Great Barrington Select Board Unanimously Places Three Special Town Meeting Articles on Warrant

LENOX — June 9, 2026 — Great Barrington Select Board places three spending articles on June 29 special town meeting warrant, unanimously, as town's free cash balance barely covers the total being requested. Town Manager Liz Huntsworth told a joint Select Board and Finance Committee session Tuesday that the certified free cash balance stands at $1,390,923.95 — roughly $37,939 short of the $1,428,863 in total appropriations proposed across the three articles, making it mathematically impossible for voters to approve all three at full value without amendment. The articles include a $341,954 citizen petition to restore seven override-contingent items including lifeguards and ambulance service, a $56,900 citizen petition to reconsider Southern Berkshire Regional Ambulance funding, and a $1,000,000 Select Board-sponsored set-aside tied to a forensic procurement audit released that same morning. Huntsworth also requested $200,000 from the general stabilization fund, which already stands at 4.78 percent of the operating budget — below the state's recommended 5 to 7 percent floor. Finance Committee member Michelle called the procurement shortfall "a creation by town government," while resident Peter Mosey argued during public comment that the town has strong ultra vires defenses and should not pre-emptively reserve funds. Both boards deferred formal recommendations to a joint meeting on June 16.