All three articles before the Special Town Meeting on 10/19 passed. They were:

1. To see if the Town will vote to decrease budget appropriations voted by the 2009 Milton Annual Town Meeting as described in warrant. It was an amount of $331,000. $110,591 came from the schools and $175,502 came from the police department. The amount to police department is result of state cut to officers who are awarded stipends for advanced educational achievement.
2. To see if the Town will vote to increase the meals tax an additional .75% as allowed by state law. The Warrant Committee recommended this and estimated revenues to be ~$70,000 and thought that was a conservative estimate. They also acknowledged that the numbers available from the state were a bit of guesswork.
3. To see what sum of money the Town will appropriate for payment of legally obligated medical expenses for public safety personnel resulting from injuries sustained in the line of duty. The Warrant Committee recommended that $450,000 be appropriated.

The third article passed unanimously. And there was little to say about the first. The article that received the most discussion was the one on raising the meals tax. Hearts palpitated for a moment when James Mullen rose to agree with Steve Morash who opposed imposing the increase at this time. They felt there was a lack of information. The town did not know which abutting towns were also imposing an increase and Mullen cited concern over possible vacant storefronts. Selectman Shields reminded everyone that this was not only about the two new restaurants in town, 88 Wharf and Abby Park; but Dunkin’ Donuts, Radio Coffeehouse, Stella’s etc. Tim Lowie (sp?) introduced an amendment to the article to refer the matter back to the Selectmen for further study. This motion was defeated and the article passed.

Perhaps the most interesting moments of this Town Meeting were in the items addressed outside of the articles. There was a warm, appreciative tribute given to Charlie Winchester, Chairman of the School Rebuilding Committee. Senator Brian Joyce recited a proclamation made by Massachusetts Senate and signed by Therese Murray and John Shields (in addition to his own warm comments)  read a proclamation from the Massachusetts House on behalf of Congressman Timilty. But the most touching words came from ex-Moderator Ward who spoke to Mr. Winchester directly, who was watching the proceedings from his home. “Thank you for your wisdom and dedication.” Mr. Winchester worked for 11 years to execute the opportunity Senator Joyce obtained.

Linda Lee Sheridan, Chairman of the School Committee, formally acknowledged the recent installation of solar panels on Milton High School. This was a result of a huge effort from Sustainable Milton. A ribbon cutting took place and Ms. Plonski, Science chair, along with a representative of the firm that installed the panels, demonstrated the value this will bring to Milton students. The solar panels installed provide a wealth of information some of which is available to the public. You can view the data supplied by these panels here. Very cool.

Lastly, Peter Jackson, Chairman of the Planning Board, gave an update on the ongoing discussions regarding the redevelopment of the Temple Shalom property. They convened an advisory committee that met 13 times with the Planning Board. They reviewed a broad spectrum of options and gave their feedback to the board. The board is continuing its work and has not yet taken a vote.