By Becky Coffey, Harbor News Senior
Staff Writer:
WESTBROOK:
Four and a half
months after the fiscal year ended, voters approved transfers of funds from
town capital reserve accounts and from the unappropriated fund balance to cover
shortfalls in last year’s department accounts. With the vote to appropriate or
transfer funds, the town treasurer’s office is now able to close out the fiscal
year and allow the town’s auditors to complete their work.
Among the items
approved by town vote was an appropriation of $40,000 from a reserved capital
account to purchase new updated software for the tax collector’s and assessor’s
offices. The existing software is antiquated and will no longer be supported by
the supplier.
The other transfers
will provide funds to pay two outstanding bills from the last fiscal year to be
paid: one for $2,918 to cover over-expenditures for overtime in the resident
troopers’ accounts and one for $260 to pay outstanding invoices from the Zoning
Commission for placing legal ads in the newspaper.
The town meeting
also took action to accept a $20,000 grant awarded to the town by the State
Office of Policy and Management. The grant is to support the ongoing work of
the town planner and Planning Commission to update the town’s Plan of
Conservation and Development. All state grants must be accepted before the funds
can be spent.
What failed at the
meeting in a close vote was a proposal to adopt an ordinance that would allow
the town to prepare pro and con summaries to inform voters of the two sides of
issues that face major town-wide votes.