Blandford Select Board approves insurance renewal, appointments, and year-end transfers

BLANDFORD — May 1, 2023 — Blandford Select Board tables farm excise tax ballot question, approves $86,584 insurance renewal and sixteen budget transfers. The board voted two to zero, with one abstention, against placing a question on the June local election ballot that would have ended the town's assessment of the farm excise tax on animals and equipment, with members saying they needed more information on how much revenue the tax actually generates after acknowledging it has been collected inconsistently. The board unanimously approved the MIIA FY24 insurance renewal at $86,584 and confirmed four municipal appointments, including Nathan Maynard to the Conservation Commission and Nicole Davio to the Historical Commission. Town Administrator Josh Fontes reported that an expression of interest for a $300,000 rural and small town development fund grant targeting the highway and fire facility design phase had been accepted, with a full application due before June. Fontes also noted the FY24 school assessment had been revised upward from roughly a 0.5 percent to more than a 1 percent increase following new student enrollments at Gateway Regional.