Town Meeting, May 4, 2024

The town has published neither minutes nor an agenda for this meeting. The recording is the only record, and what follows is a guide to it.

budgetcapitalcontracts and unionsdebtfacilitiesfeesfree cashhealth insurancehigh schoolhiringlayoffsmiddle schoolmonty techout of districtoverridepersonnelpolicyprimary schoolpublic commentpublic safetyretirementroads and dpwseniorsspecial educationstaffingstate aidsuperintendent reporttax ratetown departmentstown meetingtransfersturkey hillwarrant articlewater sewer

Present: the Moderator (unnamed) (Town Moderator); Renee Empery / Ms. Emy (Town Manager); Lou Franco (Select Board member (not seeking re-election)); Tom Alonzo (Select Board member / chair of Capital Planning Committee); Evan Waters (Finance Committee chair); Dave Pasio (Finance Committee member); Carol A Shambo (Arseno) (School Committee chair); Peter Beardmore (School Committee member / Capital Planning Committee representative); Dr. Kate Burnham (Superintendent of Schools); Bill Bernard (DPW Director (presenting for Mr. Reynolds)); Julie Belo (Assistant Town Manager / HR Director); Joanna Bador (Personnel Committee chair); Wendy Beran (Personnel Committee vice chair); Sue Andrews (Personnel Committee member); Donna Fortune (Personnel Committee member); Adam Costa (Town Counsel); Mr. Rabbit (Jack) (Board of Assessors member); Deb Lincoln (Chair, Council on Aging); Nancy Fasco (Cemetery Commissioner). 2 of 19 matched to the board’s posted roster; the rest, in italics, are the caption model’s hearing and may be wrong.

Votes

1. ▶ 23:14Approve the consent calendar (articles 1, 2, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 25) as read, excluding article 20 which was heldpassed 241-6, 8 abstain
2. ▶ 26:08Article 3: amend revolving-fund bylaw to add Wetlands protection bylaw fees revolving fund, $50,000 FY25 spending limitpassed by more than majority (exact count not stated)
3. ▶ 28:36Article 4: transfer sum from free cash to pay prior-year bills (police details)passed 267-3
4. ▶ 36:58Article 5: transfer from reserve fund to salary reserve and snow removal linespassed 262-28, 12 abstain
5. ▶ 59:52Amendment to Article 6 (Lizio): reduce capital plan by $33,569 by removing Turkey Hill window safety-film fundingfailed 28-301, 7 abstain
6. ▶ 1:17:31Move the question (cut off debate) on the Wallace Park court amendmentfailed to reach 2/3 (33 yes noted; not fully audible)
7. ▶ 1:21:53Amendment to Article 6 (Bowen/Pasio): reduce capital plan by $70,000 by removing Wallace Park basketball/tennis court resurfacingfailed, approx. 128 in favor, 218 opposed
8. ▶ 1:22:59Article 6: capital plan as originally presented (unamended)passed 320-31, 1 abstain
9. ▶ 2:37:33Article 7: Omnibus budget, raise and appropriate town/school FY25 budget with associated transferspassed 309-37, 10 abstain
10. ▶ 4:06:45Article 8: raise and appropriate $948,000 as a Proposition 2½ override for the schools (also requires town election ballot approval)not audible (partial figure "267" heard, full tally not clear)
11. ▶ 4:20:39Article 9: amend salary Administration plan to reclassify several positions and add new titles/gradesnot audible (result not announced in captions)
12. ▶ 4:26:52Article 10: adopt FY24/FY25 salary schedule and fund retroactive wage increases for non-union employeespassed, 151 in favor (opposed not stated)
13. ▶ 5:07:44Amendment to Article 11 (Latis): strike language requiring vacation/personal time be exhausted before using parental sick leavepassed, 132 in favor (opposed not stated)
14. ▶ 5:22:01Amendment to Article 11 (Cammer): add access to a sick bank/donated sick timefailed 50-91
15. ▶ 5:23:20Article 11 as amended: parental sick-leave policy changepassed 123-13
16. ▶ 5:29:24Article 15: Sewer Enterprise fund FY25 budgetpassed 115-6, 1 abstain
17. ▶ 5:56:07Amendment to Article 20 (Bowen): direct $22,000 of cemetery lots money to reimburse the town for DPW cemetery costsfailed 6-113
18. ▶ 5:57:10Article 20: appropriate $10,000 from sale of cemetery lots for cemetery care/improvementpassed, approx. 119 in favor (opposition count garbled)
19. ▶ 6:11:58Article 21: lower senior property-tax exemption age from 70 to 65 and raise exemption amountpassed 110-3
20. ▶ 6:15:48Article 22: re-accept MGL c.32B §20, OPEB liability trust fundpassed, approx. 102 in favor, 3 abstain (exact opposed not stated)
21. ▶ 6:21:18Article 23: codify Historical Commission bylaw into town codepassed 104-7
22. ▶ 6:28:54Article 24: amend zoning bylaw for battery energy storage systems and solar generating facilitiesnot audible (no explicit tally announced in captions)

