Shutesbury Finance Committee Approves Six Year-End Budget Transfers Totaling $21,880

SHUTESBURY -- May 26, 2026, Shutesbury Finance Committee approves six year-end line transfers totaling roughly $21,880 and previews a second, more complex round for June. At the May 26 meeting, Chair AJ Cashew led unanimous roll-call votes moving funds to cover deficits in the assessor's clerk ($11,250 from the administrative assessor line), building electricity ($10,000 from health insurance), building heat ($4,000 from the county health district), emergency management phone notification ($116.79), electrical inspection ($100.14), and longevity bonuses for the highway department and library ($400 combined from highway wages and the FRCOG line). A second round, headlined by a $100,732 snow and ice deficit against only $47,484 in available reserve funds, was previewed but not voted on, with Town Administrator Haley Sweetow identifying several underspent lines including the vacant town clerk salary and police chief positions as likely sources. The committee also flagged that the town's PFAS testing contract with Tighe and Bond, running at roughly $100,000 to $110,000 annually through FY29, needs to move from capital borrowing into a standing operating budget line beginning in FY28, and discussed whether the contract should go out to competitive bid.