Town Meeting, May 2, 2026

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.

athleticsbudgetbudget fy27capitalchapter 70contracts and unionsfacilitiesfree cashhealth insurancehiringlayoffslibraryout of districtoverridepersonnelplanning and zoningpolicypublic commentpublic safetyrecreationretirementroads and dpwseniorsspecial educationstaffingstate aidtax ratetown meetingtransferstransportationwarrant articlewater sewer

Present: the Moderator (town moderator); Jennifer Warren Diamond (town manager); Dr. Jodie Fortuna (superintendent of schools); Anthony Scalabrini (chair, school committee); Robert Costa (town counsel); John Bowen (chairman, board of trust fund commissioners); Karen Barrett (finance director); Julie Bello (Belau) (HR director (formerly assistant town manager/HR director)); Chris Ruth (facilities director); Mr. Manard (chair, finance committee); Miss Moore (select board member); Mr. Nulo (select board member); Mr. Leighton (select board member); Ms. Emparks (select board member); Ana Lockwood (finance committee member); Bill Tyler (chair, 300th anniversary committee); Michael Toohill (chair, open space committee); Michael Clark (chair, cemetery commission); Matthew Brener (chair, planning board); Dan Proctor (sewer commission member); Sarah Cammer (vice chair, board of assessors); Laura Broski (vice chair, school committee); Mandy Gilman (school committee member). 6 of 23 matched to the board’s posted roster; the rest, in italics, are the caption model’s hearing and may be wrong.