Transfers

The money

1. ▶ 21:48Article 17: Solid Waste Enterprise fund

   Appropriation from Solid Waste Disposal Enterprise revenues plus a transfer to fund the solid waste program.

   as heard:$398,000$102,000$500,000

2. ▶ 22:08Article 18: Water Enterprise fund

   Appropriation from Water Enterprise revenues to operate the water enterprise fund.

   as heard:$45,000

3. ▶ 22:29Article 19: Peg Access cable fund

   Appropriation from Peg Access cable-related revenues plus a general fund contribution to Peg Access operations.

   as heard:$18,084$27,912.97

4. ▶ 25:05Article 3: Wetlands protection bylaw fees revolving fund

   Town manager said the fund did not previously exist and was created to match an existing bylaw reference; a spending limit was set for FY25.

   as heard:$50,000

5. ▶ 41:27Article 6: capital plan overview

   Town manager described 35 capital requests totaling a large sum, with 10 projects recommended for FY25 funding via free cash and unexpended capital.

   as heard:$3,474,7671,317,000

6. ▶ 42:35Capital item: townwide key card/alarm system

   Requested to upgrade exterior door hardware and create a master key/alarm system for town buildings.

   as heard:$185,000

7. ▶ 43:19Capital item: Northfield Culvert at Kelly's Pond

   Funds construction of a culvert replacement after prior-year engineering work.

   as heard:$200,000

8. ▶ 43:40Capital item: Turkey Hill ADA/renovation study

   Funds a study assessing ADA compliance and renovation options for Turkey Hill Elementary, debated at length including a failed amendment to cut related window safety film funding.

   as heard:$275,000$33,569over $30,000$1.2 million

9. ▶ 44:20Capital item: K9 cruiser replacement

   Replacement of the K9 vehicle, to be sold once decommissioned.

   as heard:$92,200

10. ▶ 44:43Capital item: library security cameras phase 1

    Replaces aging library camera system components.

    as heard:$36,000

11. ▶ 45:25Capital item: marked traffic cruiser

    Replacement of a marked police cruiser.

    as heard:$73,700

12. ▶ 45:49Capital item: security film on town building doors/windows

    Safety film for exterior glass doors and large first-floor windows.

    as heard:$36,450

13. ▶ 46:29Capital item: Wallace Park basketball/tennis court resurfacing

    Resurfacing of degraded courts; two floor amendments to cut this funding both failed, with opponents citing unresolved drainage concerns.

    as heard:$70,000

14. ▶ 1:28:37Omnibus budget transfers

    Listed transfers into the Omnibus budget from sewer enterprise, MSBA debt reserve, artificial turf revolving fund, Peg access fund, health insurance stabilization, free cash, and water betterment revenue.

    as heard:$42,216,913$420$41,718.43$27,929.97$15,600$76,248$100,000$56,570.50

15. ▶ 1:31:23Revenue mix

    Town manager gave the share of revenue from property taxes, state aid, local receipts, and other available funds.

    as heard:66%22%7%5%

16. ▶ 1:32:03State aid (Governor's House 1 figure)

    State aid reflects a decrease attributed largely to loss of a cherry-sheet program funding line.

    as heard:1.04%10,682 186342,000

17. ▶ 1:32:45Local receipts

    Local receipts increased due to motor vehicle excise and school departmental income, other categories level funded.

