SOUTH HADLEY — After months of fiscal challenges that included the possibility of steep cuts to schools and town departments that didn’t materialize this year, residents at annual Town Meeting this week found at least one reason to clap.

Voters on Wednesday approved a $75,000 increase in funding for the library, money that will enable the library system to retain its state certification. The results drew applause from the crowd. In a separate article, however, Town Meeting cut $124,000 from the Police Department’s capital funding request.

The funds were part of an overall $61.4 million fiscal year 2027 budget that Town Meeting representatives approved by a vote of 101-6. The budget includes using $1.5 million in free cash for the school budget, staving off the elimination of administrative positions, high school staff, sports, extracurriculars, and music programs next fiscal year.

Town Meeting also approved an article to raise and appropriate $1.75 million for the General Stabilization Fund, contingent upon the passage of a Proposition 2½ override later this year. The money would be used to replenish the free cash being used for the school and library budgets.

The Select Board earlier this month opted to wait to float another override until Sept. 1, after voters rejected two overrides in the amount of $9 million and $11 million earlier this year. The new override, while not finalized, is being pegged at $3.5 million and would be used over the next few years.

The library vote, however, generated a lengthy discussion. The library system’s budget was $75,000 in the red, which would lead to decertification by the state.

Voters almost unanimously shared memories of going to the library when they were young; others voiced that the library was the only place to go when they did not have home internet, and the space offers free programming, education and entertainment for the community.

Various town officials have received upward of 60 emails on the subject of the South Hadley Public Library and Gaylord Memorial Library, which they said was representative of people’s intense concern about inadequate funding. David Solender-Clark, a recently elected library trustee, was among those who received a digital earful.

“I received 83 emails from town residents in the last seven days,” he said, adding that zero emails have come in calling for a decrease in library funding.

Solender-Clark began his public comment by outlining how heavily the library is used. Last year, the library welcomed 13,596 people to programs and events, its meeting rooms were used 1,546 times, and it processed 209,189 transactions overall — all increases from the previous year.

“The library is not a cost center. It’s an investment in our community with a guaranteed and measurable return,” he said.

Ira Brezinsky of the Capital Planning Committee also wanted to clarify a misconception surrounding where the extra $75,000 was coming from for the library. Some have said the funds were drawn from Ledges Golf Club’s retained earnings, but in reality the amount came from unanticipated funds located by the town.

After the discussion ended, resident Nate Therion motioned for the $75,000 boost for the library.

Another measure that generated discussion involved the Police Department’s capital budget that called for more than $155,000 for new guns, computers, tasers and a cruiser. By the end of the discussion, only $31,000 for tasers remained.

Initially, an amendment was suggested to eliminate all capital expenses for the police department. Proponents of the cut cited a lack of need for a new cruiser due to the size of the current fleet, a lack of need for new computers since the department purchases them annually, and a lack of need for new firearms given that nine years have passed since an officer has fired a weapon in town.

While she doesn’t want to see the Police Department’s budget reduced, resident Claire Jenson believes that passing on these capital requests is a more equitable approach across town departments. She argued it would “ensure that we have a greater safety net to fund things that our constituents will experience and benefit from much more immediately in their daily lives.”

Many others disagreed, making the case that there is nothing more important than ensuring the police department is able to do its job.

Voting member M.P. Chevrette said the need to fund the police is analogous to the message on a blood drive T-shirt he has which reads, “The rarest type of blood is the blood you don’t have when you need it.”

“I want you to think about the analogy to our police department: If you need them [the police] and they can’t come because they’re understaffed, or because the vehicle is out of service, or because they have to escalate to a gunfight because they don’t have a taser,” he said.

Before the vote was taken, Police Chief Jennifer Gundersen said that it is clear how important the schools are, since so many South Hadley graduates join the police force. But she also said that old guns reduce accuracy by as much as 50%, the force’s tasers are so old that they can’t be fixed anymore, and that a new cruiser would replace a dated one.

“You’ve hired me, you’ve trusted me to give advice to you,” she said to the room. “I work for the town of South Hadley … and it reduces liability on each one of you.”

Despite her address, all but tasers were cut for the budget in a 92-9 vote.

The discussion of the police budget led some residents to question the legitimacy of other line items, including a new rug for $50,000 for the second floor of the South Hadley Public Library and a $100,000 rug for the high school library.

Town officials clarified that both library carpets are necessary, since the one in the high school is a health threat as it absorbs moisture. It is also a threat to the books in the room. Officials said the new rug would be a breathable material to ameliorate these conditions.

Meanwhile, the carpet on the second floor of the library is worn out, and neither line item was scrapped from the budget.