Finance Committee conditions $698,000 DPW transfer on West Side fire station funding

MARLBOROUGH — May 16, 2022 — Marlborough Finance Committee ties DPW electricity transfer to fire station fund demand. The committee voted 4-0 to approve a $698,083.18 transfer for the Department of Public Works — $652,083.18 for electricity and $46,000 for water-division overtime — but conditioned approval on Mayor Arthur Vigeant transmitting a $1,422,500 transfer of Phase 1 Green District developer mitigation funds into the West Side Fire Station stabilization account. DPW Commissioner Sean Divoll attributed the electricity gap to a roughly $230,000 structural deficit, a $350,000 National Grid streetlight billing error, and $470,000 in pandemic-driven HVAC usage. Council President Michael Ossing told the committee, "The only leverage we have is to make transfers continue." Councilor Laura Wagner cautioned against "holding everything that needs to be done in this city hostage." The committee earlier voted 4-0 to raise the sealer of weights and measures hourly rate to a maximum of $25, up from $14.92.