    as heard:2.8%9,1103,37 851

18. ▶ 1:37:40School department budget increase

    Superintendent and town manager described the school budget increase, including ARPA-funded additions.

    as heard:4.37%1,780221,6005.34%

19. ▶ 1:37:40Monty Tech assessment

    Monty Tech line increased for two additional students.

    as heard:3.75%44,5

20. ▶ 1:42:25Non-appropriated/non-discretionary costs

    Retirement assessment, health insurance, solid waste, debt service, and cherry sheet offsets all changed for FY25.

    as heard:10.94%5.7%6%33%16.39%6%

21. ▶ 2:41:04Article 8: override request

    Ballot question to raise and appropriate additional funds via a Proposition 2½ override for the schools; requires subsequent town election approval.

    as heard:$948,000

22. ▶ 2:45:56Override tax impact

    Finance committee chair explained the override mechanism and how it permanently raises the tax levy.

    as heard:$948,0002 and a half%

23. ▶ 3:02:15Out-of-district special education placement costs

    Beardmore said out-of-district placement costs rose since FY23 for nine students, a non-discretionary cost.

    as heard:$322,450

24. ▶ 3:09:39Estimated tax impact of override

    Table compared FY24, FY25 (as budgeted), and FY25-with-override tax bills for an average assessed home.

    as heard:$481,0007,678869087106$198

25. ▶ 4:19:11Article 9: SAP reclassifications

    Personnel committee proposed reclassifying several position titles/grades; finance committee found no direct financial impact.

26. ▶ 5:31:21Cemetery DPW line item (line 68)

    Debate over how much of the cemetery budget line is wages versus supplies/services, raised in amendments to articles 7 and 20.

    as heard:$87,400.48$118,000$113,000$22,000$2,200$3,500$3,000

27. ▶ 5:58:30Article 21: Senior property tax exemption (41C)

    Assessors proposed lowering the qualifying age and raising the exemption amount, citing town cost impact and poverty data among seniors.

    as heard:7065$750$1,000$5,000$15,000$250$500$2.26

Settled without a vote

• ▶ 3:15Moderator declared a quorum present (50 required) and the meeting properly warranted, then opened the meeting.
• ▶ 2:01:24Moderator deferred a follow-up question about whether teachers would be cut regardless of the override until Article 8 was reached.
• ▶ 4:00:15School committee members stated they intend, though are not formally obligated, to return the ARPA-funded operating items to the select board for reappropriation if the override passes.
• ▶ 4:58:36Personnel committee agreed the idea of a formal sick-time donation bank for SAP employees needs further work and should be considered in a future cycle rather than in this amendment.
• ▶ 6:08:08Board of Assessors indicated it plans to review and possibly lower income/asset eligibility limits for the senior tax exemption in the fall.
• ▶ 6:29:35Meeting concluded informally without a formal adjournment motion once the warrant's articles were exhausted.

