For Immediate Release

Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019

Contact: Benjamin Paulin
Phone: 781-428-3299
Email: ben@jgpr.net

Rockland Voters Approve Transfer of $400,000 at Special Town Meeting

ROCKLAND — The Rockland Board of Selectmen are pleased to announce that residents voted to allow the re-appropriation and transfer of $400,000 in funds at a Special Town Meeting last night in order to avoid a budget shortfall.

With a quorum of 150 voters needed to conduct the meeting, over 400 Rockland residents were in attendance at the Rockland High School auditorium Monday night. The meeting lasted about 15 minutes and the proposed articles were all overwhelmingly approved, with little to no opposition.

The Special Town Meeting was needed to approve the vital transfer of funds necessary to avoid a budget shortfall and keep the town government operating at its normal capacity.

Due to unforeseen personnel issues to arose last year, the town was required to spend additional money on legal fees and other professional services.

The transferring of the funds will pay for those expenses, along with taking care of some housekeeping financial transactions, including funding collective bargaining and replenishing the town’s reserve fund.

No additional funds were being sought at the meeting. Rather, the articles on the warrant sought to re-appropriate funds that were approved at the Special Town Meeting on May 7 last year, to purchase a property that is no longer being sought by the town.

Those funds, totaling $400,000, were transferred to mitigate the unforeseen costs the Town has incurred.

“I was pleased to see so many residents come out in support of passing the transferring of the funds and helping the town to move forward from what was a tumultuous year last year,” Selectmen Chair Larry Ryan said. “Moving forward the budget and town remain in good financial standing.”

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