Selectman Roger Cataldo objected to a $1,200 pay raise for Police Chief Mark Krynicki; voters approved.
SOUTHWICK – The 130 residents who attended Tuesday’s Special and Annual Town Meetings approved all warrant articles presented, including the town’s $8.2 million assessment of the proposed $19.1 million district school budget, as well as a modest increase to the police chief’s salary.
The current education spending plan is supplemented by $8.6 million in state aid in the form of $8.1 million in Chapter 70 funds and another $530,000 in transportation monies. Another $797,921 is expected in school choice revenue, and Tolland’s assessment is $383,014.
On the Special Town Meeting warrant, voters were asked to increase the salary of Police Chief Mark J. Krynicki by from $89,730 to $90,930, a motion to which former Selectman Roger Cataldo objected, saying no other town employees received an increase in pay for fiscal year 2012.
“The chief is the highest-paid town employee,” Cataldo said. “This will bring his salary to $125,000. That’s excessive for what he’s paid to do.”
Krynicki countered that his earnings do not amount to that number.
“I wish I made $125,000,” he said. “This will keep me in line with the 1.5 percent raise the patrolmen negotiated this year."
The articled was approved by a majority vote.
Voters were asked to consider 24 articles on the warrant for the Annual Town Meeting and seven for the Special Town Meeting.
All Special Town Meeting articles were approved by either a majority or two-thirds vote, as were Annual Town Meeting articles.
As expected, Articles 19, 20, 21 and 22, pertaining to the acceptance of private roads in the three Pine Knoll subdivisions as public, were approved. In accepting the roads, townspeople, in particular Pine Knoll residents, gave officials permission to make $50,000 to $75,000 in repairs to the drainage system using state Chapter 90 funds.
In addition to the nearly unanimous acceptance of the articles on both warrants, newly elected selectmen Fred B. Arnold and Russell Fox were officially sworn in to serve on the board, and Schools Superintendent James D. Barry gave a brief update on proposed regionalization to include Granville.