Public comment

1. ▶ 32:48asked for longer time on clicker votes because her vote had not registered — Sarah Cammer, as heard, resident, 304 Lancaster Ave
2. ▶ 35:15said the reserve-fund transfer in article 5 should have been handled by the finance committee, not town meeting — Dave Pasio, as heard, Finance Committee member, 56 Whiting Street
3. ▶ 47:11questioned the capital plan's Turkey Hill window safety film given the building's likely renovation, and moved to cut that funding — Rhonda Lizio, as heard, resident, 181 Reservoir Road
4. ▶ 57:04supported funding safety glass at Turkey Hill for his children's safety — Daniel Denell, as heard, resident/parent, 155 Gilr Street
5. ▶ 57:45urged voting no on the Turkey Hill safety-film amendment — Mandy Gilman, as heard, resident, 186 Reservoir Road
6. ▶ 1:00:54moved to cut $70,000 for Wallace Park basketball/tennis court resurfacing, citing unresolved drainage issues — Dave Pasio, as heard, Finance Committee member, former Parks Commissioner
7. ▶ 1:04:04supported cutting the Wallace Park court funding pending a drainage study, and made the formal amendment — John Bowen, as heard, resident, 162 Highland Street
8. ▶ 1:09:34argued construction oversight, not funding, is the real issue with the court amendment — Anthony Scalabrini, as heard, resident, 92 Be Street
9. ▶ 1:10:56relayed the facilities director's view that the court cracking is not a drainage problem — unnamed (Ms. Lemieux, facilities office), as heard
10. ▶ 1:14:01said the court cracking is from poor prior patch work, not drainage, and urged funding the resurfacing — Erin Lockwood, as heard, former Parks Commission chair, 91 Main Street
11. ▶ 1:51:23asked why teen librarian hours were being cut — Joe Mule, as heard, resident, 139 Cove Road
12. ▶ 2:00:23asked the town manager whether the district would need another override next year — Dave McDonald, as heard, resident, 155 Island Road
13. ▶ 2:01:54as a parent of a Turkey Hill special-education student, questioned merging special-ed classrooms given existing behavioral issues — Aon Migan (Northfield Road), as heard
14. ▶ 2:04:45questioned using ARPA funds to supplement the school operating budget — Daryl Plant, as heard, resident, 490 Lancaster Ave
15. ▶ 2:06:20criticized use of ESSER funds for permanent positions and questioned continued town hiring amid budget cuts; proposed a hiring freeze amendment (ruled out of order) — Andrew Klein, as heard, resident, 30 Baker Street
16. ▶ 2:09:19clarified ESSER-funded cuts are separate from the override, and moved the question — Anthony Scalabrini, as heard, resident, 92 Be Street
17. ▶ 2:11:35questioned cemetery budget wages vs. non-wage costs, line item 68 — John Bowen, as heard, resident, 162 Highland Street
18. ▶ 2:19:43proposed amendment to move $22,000 from the DPW cemetery line to the school department budget — John Bowen, as heard
19. ▶ 2:22:50opposed the amendment, said the $20,000 funds fuel and vehicle costs for cemetery maintenance — Nancy Fasco, as heard, Cemetery Commissioner, 146 West Townsend
20. ▶ 2:28:46explained the cemetery line funds grounds maintenance and urged voting against the transfer amendment — Tom Alonzo, as heard
21. ▶ 2:34:28resident argued against ending debate on the $44 million Omnibus budget too quickly
22. ▶ 2:48:02introduced the override, explaining what schools would lose without it — Carol A Shambo, as heard, School Committee chair
23. ▶ 3:10:27walked through the budget process and override justification in detail — Peter Beardmore, as heard
24. ▶ 3:25:08suggested delaying the override vote to let the town develop a longer-term budget fix — Dave McDonald, as heard, resident, 155 Island Road
25. ▶ 3:26:56warned the schools could face a similar shortfall next year and said not everyone in Lunenburg is wealthy — Dave Rogers, as heard, resident, 82 Highland Street
26. ▶ 3:29:23spoke in support of the override, crediting teachers for helping her find her path — Beatrix Menard, as heard, recent LHS graduate, 67 Electric Ave
27. ▶ 3:31:51described having to choose between electives due to insufficient course sections — Owen Snider, as heard, 9th grader, 985 Flat Hill Road
28. ▶ 3:33:12spoke in support of the override for sports and school funding — Isaac Skull, as heard, middle schooler, 92 Bill Street
