I know this is delayed but it was a long meeting and I wanted to make sure I correctly reported the information which was presented as well as the outcome.

There were about 300 residents in attendance and several boards were represented. Most of the articles contained in the warrant (which you can find here) passed without much comment.

Two of the articles, specifically the Town Manager’s Act and the increase in fines for trucks violating the large truck exclusion were heavy with comments and feedback from residents, business owners, and board members.

Discussions ensued about the increased funding for the EMT/Fire services (Article 15) with some misinformation cleared up regarding wait times. Ultimately after discussion, this article also passed. (note: The wait time indicated by the resident was confirmed later in the discussion on article 20.)

A great deal of discussion was held regarding Article 17 – Special Education Temporary Funding in the amount of $750,000.  After this discussion the funding passed overwhelmingly.

Let’s talk about the Town Manager’s Act. The information on this act may be read here:

Article 26: Town Manager Act with Supplemental Information

Article 26: Town Manager Act – Impact to other Boards

Article 26: Town Manager Act – Executive Summary 

The public feedback on this Act started approximately 2 and a half hours into the meeting and continued for nearly two hours when someone made a motion to move the question. A motion was made to postpone the article indefinitely and after two votes it was agreed that it would be postponed by a narrow margin.

Article 27 also gained significant public comments. This article would have authorized increased fines (from $50 to $300) for large trucks who violated the exclusion rules. However, many speakers felt that because the weight limit (which is established by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts) is not geared towards only “big rigs” that this was not a good option because of a fear of unintended consequences such as trucks carrying work materials (e.g. landscapers etc.) could inadvertently be in violation of the rules.