Ludlow town meeting is Monday

By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
    LUDLOW — Residents will gather for the town’s annual meeting Monday to act on 29 warrant articles and elect officials to town positions. There is one seat open on the Board of Selectmen with incumbent Virginia McCain running unopposed. There are two candidates for one seat on the SAD 70 school board with incumbent Melissa Ivey facing challenger David Stevens.
    Voting takes place from 2-6 p.m. The warrant articles will be discussed starting at 7 p.m. at the town hall.
    Among the increases featured in the warrant for this year is doubling the town’s road maintenance account from $20,000 in 2010 to $40,000 for 2011.
    The town will also be asked if they wish to pay off the balance in the Ludlow Road Rehabilitation Fund. As of March 25, that balance was $132,000. Last year, the town appropriated $30,000 for the loan. By paying the balance, the town would be able to save $16,000 in interest payments.
    One item that will not be on the table for discussion, at least from the town’s standpoint, is the issue involving discrepancies in the town’s financial records found by a state auditor in February, 2010.
    According to Town Manager Diane Hines, the financial discrepancy issue has been addressed in the town report, but will not be an item for discussion at the town meeting.
    “We had an audit from the state and the selectmen responded to that audit,” Hines said.
    The state audit revealed discrepancies of at least $3,500 unaccounted for in a preliminary report from State Auditor Neria Douglass. The time frame for the “discrepancy” covers January through May 2008. The state subpoenaed financial records from Ludlow in October 2009. Those records contained financial data for fiscal years 2007-09.
    In their response, the Board of Selectmen wrote, “This matter is in the hands of the Attorney General’s office,” Hines said.
    The town’s previous town manager, Mary Beth Foley, resigned from her position on June 30, 2010.