Votes

1. ▶ 25:31Approve the consent calendar (articles 2,3,6,16,17,18,19; article 7 removed on a hold) — moved by Mr. Leighton (moving party), as heardpassed 232-17
2. ▶ 36:50Article 4: create economic development revolving fund, FY27 spending limit $10,000 — moved by Mr. Leighton, as heardpassed 259-27
3. ▶ 38:34Article 5: amend technology revolving fund authorized spender to town manager or designee — moved by Mr. Nulo, as heardpassed 231-836 (figures as heard, likely a caption error)
4. ▶ 42:29Article 7: raise and appropriate $1,895 and $5,1966 for prior-year bills (4/5 vote required) — moved by Ms. Moore, as heardpassed 267-26
5. ▶ 50:40Article 9: transfer $520,000 from free cash to the FY2026 snow and ice removal expense line — moved by Mr. Leighton, as heardpassed 265-29
6. ▶ 3:32:06Article 10: raise and appropriate the FY27 balanced (town manager's) operating budget, approx. $49,963,990.19 — moved by Mr. Nulo, as heardpassed 340-68
7. ▶ 4:15:51Article 11, tier 1: appropriate $2,357,3651.68 (figure as heard) contingent on a $2,400,000 Prop 2 1/2 override — moved by Ms. Moore, as heardpassed 331-105
8. ▶ 4:22:26Article 11, tier 2: appropriate $3,248,545.83 contingent on a $3,300,000 Prop 2 1/2 override — moved by Ms. Moore, as heardpassed 302-122
9. ▶ 4:27:29Article 12: rescind and reauthorize prior capital-project transfers ($325,000) so funds reach the FY26 capital plan (cleanup article) — moved by Ms. Emparks, as heardpassed 191-6
10. ▶ 4:30:55Article 13: fund FY27 capital plan via transfers of $991,627 from free cash, $594,000 from vehicle/equipment stabilization, and $244,576 raised and appropriated — moved by Mr. Leighton, as heardpassed 165-10
11. ▶ 4:33:29Article 14: fund PEG access enterprise fund FY27 operating budget, $217,847.55 total — moved by Mr. Nulo, as heardpassed 163-8
12. ▶ 4:35:57Article 15: transfer $77,000 from PEG retained earnings for a replacement CASTUS system — moved by Mr. Nulo, as heardpassed 160-11
13. ▶ 4:39:18Article 20: adopt FY27 salary schedule (3% COLA) and transfer $54,036 (heard '54,03') from salary reserve — moved by Mr. Nulo, as heardpassed 139-16
14. ▶ 4:43:06Article 21: fund first year of firefighters' union (IAFF Local 5369) contract — moved by Mr. Nulo, as heardpassed 132-5 (finance committee recommendation roll call 6-0)
15. ▶ 4:46:03Article 22: transfer $25,414 from salary reserve to fund municipal employees' union (AFSCME Council 93) contract — moved by Ms. MK, as heardpassed 133-12 with 2 abstentions
16. ▶ 4:49:26Article 23: transfer $51,046.33 and $68,294 from salary reserve to fund Teamsters Local 170 (DPW) contract — moved by Mr. Leighton, as heardpassed 136-13 with 3 abstentions
17. ▶ 5:16:09Amendment to article 24 (John Rabbit) to fund food pantry relocation as part of TCP transfer — moved by John Rabbit, as heardruled out of scope by the moderator, not voted
18. ▶ 5:32:22Article 24: transfer $121,800 from free cash for TCP operating/decommissioning costs and $27,500 from assessor's overlay surplus for a special assistant to the assessor — moved by Mr. Mloud/Nulo, as heardpassed 116-24
19. ▶ 5:42:19Article 25: transfer $335,437 from free cash to the OPEB trust fund — moved by Mr. Nulo, as heardpassed 76-59
20. ▶ 5:44:57Article 26: transfer $10,000 from free cash to the compensated absences reserve fund — moved by Ms. Moore, as heardpassed 112-50
21. ▶ 5:56:16Article 27: transfer $15,000 from free cash to the 300th anniversary committee — moved by unclear, as heardpassed 119-11
22. ▶ 5:57:44Article 28: transfer $250,000 from free cash to the stabilization fund — moved by Mr. Leighton, as heardpassed 112-12
23. ▶ 5:59:13Article 29: transfer $250,000 from free cash to the health insurance special purpose stabilization fund — moved by Mr. Nulo, as heardpassed 91-15
24. ▶ 6:10:37Article 30, motion 1: transfer $51,000 from free cash for vacation buyout (above 3 weeks) — moved by Mr. Nulo, as heardpassed 102-9
25. ▶ 6:12:31Article 30, motion 2: transfer $219,000 from free cash to buy out remaining accrued vacation liability — moved by Mr. Nulo, as heardpassed 70-24
26. ▶ 6:15:14Article 31: add assistant town manager to salary grade 17 and retitle current position to HR director — moved by Ms. Moore, as heardpassed 75-32
27. ▶ 6:28:40Article 32: amend town meeting warrant-notice bylaw to a postcard/opt-in mailing system — moved by Ms. MK, as heardpassed 85-24
28. ▶ 6:42:10Article 33: transfer care, custody and control of part of Kids Kingdom land from school committee to select board (2/3 vote) — moved by Mr. Leighton, as heardpassed 100-9
29. ▶ 6:51:25Article 34: adopt new open space committee bylaw — moved by Mr. Nulo, as heardpassed 99-4 with 1 abstention
30. ▶ 6:55:10Article 35: amend sewer bylaw waiver language from 'emergency circumstances' to 'unusual or extraordinary circumstances' — moved by Mr. Nulo, as heardpassed 91-3 with 3 abstentions
31. ▶ 6:54:50Amendment to article 35 (Robert Bowen) to retain 'emergency' alongside 'unusual or extraordinary' — moved by Robert Bowen, as heardwithdrawn, not voted

And 2 procedural: accept the written annual reports of town officers and committees (article 1) (▶ 28:16); article 8: pass over the budget-adjustments article (▶ 47:20).

Transfers

The money

1. ▶ 55:36FY27 balanced (town manager's) budget

   The town manager moved the FY27 balanced budget with several enterprise-fund transfers; it required no override to pass.

   as heard:$49,557,97.80$49,963,990.19

2. ▶ 1:01:51FY27 tier 1 and tier 2 override budgets

   The town manager described tier 1 and tier 2 as successively larger budgets contingent on Prop 2 1/2 override votes; tier 2 does not stack on top of tier 1.

   as heard:52,321,6418053,212,5362

3. ▶ 1:06:05Estimated tax impact of levy growth and overrides

   The town manager gave estimated annual tax-bill impacts for the natural levy growth, the tier 1 override, and the tier 2 override on an average single-family home.

   as heard:$175.88$56.95$689.35

4. ▶ 1:08:34Certified free cash

   Free cash certified for FY26 was described as unusually high but within DLS guidance; the town's free cash policy sets priority order for its use.

