Rochester Town Meeting voters on Monday approved a $20.8 million budget for the next fiscal year, an 18-month moratorium on marijuana sales, and a screening fence for Rochester Memorial School neighbors.

Budget

Rochester’s $20.8 million dollar budget was approved -- with questions on salaries.

Town Clerk Naida Parker explained that while there is a cost of living raise in the town clerk’s salary, an extra $2,000 added in covered an extra three hours per week spent on the job, rather than just a massive increase.

The same reasoning was given for the salary raise of the treasurer’s clerk, who received an increased salary of $34,865 (up from $25,635) as the clerk position adds an extra workday.

“Payroll staff required additional hours -- 3 days a week were just not enough to get everything done,” explained Town Administrator Suzanne Szyndlar.

The administrative assistant to the town administrator also received a 7.5 percent raise, and Szyndlar noted that it was due to extra responsibilities taken on.

“She’s the deputy tax administrator and website administrator going forward,” Szyndlar explained. “If we had to hire other people to work those positions, it would cost us far more than just a raise for the one position.”

The salaries of Rochester’s fire chief and building inspector were scrutinized by voters, with some asking why both received such significant raises. The fire chief’s salary was raised to $54,418 from $48,400. Meanwhile, the building inspector’s wages jumped from $79,107 to $96,602.

Selectman Brad Morse explained that the reasoning behind the two salary jumps was, “we don’t pay them as many hours as they work.” He noted that in raising the salaries, Rochester is attempting to bring the fire chief and building inspector salaries to where “they should be.”

The chief dispatcher salary caught some voters’ eyes due to the fact that Rochester is soon expected to regionalize its 911 system, joining with Plympton, Duxbury and Halifax. Voters questioned why the salary was in the budget if the position was going to disappear.

“We still have to fund it in the budget,” explained Rochester Finance Committee Chairman Kristian Stoltenberg. “We don’t know when the regionalization is going to happen. Until it does, we need to have this money in the budget as a backup. If and when the regionalization process does happen, that money will be moved around, but we can’t do that until regionalization has begun.”

All salary items were approved by majority vote.

Marijuana moratorium

The marijuana moratorium approved by voters will halt the sale of recreational marijuana in Rochester while the town crafts a bylaw to control the locations and hours of operations and restrictions on marijuana sales, explained town attorney Blair Bailey.

“If the state had its act together, there would be no reason for a moratorium,” Bailey said. “The state is not expecting to pass a bylaw on marijuana sales until July of 2018. If we pass a bylaw now, it’s likely that when a state ruling comes out, we’ll have to change the bylaw anyway.”

Bailey noted that currently, marijuana sales could technically be transacted anywhere regular business is allowed.

School screening fence

The town will spend $6,800 to erect a screening fence on Rochester Memorial School property, between it and abutters on Pine Street.

Resident Kelly Morgado stated, “I am the abutter. Six years ago we are pretty much guaranteed a fence, which never happened. Hartley Road has screening, but those of us on Pine Street don’t. I hear and see kids morning, noon, night, on weekends. I’m just asking to get a little of my privacy back on my own property.”

Members of the Finance Committee noted that they did not endorse taxpayers paying for something that they felt should be between Rochester Memorial and the resident abutters.

“We think it’s a terrible precedent to set,” Stoltenberg said.

Ultimately, voters sympathized with Morgado, and the measure was approved.