Littleton Select Board Approves Staff Promotions, Fire Alarm Upgrade, Town Meeting Articles

LITTLETON -- April 24, 2023, Littleton Select Board approves fire alarm upgrade, promotes finance staff, and flags concerns over Boxborough water deal. The board voted 4-0 on six personnel and operational matters at its April 24 meeting, including a fire alarm system transition to Eastern Electronics' WARN cloud platform at an annual cost of $4,200, paid from a $54,500 revolving account, and temporary pay increases for Local Inspector Michael Kenny (from $35.12 to $39.74 per hour) and former Building Commissioner Ed Mullen ($950 per month) following the building commissioner's April 14 resignation. The board also appointed Robin Healy as Treasurer/Collector at Grade 16, Step 3 starting May 15 and promoted Michelle Reynolds to Town Accountant at Grade 15, Step 5 effective May 8, both moves designed to stabilize a Finance Department facing the departure of Finance Director Patty Leavitt. In a lengthy joint session with the Finance Committee, both boards recommended an amended sewer borrowing authorization of $4.438 million for the Annual Town Meeting and declined to vote on a $19.2 million water infrastructure project combining a new Taylor Street well with a Boxborough water extension, citing the absence of enforceable payment guarantees in the draft Intermunicipal Agreement, with Finance Committee member Steve Venuti stating flatly, "Boxborough is taking absolutely no responsibilities in this agreement."