29. ▶ 3:33:55noted retiring excluded debt reduces the real tax impact of the override — Robert Bowen, as heard, resident, 1686 Mass Ave
30. ▶ 3:34:36described the value of music and guidance programs and urged passing the override — Sophia M, as heard, senior/music student, 139 Cove Road
31. ▶ 3:37:04urged sending the override to the full town ballot for a broader democratic decision — Mike Young, as heard, resident, 36 Florence Street
32. ▶ 3:37:47opposed the override citing inflation's toll on households and skepticism of school committee warnings — Andy Klein, as heard, resident, 30 Baker Street
33. ▶ 3:40:31said non-core classes shape students' futures and the town, and supported the override — Sammon Casey, as heard, senior, 3 Smith Drive
34. ▶ 3:43:14praised student speakers and the value of education investment — Peggy Proctor, as heard, resident, 141 Gilr Street
35. ▶ 3:44:15supported the override as an investment in children — Stephanie Trudell, as heard, resident, 54 Horton Mill Road
36. ▶ 3:45:43urged residents to stay involved in school budgeting beyond this override — Aon (Erin) Mulligan, as heard, Northfield Road
37. ▶ 3:54:06argued the override is insufficient and the town needs a multi-year comprehensive fix instead — Christine Foltz, as heard, resident, 284 Lancaster Ave
38. ▶ 3:55:50said school spending has long been unsustainable and urged a longer-term fix before another override — Dave Pasio, as heard, Finance Committee member, 56 Whiting Street
39. ▶ 3:58:33asked about combining special-education programs at the middle school level — Heather Herrera, as heard, resident, 198 Kilber Street
40. ▶ 3:59:55asked whether ARPA funds freed up by the override would be returned to the select board — John Fortune, as heard, resident, 50 Hemlock Drive
41. ▶ 4:25:13asked whether any SAP employees were found to be grossly underpaid in the reclassification study — John Fortune, as heard, resident, 50 Hemlock Drive
42. ▶ 4:29:02criticized the town's outdated leave policy and the dispute that prompted the parental-leave article — Crystal Lacadas, as heard, President, Lunenburg Professional Firefighters, 49 Maple Parkway
43. ▶ 4:42:27supported the amendment so new parents would not have to exhaust vacation time first — Bradley Mc—, as heard, President, NEBA Local 353, 42 Stonefence Road
44. ▶ 4:43:42raised a legal question about whether a bylaw supersedes conflicting policy — John Bowen, as heard, resident, 162 Highland Street
45. ▶ 4:49:11supported the parental-leave amendment and floated allowing donated leave — Sarah Cammer, as heard, resident, 304 Lancaster Ave
46. ▶ 4:50:15said employees should control use of their own accrued time and noted municipal workers lack paid family leave — Mary Foil, as heard, resident, 985 Flat Hill Road
47. ▶ 4:47:02questioned why adoptive parents would need to use vacation time before sick time to bond with a new child — Debbie Richie, as heard, resident, 98 Royal Foreign Drive
48. ▶ 5:01:06asked for a finance committee cost estimate if the leave amendment changed — Katie Kissle, as heard, resident, Peninsula Drive
49. ▶ 5:03:13asked whether "becomes a parent" language could be misread to apply only to a first child — Matthew Brunner, as heard, resident, 619 Northfield Road
50. ▶ 5:13:01supported the amendment based on his experience with a high-risk pregnancy needing extended leave — Will Pomier, as heard, veteran/resident, 49 Joselyn Street
51. ▶ 4:55:05supported letting employees use paid time off as they judge best, and warned donated-leave pools can be an accounting problem — Ann Nelson, as heard, resident, 435 Townsend Harbor Road
52. ▶ 4:56:09asked whether the 8 weeks of leave applied per birth or per event, citing her own twins — Chrissy Carbon, as heard, resident, 19 West Hasen Road
53. ▶ 5:31:21questioned who controls the $10,000 cemetery lots appropriation and proposed it instead reimburse the town for DPW cemetery costs — John Bowen, as heard, resident, 162 Highland Street
54. ▶ 5:36:53supported raising the senior tax exemption reimbursement amount — Donna Pako, as heard, resident, 132 Hemlock Drive
55. ▶ 5:37:15cautioned that poverty statistics used for the exemption might include renters, not just homeowners — John Trainer, as heard, resident, 105 (Ryan?) Island Road

