Blackstone, Millville voters may need ‘super town meeting’

MILLVILLE – Voters from Blackstone and Millville could be headed for a so-called Super Town Meeting if Millville voters on June 29 fail to approve $104,500 in additional contributions to the Blackstone-Millville Regional School District’s school budget for next fiscal year.

Super town meetings rarely take place in Massachusetts, and there has never been one in Blackstone and Millville.

On May 8, annual town meeting voters in Millville funded the minimum contribution, but rejected the regional school committee’s request to increase the supplemental contribution by an additional $136,783. At its annual town meeting on May 30, Blackstone voters funded the minimal contribution as well as an additional contribution of $280,000, which surpassed Millville’s vote (per percentage). That means Millville has to come up with an additional $104,750 at a special town meeting Thursday, June 29.

The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. in the Millville Elementary School auditorium, 122 Berthelette Way.

There are two articles on the warrant. The first asks voters to transfer $298,429 in certified free cash to the town stabilization fund. The second article asks voters to appropriate $104,500 from the stabilization account to pay the additional contributions to the regional school budget.

As explained by School Committee Chairwoman Jane C. Reggio last week, because Blackstone passed a motion to increase the supplemental contribution than had originally been proposed, it changed the amount of money in the budget that the school committee had certified initially.

In re-certifying the budget, which now stands a $22,458,471, Blackstone’s assessment is now pegged at $8,365,679, and Millville’s is $2,822, 270.

If Millville fails to muster a two-thirds majority vote to approve the $104,750 in additional contributions, the two towns could once again face the prospect of having to hold a so-called Super Town.

The Blackstone-Millville Regional District School Committee has the discretion under state law to call a district wide special town meeting or regional super town meeting, which would be open to all registered voters in both towns. In other words, voters from both Blackstone and Millville would gather under one roof in a blended two-town vote on Millville’s assessment. At that time a recertified budget would then be considered.