By VINAYA SAKSENA

SEEKONK — Residents who showed up to voice their opinions at Seekonk’s Annual Town Meeting on Thursday night voted to pass the budget presented to them, with just a few adjustments being approved that night.

The meeting, which took place in the auditorium of Seekonk High School and lasted for just over two hours, saw voters approve a budget for Fiscal Year 2010 totaling $40,130,712. Also approved was the appropriation of $1,188,293 to the town’s Sanitation Enterprise Fund for the year.
In a statement made available to residents in writing at the meeting, the Finance Board commended both the Board of Selectmen and local school officials for being conscientious of fiscal concerns in light of current economic woes. The board noted that its budget recommendations had been crafted based on what the State Senate had proposed with regard to revenue sharing. For this reason, the board said, it was possible that further cuts may be necessary at some point.
Town Administrator Michael Carroll also noted that a survey was available for residents to fill out, in which they could indicate to town officials what they believed the town’s budget priorities should be if further cuts proved to be necessary. The surveys, he said, could be filled out and submitted after the meeting or returned to Town Hall at a later date.
After extensive debate on the article’s merits, participants in the town meeting also voted – with three dissenting votes counted – to transfer $250,000 in free cash to the town’s Municipal Capital Stabilization Fund. Some in attendance proposed amendments to the article, citing concerns about moving all of the town’s free cash into the Stabilization Fund. However, none of these amendments were approved, and so the article passed without any of them attached.
Finally, residents in attendance approved an article authorizing the borrowing of $775,000 to “design, renovate and furnish” the Richard Banna Fire Station. This proposal, which was the subject of a slideshow shown shortly before the vote, was a topic of particular interest to residents of the northern end of town, as the availability of quick emergency services to the outskirts of town had been the subject of discussion earlier in the meeting as well.
Carol Bragg, a former member of the Board of Selectmen, said she generally liked the idea of the revamped facility, which was also expected to be the first “green” building owned by the town due to solar panels that would be placed on its roof. However, Bragg said she felt the idea should be part of the town’s comprehensive plan, rather than being voted on as a stand-along town meeting item. Nevertheless, residents voted overwhelmingly to approve the borrowing, which is now subject to approval by the Board of Selectmen.