Select Board member Diane Gale was recognized for her three-year service on the board by her fellow Select Board members Douglas Moglin and Russ Anderson during Southwick’s Town Meeting on May 19.
Reminder Publishing photo by Cliff Clark
SOUTHWICK — Of the town’s 7,969 registered voters, 142 attended Town Meeting on May 19, and of those, 126 cast votes on an article to levy a meals tax, which had the potential to generate over $140,000 annually.
A majority of them, 77, decided against it, while 49 said yes.
There was only one resident, former Select Board member Russell Fox, who spoke out against passing it.
“I’m opposed to this article. I’m going to oppose this article on principle. It’s my opinion the Commonwealth of Massachusetts doesn’t have a revenue problem, they have a spending problem,” Fox said to the sparsely attended annual meeting in the Southwick Regional School auditorium.
He said to residents that if they adopted the tax, which would have added 0.75 cents on $100 of cooked food in town, it would be “just the first one.”
“The next one is excise tax, and then the next one, then the next one. The next one, [which is] in essence a tax on a tax. I think it’s time that we realize [it] and send a message to Boston since we’re only getting 0.25 cents back on every dollar we send them … This is not the time to enact this.” Fox said.
The 77 residents who voted against it included every member of the town’s Finance Committee, which also recommended not approving it, and a handful of town employees.
Three residents spoke in favor of it, including Greg Diely, the chair of the town’s Economic Development Commission.
“This is not a tax increase … whatever we collect from this local option meal tax will come straight off the property tax. So, if we get 160,000 from this meal tax, it will lower the rate so that we spend 160,000 less in property tax,” Deily said.
He also said that a large majority – 251 – of the municipalities in the commonwealth already levy the tax.
“People should understand if they vote this down, they’re voting for higher property taxes. If we use that $160,000 amount of the roughly 4,000 taxable properties, that’s [a] $40 reduction in property tax. I just want people to understand that,” Deily said.
Elizabeth Lalli and Juliet Hansen, the other two who supported it, stressed that the tax would only be 0.75 cents on $100.
“The meals tax is small pennies on purchase, but it creates another source of revenue that isn’t carried entirely by the residents. Visitors, commuters and people passing through would contribute. Would it solve everything? No. But even a small amount of revenue can help the pressure stay off property taxes. I think it’s worth considering,” Lalli said.
Hansen was more succinct.
“It’s a simple thing to gain more money for the community. I mean, it’s 75 cents on $100,” she said.
When Town Meeting Moderator Celeste St. Jacques called for a voice vote on the article, she wasn’t sure if a majority voted no, so a hand count was done, which ended with 77 against it and 49 for it.
Town Meeting also approved a Tax Increment Financing agreement with WGI, Inc., a Southwick-based company that is a leading supplier of precision parts for the aerospace and medical industries and a leader in engine aircraft component maintenance and repair with annual sales of between $25-$30 million.
WGI Inc. reached out to the town several months ago to ask about the possibility of the company receiving a TIF because it was considering building a new $12 million facility at its headquarters on Hudson Drive. The TIF agreement included an additional $6 million for equipment.
WGI Inc., agreed to create 30 new full-time jobs within the first five years of the 10-year agreement.
Company President Fred Filios spoke about the need for the agreement.
“We are a company that has enriched Southwick, and we will continue to enrich it,” he said, adding that while considering the expansion, Agawam and Westfield had made offers to have the company relocate to their cities.
“In some ways, [the offers were] better than what Southwick is offering. But we decided to stay here because. For a lot of reasons, one of which is I like it here,” he said.
Residents approved the company saving an estimated $1.98 million in property taxes over 10 years, according to the agreement.
Without the TIF, the company’s annual tax bill on the new building and equipment was estimated at $260,376.
The town will annually monitor WGI Inc., to ensure it meets its commitment to hiring the new workers.
Also approved was the annual allocation to the Southwick-Tolland-Granville Regional School District of $15.4 million.
District Superintendent Jennifer Willard spoke and touted the high school’s graduation rate of 98%.
She also defended the amount of the annual appropriation.
“We’re doing a lot. We’re trying to do even more with less, but we’re bringing forward a very conservative budget, and we’re really working with the town of Southwick, Granville and Tolland to bring forward the most fiscally responsible budget that we can,” she said.
Town Meeting also approved borrowing $1 million for road repairs, lowering the age of the senior property exemption from 70 years old to 65, and authorizing the town to borrow up to $1.1 million for a new engine for the Fire Department.
It also approved using $200,000 that wasn’t spent when the Town Hall’s roof and HVAC systen were replaced.
Joshua Martel, who is a volunteer at the Southwick Rec Center, was recognized for his efforts to revitalize the center and was presented with the Robert L. Miller Public Service Award by State Commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Troy Henke. Martel didn’t attend the meeting, so Fox accepted it on his behalf.
