Lanesborough Boards Press Department Heads on Costs in Joint Budget Session

LANESBOROUGH — March 16, 2026 — Lanesborough's Select Board and Finance Committee grilled department heads on rising costs at a joint budget session Monday. EMS Director Jen Weber defended a proposed salary increase to $91,000 and an ambulance enterprise budget jump from $284,000 to roughly $475,000, attributing both to the service's transition to 24-hour, seven-days-a-week staffing and a call volume increase from 185 to 850 annually over five years. Council on Aging Director Lorna Gale offered to cut her own hours and reduce the van driver's budgeted pay from roughly $35,000 to $30,000 to ease the budget. The Lanesborough Fire Association disclosed it has donated $86,226 in equipment to the town over 22 years while spending $154,635 maintaining its privately-owned firehouse, and Finance Committee members pressed the association to locate a signed copy of its one-dollar-per-year lease with the town. DPW Director Nate reported that absorbing Baker Hill Road District costs without corresponding district revenue had added roughly $143,000 in annual obligations to his department, and that a single plow truck repair has reached $27,120 with the vehicle still not returned to service. The boards next convene April 6 in a joint meeting with Mount Greylock Regional School District Superintendent Joe Bergeron and McCann Technical School Superintendent James Brosnan presenting school budgets.