The Select Board voted unanimously Tuesday night to support every article on this year’s warrant, with the exception of Article 4, which asks for money to begin work on an update of the town’s Master Plan.
The vote is not required, said Chair Rich Maiore, but is done “in the interest of transparency” so the public knows where the board stands on each article. Establishing the board’s position on each of this year’s 26 articles also saves time at Town Meeting, he noted, eliminating the need for the board to caucus when attendees ask for its positions.
The board chose to table its vote on Article 4 until its next meeting on April 2. Three members, including Maiore, said they needed more information from the Planning Board before voting. Member Charles Oliver said he was opposed to the $24,950 expenditure.
The vote to support the remaining 25 articles came at the end of a two-hour meeting and was done in two blocks. First the board voted to support Articles 1 through 3 and then Articles 5 through 26. (See table below for a summary.) No votes were taken on either of this year’s two ballot questions.
In its vote to support Articles 5 through 26, however, the board inadvertently included Article 24, a citizen petition asking that the sale of Bromfield House be delayed by five years so it can continue to be used as a residence for refugees. Earlier in the evening the board voted to petition probate court for a one-year extension. Asked about the discrepancy, Maiore said the vote for Article 24 was unintentional. “We did not mean to support the citizen petition. We will vote on that at our April 2 Select Board meeting,” he wrote in an email to the Press Wednesday morning.
The board’s attention will now shift to building support for its proposed $34 million fiscal 2025 budget and its request to borrow $9,894,200 to pay for the renovation of the Department of Public Works facility on Depot Road. Maiore will be joined by Finance Committee Chair Eric Ward and School Committee Chair Abby Besse at a League of Women Voters forum the evening of March 26 to argue for passage of the enhanced override needed to pay for the recommended fiscal 2025 budget. The board is also planning an open house at the DPW facility so the public can observe firsthand its present condition. The date of the open house is to be announced.
