Charlemont will have two broadband articles on the upcoming town meeting warrant in anticipation of serving customers before the end of the current fiscal year in June.
In the first article, the town will be asked to create an enterprise fund for the fiber network operating budget. The Broadband Committee and Finance Committee recommend this accounting structure for several reasons: It is efficient, it uses standard municipal accounting rules, and it provides transparency and oversight of the operating budget for the network. Adopting an enterprise fund has no impact on the town tax rate.
The second warrant article will adopt a proposed budget for the first partial year of operations. The draft budget will be a placeholder estimate for this first year and will be reviewed each year at Charlemont’s annual town meeting.
It is important to put these accounting structures in place so that the municipal fiber network is ready to serve customers just as soon as they are connected.
Copies of both warrant articles are available here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tnpjdT_cX0EP9NZlTeAUjoyUYoBt41uY/view?usp=sharing