GILL — Town Meeting voters gave their blessing to a $2.38 million budget for fiscal year 2025 on Tuesday, along with $1.77 million for the Gill-Montague Regional School District’s operating assessment and debt service.

The town and education budgets proved to solicit the most discussion, with the 11 articles up for a vote all being financial requests. Tuesday’s gathering served as the second part of Annual Town Meeting, with the first round of articles being voted on in May.

During the discussion on Article 10, the town budget, questions were raised regarding the increase in funding to Northfield EMS. Gill Fire Chief Gene Beaubien explained the increase stemmed from a $15,000 grant to the ambulance service that helped it upgrade and accommodate all four towns, including Gill, in its coverage area.

“Since taking over, [Northfield EMS has] not missed a single call in Gill, when the previous ambulance service was hit-or-miss,” he said.

Another question arose concerning the 50% decrease in the veterans benefits budget. Town Administrator Ray Purington explained no veterans in Gill currently receive benefits, but $2,000 will remain in the budget if the need arises within the fiscal year.

Article 11 entailed funding for the Gill-Montague Regional School District. The requested $1.77 million for the operating assessment and debt service is up 4.73% from the current fiscal year due to more students from town attending the district.

Gill-Montague Superintendent Brian Beck mentioned the district is seeing greater retention of students, with fewer district students pursuing School Choice or attending charter schools. Beck noted that both the athletic and theater programs have seen an increase in participation that has not been seen before.

Franklin County Technical School, on the other hand, saw a decrease of two Gill students. Superintendent Richard Martin said this is a typical fluctuation in enrollment, leading to a budget decrease.

“Those numbers will forever fluctuate depending on interest. ... It is going to vary based on an individual student’s interest and their particular need,” Martin said.

Other articles that were approved included a 3% cost-of-living adjustment for all appointed employees; a series of free cash transfers; $15,450 for data conversion, annual licensing and cloud-hosting fees for the town accountant’s software; and the transfer of $28,500 from the Released Overlay Account for costs associated with appraising property in town owned by FirstLight Hydro Generating Co. and electric companies.

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