by Frank Schroth

At the end of Day 2 the Town Moderator expressed the hope that Town Meeting would wrap up last Thursday. That proved to be a bit optimistic. Two articles took up substantial amounts of time: Article 31 – the school appropriation and Article 37 which would petition the General Court to enable the town to put out a ballot question seeking approval to establish a special purpose stabilization fund for replacement or renovation of the fire stations and DPW yard.

In introducing Article 31, Mike Zullas, Chair of the School Committee, gave a brief and humorous tribute to Mary Kelly and Lynda Lee Sheridan, two long standing members who stepped off the school committee this year. He then turned the presentation over to Superintendent Gormely and Asst Superintendent for Businss Glenn Plavlicek. They gave an exhaustive presentation on the budget with a focus on the goals of the schools advancement budget (early literacy, closing the achievement gap, and expanding STEM instruction). They also reviewed primary line item costs and cuts. The amount recommended for the FY16 school budget was ~$41 million. The article passed as did articles approving appropriations for theBlue Hills Technical High School, Consolidated Facilities, Maturing Debt, Stablilization Funds, and a Post-Employement Benefits Liability Trust Fund.

The article to receive the greatest amount of debate and disussion was Article 37. It was submitted by the Board of Selectmen. Chair Tom Hurley presented the article which, as stated above, seeks to establish a fund that would finance the future costs associated with updgrading the Fire Stations and DPW yards both of which are in severe disrepair.

The monies for the fund would come from the difference between the amount collected and the amount actually owed. As bonds are paid off tax payers bills go down. When bonds are issued for Fire and the DPW yard the bills will go back up. What is essentially be proposed is that the tax rate remain level. This would alleviate taxpayers from experiencing valleys and spikes in the tax rate with the difference being put in a savings account (i.e. stabilization fund). It is a somewhat complicated proposal. Hurley stated in his presentation that the article limits the total amount of debt issued to $50 million.

In the discussion that followed there was quite a bit of concern voiced over the $50 million figure. Webster Collins (Precinct 9) said he was “shocked.  .  . Those numbers are absurd .  .  . I cannot get over what they are presenting.” He based this on his professional experience with real estate development and construction. Hurley explained any amounts would were not to exceed the $50 million and that specific figures for construction need to be developed. Others also voiced concern over the lack of precise numbers. Some did not care for the proposal at all. Steve Cidlevich (Precinct 7) characterized the idea as “a tax increase [and] gimmicky.” John Hajjar (Precinct 9) said Hurley “sounds like Nancy Pelosi . . .[the proposal ] sounds like a boondoggle.”  A countervailing view endorsed the idea. Leroy Walker (Precinct 10) commended Hurley and said this was an example of the type of forward thinking idea that the selectmen should apply themselves to. He also emphasized that no amounts of funds were being approved. “We get to approve each capital project,” he said. Ned Corcoran (Precinct 3) said it was a “great idea” and was sorry it was limited to only Fire and DPW as the town will always be confronting potential facitility repairs and construction to town buildings. Hurley explained that specific projects had to be identified in order to file the petition. This discussion went on with a variety of members speaking a) in out right opposition 2) in favor of idea but opposing due to lack of precise figures or c) in favor. Town Meeting Member James Mullen (Precinct 5) asked to “move the question.” Moderator Walsh said that he expected Mullen was asking to teminate debate and move to a vote. However, Walsh said that moving the question would limit speakers to one opportunity to speak and for only 5 mins (they are typically allowed up to 10 minutes). The discussion by that point had run its course and a vote was taken shortly afterward. The motion passed. It will be up to the voters to determine if they want to adopt this assuming the legislature approves it.

Town Meeting will resume this evening at 7:30pm. It will be broadcast live on MATV. Remaining articles include but are not limited to approval of a petition for a liquor license of The Plate at the Milton Marketplace and a citizens petitions; one for a moratorium on lit signs and one for a condo bylaw.