Seekonk Rejects Pay Increase for Selectmen

Voters at Monday’s Town Meeting approved a $69.1 million budget for the next fiscal year but rejected a salary increase for the Board of Selectmen.

One of the warrant articles asked for the approval of salaries and compensation for elected and appointed town officials.

David Andrade, a former selectman, made a motion to increase the stipends for the Board of Selectmen. As worded in the article, the Chairperson is to be paid $2400 and each member receives $2100.

Andrade suggested a $12,000 stipend for the Chairperson and $10,000 each for the other members.

Town Administrator Shawn Cadime said the money for those increases could be appropriated from free cash, which Andrade called for.

Andrade felt the increases were justified due to the huge time commitment involved and believed it would result in a wider pool of candidates for the board in future elections.

Doreen Taylor, a former selectwoman, didn’t think it was appropriate to increase the compensation for one board and not for the other town boards, including the School Committee, Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals, and Board of Assessors.

Taylor believed in “fair and equal consideration for everyone.”

“You can have trust in us,” said Selectwoman Michelle Hines, speaking against Andrade’s proposal.

Andrade’s motion was rejected soundly, with 18 voting in favor and 173 opposed. The article, as written, was approved by a vote of 142 to 22.

The biggest portion of the budget was designated to education - $33.3 million.

The Seekonk Public Schools allocation was $31.7 million, a three percent increase over the current fiscal year. The Tri-County School assessment is $1.3 million. The assessment for Bristol County Agricultural School is $192,000.

The budget for Public Safety is $11.2 million, a five percent increase over the current fiscal year. There will be five new full-time positions for the Fire Department and two new full-time positions for the Police Department.

Cadime said recruiting new police and fire personnel was a “significant challenge.”

“We can’t compete with the private sector", Cadime noted. “We’re doing more with less.”

The Finance Committee recommended adding $80,000 to the police payroll for the hiring of a second SRO (school resource officer). That amount was to be taken from the school department’s budget line.

School Committee Vice-Chair Kim Sluter spoke against the motion, calling it “overreach” for the Finance Committee to pull funds from the schools.

The amendment was rejected, with 55 voting in favor and 147 opposed.

The fate of other warrant articles, including an appropriation of $100,000 to fund a feasibility study on the Seekonk Public Library, were undetermined at press time.