   as heard:3,354,37$3,354,370

5. ▶ 1:16:41State aid / cherry sheet

   Total state aid receipts were given, with the bulk under education (Chapter 70); cherry sheet assessments are subtracted immediately.

   as heard:11,44,9179,726,03

6. ▶ 1:40:23Public safety budget (fire fourth shift, police staffing)

   The balance budget adds a fourth fire shift and fills a second detective position, paid for by other cuts including per-diem firefighter hours.

   as heard:$262,7305cent5.78%

7. ▶ 1:51:54Worcester County Regional Retirement assessment

   The town manager called this a major year-over-year cost driver, with roughly 10% annual increases anticipated going forward.

   as heard:$238,289.959.94%

8. ▶ 1:49:27Monty Tech assessment

   The Montachusett Regional assessment rises by the same roughly 7-8% trend regardless of which budget tier is chosen.

   as heard:1 million452,4268.85%

9. ▶ 2:03:13School operating budget across tiers

   The superintendent said the balanced budget requires deep cuts to reach the target, while the restoration budget funds a fuller staffing model.

   as heard:26.57 million28.52 million$1.95 million

10. ▶ 4:41:19Firefighters union contract (first year)

    The first year of the new fire union contract was described as fundable with no additional appropriation.

    as heard:no further appropriation required

11. ▶ 1:29:14Health insurance premium increase

    An initial projected 20% increase was reduced after the insurer dropped GLP-1 drug coverage and the Public Employees Committee agreed to less-favorable plan design.

    as heard:20%8.8%5.38%

Settled without a vote

• ▶ 19:27Moderator appointed Rob Bowen as his deputy for the year, absent objection from the floor.
• ▶ 5:16:09Moderator ruled John Rabbit's proposed amendment to Article 24 (increasing TCP funding to include food-pantry relocation) outside the scope of the warrant article; it was not put to a vote.
• ▶ 2:58:29Moderator declined a floor motion to limit each speaker to two minutes on the budget article.
• ▶ 6:54:50Robert Bowen withdrew his proposed amendment to Article 35 after a sewer committee member explained town counsel's guidance on the wording.
• ▶ 5:36:20Select board chair said the board would revisit stabilization/free-cash transfers this fall if the override fails at the ballot, rather than change tonight's votes.
• ▶ 5:08:50Facilities director indicated TC Pacios would likely be fully vacated and closed before the coming heating season, around November, forcing relocation of the food pantry, PEG studio and gym users.

