ERVING — Using a new electronic voting system, residents will gather Wednesday, May 14, to vote on the 27 articles on the Annual Town Meeting warrant, including a $7.21 million town operating budget for fiscal year 2026.

The meeting, which will start at 7 p.m. at Erving Elementary School, will mark the first time the town will use a new electronic voting system that voters approved buying for $12,000 during an August 2024 Special Town Meeting, according to Town Administrator Bryan Smith.

This voting system from vendor Meridia Interactive Solutions allows votes to remain anonymous. Smith said since this is the first time the town will be using this electronic system, a Meridia representative will be present to guide voters on how to use it and answer any questions.

“We do encourage folks to hopefully be a little bit early, or right on time,” Smith said. “We’ve never handed these out before and we want to give instructions to folks.”

Once voters have gotten a feel for with the new clicker system, residents will be asked to vote on 27 articles.

Smith said budget development this year was shaping up to be a smoother process than in previous years when budgets were tighter, until the unexpectedly high health insurance premiums impacting many Franklin County municipalities materialized, making for an estimated 18% increase. For FY26, the benefits budget that includes health insurance is nearly $2.46 million, up $258,503 from FY25.

“From an insurance standpoint, that’s going to be tight, but the remainder of our budget, we were fortunate enough to be able to structure in a way that balances with our revenues,” Smith explained.

Erving’s total operating budget for FY26 is about $7.21 million, which is up $614,644 from FY25. This budget is made up of $1.61 million for general government, $1.41 million for public safety, $888,549 for public works, $326,739 for health and human services, and $454,387 for culture and recreation, as well as the nearly $2.46 million for health insurance benefits.

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Aside from the health insurance benefits, other increases in the budget came from contracted salary and wage increases, with departments largely operating with level-service budgets. Other budget increases Smith mentioned include Erving Public Library increasing its budget by $11,000 for material and electricity costs, and $79,291 for the Fire Department’s wages to allow the town to hire another full-time member, bringing the full-time staff from three to four. Meanwhile, Police Department budget planning accommodates for the retirement of K-9 Officer Laura Gordon later this year.

For FY26, the Erving Elementary School budget is $3.81 million, a 0.6% increase from FY25 that Smith said the school is feeling “solid” about.

As for middle and high school education, the Gill-Montague Regional School District is seeing a decrease in Erving students, resulting in a nearly $1.29 million expense for FY26, down $120,425.

Meanwhile, more Erving students will be attending Franklin County Technical School next school year, making for a $89,103 assessment increase.

Article 15 features appropriations for FY26 capital requests totaling nearly $1.10 million, including three larger requests from the Fire Department, Cemetery Commission and Erving Elementary.

The Fire Department is seeking to replace a fire truck that is anticipated to be funded in two installments, so an initial $450,000 was recommended for this year’s Town Meeting, and the remaining amount would be brought to Town Meeting next year once costs are fleshed out.

The Cemetery Commission is requesting $200,000 to expand capacity at the Center Cemetery by 300 burial sites. Smith said the total project cost could be $1 million, and this request is to allow engineers to create designs and get a clearer vision of the project before more money is requested from voters.

“The Capital Planning Committee’s proposal back to the Cemetery Commission,” Smith said, “was prior to asking the voters to borrow, or prior to appropriating further funds, can we appropriate enough money to allow the engineers to get closer to [having design documents available] so that we have clear renderings, we have a more refined opinion of probable cost, and make sure that we have a very clear vision that we’re going to communicate to the voters.”

Similarly, there is a $200,000 request to put toward the replacement of the roof and the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system at Erving Elementary. Although the school and town submitted a statement of interest to the Massachusetts School Building Authority seeking acceptance into its school renovation program that would reimburse the majority of project costs, this money would be available to get the project started if the proposal isn’t accepted into the MSBA program and the town would like to still proceed with the work.

“That would allow us to begin engaging an [owner’s project manager] and an engineer, if the Massachusetts School Building Authority says no to our statement of interest,” Smith explained.

Article 26 is a bylaw addition that would allow the Fire Department to access all residential buildings with five or more units by creating a key box system. Smith said passage of the article, which would codify the provision into a bylaw so that it becomes a requirement rather than a recommendation, would ease access for first responders during emergencies.

“The goal is to just formalize this practice that we’ve been doing as new properties have come online in the recent years,” he said.

Another bylaw, in Article 25, would create a revolving account that a school committee can use to hold non-resident student tuition and state reimbursements for foster care children, in accordance with Massachusetts General Law Chapter 71, Section 71F.

To view the full 27-article warrant, visit tinyurl.com/3kneaeux.

Erin-Leigh Hoffman can be reached at ehoffman@recorder.com or 413-930-4231.