By Matt Hersh
Staff Writer

Observer/Matt Hersh Salem Board of Selectmen Chairman Michael J. Lyons discusses the issue of membership fees with senior citizens at the Ingram Senior Center on Wednesday, September 27.

After a complaint by a Budget Committee member, more than $9,000 in Salem Senior Center membership fees to go to the Council on Aging will now temporarily go into the town’s general fund.

Due to a legal complication, the money will remain in the general fund until March, when a warrant article will be proposed to move the money into a specific senior center fund, said Town Manager Henry LaBranche.

The fees, $12 for Salem residents and $24 for out-of-town members, were unanimously approved by selectmen and were being collected in order to give to the Council on Aging, a nonprofit organization that funds programs at the senior center.

This was until Budget Committee member Kathy Cote brought up a legality issue at the committee’s Wednesday, Sept. 13 meeting.

According to state law, funds collected by the town must be approved by voters before they can be applied to a specific purpose, Cote said.

After conferring with the town’s lawyer, LaBranche confirmed Cote’s statement and ordered the collected money into the general fund.

Now, the money cannot legally be given to the Council on Aging and will remain inactive until it can be approved in March.

Patti Drelick, the center’s director, said she will play a part in composing the warrant article and that she wants to see the issues resolved.

A supporter of the fees, Drelick said they will be helpful in making sure seniors have programs to participate in.

Most of all, she said, she wants the seniors to be happy and that most have been accepting of the fees.

“It was the seniors who suggested instituting the fees,” she said. “It gives them pride to say that they’re a member.”

The senior center issue, according to Drelick, has mainly been one between the Board of Selectmen and the Budget Committee.

At the Wednesday, Sept. 27 Budget Committee meeting, Cote raised the issue again, saying she was against the idea of fees as well as the way the selectmen handled the issue.

Cote said she is against the idea of membership fees because she believes that as taxpayers, seniors should not have to pay more for the center.

Instead of collecting membership fees, Cote said she would support a booster club to raise funds for the Council on Aging.

“What they did was illegal,” she said. “Do I think I did a disservice (to seniors)? I think not.”

Budget Committee member Pat Hargreaves said he was against the idea of charging membership fees for Salem residents but not for non-residents.

“The Selectmen make the policies,” he said. “But somebody should have asked why we are charging Salem residents fees.”

Hargreaves also said he thinks selectmen have the seniors’ interest in mind but they should have realized the legal issues before making the policy.

Board of Selectmen Chairman Michael J. Lyons said he thinks members of the Budget Committee are stirring up controversy over nothing.

On Friday, Sept. 29, Lyons spoke with seniors at the center and addressed their concerns.

“The Board of Selectmen is a friend of yours,” he told a roomful of seniors. “There are some people who want to rile you up, but there’s no issue here.”

Senior reaction on the issue has been mixed. Several spoke up and told Lyons they supported the fee.

“I come here all the time to have coffee and talk with people,” said Salem resident Gerri Beck. “Where else can you do that for 23 cents a week? I don’t see what the issue is.”

Others said they disagreed.

“It’s not right,” said Mary Roy, a Salem resident who regularly uses the center. “This is a public building and we should be able to come here for free.”

Despite concerns by some seniors, Drelick said paying the fees is expected, but optional. If a member does not wish or cannot afford to pay the fees, they may apply for a free membership or “scholarship,” Drelick said.

Cote said the application process is unfair as it asks seniors to provide personal financial information, similar to a welfare application.

Fees will continue to be collected, adding to the sum already in the general fund. Voters will have the chance to appropriate the funds in March.