Residents want roads fixed but do not wish to pay for it?
Recent moves by Hubbardston Town voters seem to back that up.

HUBBARDSTON — Voters turned out but were not supportive of a plan to tackle road repairs through an override that required election approval.

A ballot question seeking a tax increase of up to $350,000 to fund the municipal road repair and maintenance fund, created at the June 3 Town Meeting, failed, with 190 voters in favor and 219 against.

The override article won approval by required two-thirds at Town Meeting, but it also required a majority votes in support of the tax measure at the election in order for the plan to move forward.

Templeton, MA:

People may feel that the gas and diesel tax paid at the pump is where the money comes from or should come from for road repair / rebuilding. While it is true some monies do come to towns from that program, it is not enough, for several reasons.

First and foremost, state legislature and governor do not put forward enough money in the chapter 90 program for it to really work. (200 million shared by all cities and towns in state) Secondly, and I am not sure if this has been tracked at any level, with the advent of electric cars, hybrids, better gas mileage, push for mass transit, what are the annual gas tax collection rates over the years? We, as residents, may be waiting a long time for that to happen. In the mean time, the way our roads will become passable and in decent shape, which affects many things, to include how much is spent on clearing roads in the winter, damage to personal vehicles, danger to kids riding bikes, walking on roads without sidewalks and even people moving to our town.

There is one option available; it involves creating a stabilization fund strictly for roads, requires two thirds vote of town meeting, then a funding mechanism, one being a tax override which only goes to provide money for that fund. If the fund is emptied or the roads are fixed, the override goes away. Something to be looked at and considered. All people are tired of crappy roads. Money could also come from left over tax money, ie: free cash. You, the tax payer control that; if you wish it to go to a certain thing, say so, and you can choose to vote no if free cash is presented to be spent on other things, that is your real power, power of the purse. Taxpayers have to decide what they want. In the near future, no one else is gonna make this happen except you

Residents want roads fixed but do not wish to pay for it?

HUBBARDSTON — Voters turned out but were not supportive of a plan to tackle road repairs through an override that required election approval.

A ballot question seeking a tax increase of up to $350,000 to fund the municipal road repair and maintenance fund, created at the June 3 Town Meeting, failed, with 190 voters in favor and 219 against.

The override article won approval by required two-thirds at Town Meeting, but it also required a majority votes in support of the tax measure at the election in order for the plan to move forward.

Voters also filled many town board seats, but several are still open after no one ran.

With 418 voters casting ballots during the June 11 election, the decisions were made by 12.6 percent of the 3,327 registered voters in town, according to Town Clerk Joyce Green.

Voters returned incumbent members to the Board of Selectmen, with Daniel Galante winning 278 votes and Kris Pareago tallying 259.

In a race for an open Planning Board seat for five years, Francois Steiger out-polled Thomas Robinson 242 to 151.

Incumbent Alice Livdahl won a one-year seat on the Planning Board with 327 votes.

Two positions were on the ballot for three-year terms on the Board of Health, with incumbent Catherine Hansgate winning one with 331 votes; the second seat remains unfilled.

A Board of Health seat for two years garnered four write-in votes, with a winner pending acceptance.

Quabbin School Committee incumbent Mark Wigler was returned to the committee with 329 votes.

John Prentiss was returned to the Board of Assessors, with 333 votes; Moderator Rene Lafayette won re-election with 342 votes.

Two three-year seats on the Finance Committee were filled by incumbents Joshua Lerner, 288, and Susan Rayne, 296.

A two-year seat on the Finance Committee was filled by incumbent David Conaghan, 315 votes, while a one-year term was won by incumbent Charles Reed with 312 votes.

Paul Sweeney garnered 329 votes in being returned to the Cemetery Commission.

Incumbents Johanna Henning and Morgan Brinker were re-elected as Trustees of the Public Library with votes of 299 and 270, respectively.

Incumbent Parks Commissioners Jason Guertin, 311 votes, and Brian Matheson, 291 votes, were re-elected.

Seats on the Housing Authority were hard to fill, with a write-in for a one-year term potentially filled, but no one elected to fill two-year, three-year and four-year terms.

Positions still open could be filled by the Board of Selectmen in joint meetings with the committee to which the appointment is to be made. The person elected would then have to run for election next year to retain the seat for the remainder of the full term.