NORTH ADAMS — The city commission that enforces wetlands regulations is vying for its own budget for the first time to help fund expenses such as legal notices and training.

Having a dedicated budget would make it easier for the commission to do its job, the Conservation Commission says. In a few weeks, the City Council will decide whether to approve it when it reviews and votes on the city budget.

The commission has been treated as part of the general budget, meaning it is grouped into a larger category and is not assigned a specific amount.

After months of advocating for its own budget, Mayor Jennifer Macksey at Monday’s Finance Committee meeting confirmed that she’d be recommending a dedicated budget line item for the commission. Later this month, the City Council will vote on whether to approve the proposal.

Commissioner Leah Hart was in attendance and asked Macksey for an update about the administration’s response after sending a letter in March officially requesting a $5,000 to $7,500 dedicated line item in the fiscal year 2027 budget.

The role of conservation commissions statewide is to administer the Wetlands Protection Act, which regulates and requires permitting for many types of work, including construction, plant removal and regrading. Working within 100 feet of a wetland automatically triggers an approval process with a commission.

“Conservation Commission work protects North Adams’ natural resources, supports compliance with state and federal regulations, and helps the City access grant funding,” Hart’s letter read. “Having a modest, reliable budget will allow us to plan and carry out priority projects more effectively.”

Macksey said that she and her administration were still working out which department or category the commission would fall under.

At recent meetings, Commission Chair Andrew Kawczak said having dedicated funding would help it better administer its work of posting legal notices in the newspaper, installing signage, paying for Massachusetts Association of Conservation Commission training for members, and administering its other fees and notices.

Posting a single legal notice can cost hundreds of dollars, the commission said, and ensuring all members — some of whom are new and, because of multiple vacancies, positions it hopes to fill — are properly trained by the MACC makes doing their job more efficient.

These trainings include seminars on commission management, how to use GIS, read site plans and write an order of conditions.

According to state law, a city or town can choose to appropriate money in any year to a conservation fund “of which the treasurer shall be the custodian.”

“Rather than begging for one or two members to go, we'd like something in the budget to make sure there is funding for us to go,” Kawczak said at a March meeting.