By BOB STEELE

I am writing about the validity of a recent residents’ vote in Erving. At a Town Meeting in October 2023 and again in January 2024, town residents voted to defeat an article for a pay increase for the elected positions of treasurer, clerk and tax collector.

The treasurer pay increase seems to be the obstacle to passing this article, as it calls for a 17% increase for a position that is currently salaried at $63,702 for a 30-hour work week. Both the clerk and tax collector pay increases would provide less than a 12% increase. The treasurer salary would be increased to $73,264 for a 30-hour work week!

An April 4 article in the Montague Reporter, “Debt Override for Mill Demo Goes to May Town Meeting,” covers this issue and how these pay increases have been defeated by residents twice in the past, yet Erving Selectman Scott Bastarache is quoted as saying, “I will bring this back as many times as I have to to put them back on the same wage table as all of their coworkers.”

Voted down twice by residents, yet our vote seems to mean nothing! The “wage table” referenced by Mr. Bastarache has not been publicized for residents’ review.

According to ZipRecruiters, the average hourly wage in Massachusetts for a town/city treasurer is $41.99 an hour as of March. The current hourly wage for the Erving (population approximately 1,630) town treasurer is $40.83 an hour. Compare that to the city of Springfield (population 154,064) treasurer’s hourly rate of $38.65.

The proposed wage increase for the Erving treasurer would boost the position’s hourly rate to $46.96, nearly $5 an hour more than the state average.

Another topic in the same Montague Reporter issue was a $362,000 budget shortfall for FY 2025. There may not have been a shortfall if the Select Board used a different method to dispose of town-owned real estate. In December 2022, the Erving Select Board voted to deed the former Erving Library to Millers Falls Realty LLC for $5,000. Now, 16 months later, that property is listed for sale as a single-family residence for $349,900!

At the same meeting, the Select Board voted to deed the former Erving elementary school building for $10,000! These deed transfer votes occurred six days before Christmas 2022.

My guess is, these two properties could have fetched $100,000 and $250,000 respectively if they were advertised on the open market. This is another slap in the face to Erving residents.

Please exercise your vote because one vote can make a difference. Please vote “no” on ballot question 1 on May 6.

Bob Steele lives in Erving.