Granby Drummer (https://granbydrummer.com/author/mike-walsh/)
In my column for the October issue of the Drummer, I explained how Granby practices direct democracy. This means you, the voters through the ballot box, choose your elected officials, approve the town’s annual budget, and periodically are asked to go to the polls to approve spending and funding for large capital projects. The process where voters approve spending and funding for large capital projects is called “bonding.”
School Superintendent Burke and Town Manager Walsh will be issuing a Request for Proposal (RFP) seeking an independent consultant to examine how the Town of Granby and Board of Education (BOE) operations could benefit from a “Centralized Administrative Unit” (CAU) that would serve both the Town and BOE administrative functions.
If it’s April, then the FY27 budget vote is right around the corner. That vote will occur on Monday, April 20, and you can vote in town hall between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Absentee ballots are also available from the town clerk.
Granby’s Budget Workshops on the FY27 operating budget will start in early March (5, 9 and 12 at 5 p.m. in Town Hall for town spending and March 11 at 7 p.m. at the Senior Center for the board of education spending, culminating with a board of finance public hearing on Monday, April 6, at 7 p.m., at the high school.
Two years ago in this paper, I introduced myself to the community of Granby. In that introduction, I offered up a host of financial metrics on the Town of Granby.
In this Drummer article, I’ll refresh some of those metrics as an introduction to the coming FY27 budget process.
Granby is a town that practices “direct democracy.” What does that mean? It means you, the voters, through the ballot box, choose your elected officials every other November, you approve the town’s annual budget in April and, periodically, you are asked to go to the polls to approve spending and funding for large infrastructure (capital) improvements.
Each year after the budget is approved, department heads prepare work plans for the initiatives they plan to complete with the approved funds. Departmental work plans focus on initiatives over and above daily operations with the overarching goal to “move the town forward”.
Who remembers the Blizzard of 1978? Or the 24 inches of snow Granby received in early 2011? Or the 2011 October snowstorm when we lost power for over a week? How about Superstorm Sandy in 2012?
At the May 18 annual meeting of Holcomb Farm, I was asked to share a few thoughts with the many volunteers of the Friends of Holcomb Farm.
The Broadleaf Solar Project and its potential impact on Granby and its waterways is an ongoing concern to residents.