Rents and Evictions. The Finance Committee and Select Board supported the measure.