Where the time went

Minutes of recording by subject, from the topic spans below. A topic with two subjects counts toward both.

• tax rate104 min · 27%
• override90 min · 23%
• budget77 min · 20%
• policy76 min · 20%
• personnel70 min · 18%
• staffing70 min · 18%
• layoffs70 min · 18%
• warrant article57 min · 15%
• capital49 min · 13%
• turkey hill49 min · 13%

The whole meeting, in order

1. ▶ 0:00Technical setup, moderator's opening remarks, thanks to volunteers, recognition of outgoing Select Board member Lou Franco, clicker voting demonstration, and Pledge of Allegianceinformational · 19:19 long · town meeting
2. ▶ 19:19Moderator's rules of order and procedure for the meetinginformational · 0:01 long · town meeting
3. ▶ 19:20Consent calendar covering articles 1, 2, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 25 (with article 20 held for separate debate)voted, passed · 5:02 long · transfers, free cash, warrant article
4. ▶ 24:23Article 3: create Wetlands protection bylaw fees revolving fundvoted, passed · 2:29 long · warrant article, policy
5. ▶ 27:14Article 4: pay prior fiscal year bills (police details) from free cashvoted, passed 267-3 · 4:10 long · free cash, public safety
6. ▶ 31:25Article 5: transfer among reserve fund, salary reserve and snow removal linesvoted, passed 262-28 · 6:41 long · transfers, budget
7. ▶ 38:07Article 6: FY25 capital plan, including Turkey Hill safety-film and Wallace Park court funding disputes and two floor amendmentsboth amendments failed; capital plan passed as presented 320-31 · 49:26 long · capital, turkey hill, warrant article
8. ▶ 1:27:34Article 7: Omnibus town/school budget, including detailed budget-process and school-department cuts presentationsvoted, passed 309-37 · 1:09:58 long · budget, staffing, layoffs
9. ▶ 2:37:33Article 8: $948,000 Proposition 2½ override for the schools, extensive public debate for and againstvoted at town meeting (full tally not audible in captions); requires town-election ballot approval · 1:29:31 long · override, tax rate
10. ▶ 4:07:05Recess/break and informal remarksinformational · 6:33 long
11. ▶ 4:13:39Article 9: Salary Administration Plan position reclassifications and new titlesvote taken; result not announced in captions · 8:04 long · personnel, hiring
12. ▶ 4:21:43Article 10: FY24/FY25 salary schedule and retroactive wage increases for non-union employeesvoted, passed 151 in favor · 5:13 long · personnel, contracts and unions
13. ▶ 4:26:56Article 11: parental sick-leave policy amendment, with two floor amendments on vacation-time sequencing and a sick-time donation bankfirst amendment passed, second amendment failed; article passed as amended 123-13 · 56:44 long · personnel, policy
14. ▶ 5:23:40Article 15: Sewer Enterprise FY25 budget and rate increase driversvoted, passed 115-6 · 6:39 long · water sewer, fees
15. ▶ 5:30:19Article 20: $10,000 cemetery lots appropriation, with a floor amendment to redirect funds to reimburse the townamendment failed; article passed · 27:47 long · roads and dpw, transfers
16. ▶ 5:58:06Article 21: lower senior property tax exemption age and raise exemption amountvoted, passed 110-3 · 14:33 long · seniors, tax rate
17. ▶ 6:12:39Article 22: re-accept MGL c.32B §20 OPEB trust fund statutevoted, passed · 4:05 long · retirement, policy
18. ▶ 6:16:44Article 23: codify Historical Commission into town bylawsvoted, passed 104-7 · 4:56 long · policy, town departments
19. ▶ 6:21:40Article 24: zoning bylaw amendment for battery energy storage systems and solar generating facilities; closing recognition of Lou Franco and informal end of meetingselect board recommended approval 4-0; town-meeting tally not audible; meeting ended without formal adjournment motion · 8:15 long · planning and zoning, policy

What the captions could not carry

• Final vote tally on Article 8 (the $948,000 override) — only a partial figure ('267') was heard, with no clear breakdown of yes/no/abstain
• Result of the Article 9 (SAP reclassification) vote was never announced in the captions
• Several vote counts on floor amendments (e.g., 'move the question' on the Wallace Park court amendment, article 20 main vote, article 22 vote) were garbled or incomplete in the captions
• Exact figures for several Article 7 Omnibus budget transfer lines (e.g., 'sewer enterprise' transfer of $42,216,913 appears inconsistent/garbled) and total budget figure
• The Article 19 Peg Access figures ($18,084 3 and 3C, $27,912.97) were rendered unclearly
• Full names and exact spellings of several public speakers and officials (e.g., the Town Manager's name, 'Mr. Rabbit', several street addresses) were inconsistent or garbled across mentions
• State aid figure details ('40s funding' cut of $342,000) — program name likely mis-transcribed
• Article 24's final town-meeting vote tally was not stated in the captions before the meeting concluded

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