Public comment

1. ▶ 2:23:14Opposed the balanced budget, arguing the town has enough in stabilization/reserve funds to avoid cuts to schools, library and rec. — Michael R. Jeff, as heard, resident, 1170 Massachusetts Avenue
2. ▶ 2:27:48Urged voting yes on articles 10 and 11, warned that amending the balance budget on the floor would jeopardize the override. — Nandy Gilman, as heard, school committee member speaking for herself
3. ▶ 2:29:53Historical anecdote about fuel rationing, urged the meeting to weigh the town's tax rate versus lack of commercial base. — John Tina, as heard, resident, 135 Flint Road, 40-year homeowner
4. ▶ 2:32:20Questioned the need for and cost of the new assistant town manager position. — Bob Martin, as heard, resident, 54 [street] Drive
5. ▶ 2:41:11Thanked police/fire, supports their funding but opposes the overrides; criticized the district's social-emotional learning program. — Daryl Plant, as heard, resident, 499 Castra
6. ▶ 2:45:01Argued this is a chronic multi-year budget crisis, not a one-off, and urged passing the budget as negotiated by the tri-board process. — Peter Beardmore, as heard, resident, 282 Pleasant Street
7. ▶ 2:49:54Thanked the tri-board process and urged support for children, safety and community services over personal savings. — Paul, as heard, resident, Free Town Road
8. ▶ 2:53:59Said she trusts the finance committee, select board and school committee after years of public service, urged voting for the budget. — Carol, as heard, resident, 662 Page Street, former town volunteer
9. ▶ 2:55:19Raised concern that the balance budget itself risks the high school's NEASC accreditation. — unidentified resident, as heard, resident, Main Street
10. ▶ 2:57:25Moved (unsuccessfully) to limit each speaker to two minutes. — Clarkson Courtney, as heard, resident, 7 Homeman Street
11. ▶ 3:01:34Criticized the balanced budget as an unfair 'level-funded' option, proposed voting no on article 10 to bring forward an alternative budget. — Ms. Lockwood, as heard, finance committee member
12. ▶ 3:05:21Proposed a home-rule petition to create a permanent town investment trust funded by a one-time assessment, instead of repeated overrides; said he would vote no without it. — John Bowen, as heard, resident, 162 Highland Street
13. ▶ 3:09:11Said she trusts elected officials and will vote for tier 2 despite reluctance to raise taxes. — Carol Hatch, as heard, resident, 41 Hilltop Lane
14. ▶ 3:10:36Questioned rationale for the assistant town manager, cited literacy data, and asked what is being done for the food bank. — John Rabbit, as heard, resident, 314 Towns Harbor Road
15. ▶ 3:13:21Supported the tier 2 override, citing library and senior services value. — Stephanie Trudeell, as heard, resident, 54 Hilton's Mill Road; library trustee speaking personally
16. ▶ 3:40:40Cited the town's history of rarely passing overrides since Prop 2 1/2, arguing chronic underfunding caused the current crisis. — Matt Snider, as heard, resident, 985 Flat Hill Road
17. ▶ 3:45:10Explained Prop 2 1/2's override mechanism as intended relief valve; supported tier 2. — Adam Bernie, as heard, resident, Good Street
18. ▶ 3:48:19Described the high school bridge program's importance for students aging out of special education. — Julia Turner, as heard, resident, 90 Westtown Road; mother of a special-needs student
19. ▶ 3:50:46Urged voting yes simply so the whole town could vote on the override at the ballot. — Hall, as heard, resident, 73 Pine Grove Road
20. ▶ 3:51:31Warned that larger class sizes from cuts would increase demand for special education/remedial services. — Marzix, as heard, special education teacher, resident of 747 K Street
21. ▶ 3:52:12Supported tier 2, citing the library's young-adult librarian and arguing school quality drives town revenue growth. — Joe Mule, as heard, resident, 139 Cove Road, no children in school
22. ▶ 3:56:20Said town meeting was not approving the override itself, only 'democratizing' the question to the ballot. — Lou Franco, as heard, resident, 250 Garber Street; former select board member
23. ▶ 3:59:06Argued new residents drawn by good schools raise town costs as much as revenue; noted the school committee can reallocate its budget after the total is set. — Mr. Chennis, as heard, resident
24. ▶ 4:00:30Urged voting yes so the whole town could weigh in at the ballot; described personally advocating for a prior override. — Quinn Lane, as heard, resident, 654 Flat Hill Road, 2024 LHS graduate
25. ▶ 4:06:04Asked town counsel to confirm his reading of Prop 2 1/2 statute regarding the tax base calculation. — Tom Martin, as heard, resident, 54 Long Drive
26. ▶ 4:10:38Closing remarks supporting the override, described his own son's experience with special education and athletics in Lunenburg schools. — Peter Beardmore, as heard, resident, 282 Pleasant Street
27. ▶ 4:56:27Asked what the TCP funding would cover and described the food pantry's search for a new home. — Don Johnson, as heard, food pantry board treasurer, resident of 357 Lancaster Ave
28. ▶ 4:58:10Questioned the condition assessment of the TC Pacios building versus a 2018 study rating it good/fair. — Mike Clark, as heard, resident/cemetery commission chair, 275 Cross Road
29. ▶ 4:55:24Moved an amendment to increase TCP/food-pantry funding to help relocate the food pantry; later ruled out of scope by the moderator. — John Rabbit, as heard, resident, 314 Towns Harbor Road
30. ▶ 5:19:38Urged planning ahead for building reuse decisions before facilities fail, citing the old primary school and Turkey Hill. — Tom Alonzo, as heard, resident, 284 Lancaster Avenue
31. ▶ 5:22:20Asked why the food pantry funding decision could not simply be put to the voters. — John Tada, as heard, resident, 135 Flint Road
32. ▶ 5:18:17Asked town counsel what dollar threshold would make the Rabbit amendment within scope. — Amy King, as heard, resident, 3 Capes Place
33. ▶ 6:16:53Explained negotiating revised warrant-notice bylaw language with the select board on behalf of the Council on Aging. — Lou Franco, as heard, resident, 250 Arbor Street
34. ▶ 6:22:30Argued the warrant booklet has grown too long and the town should simplify rather than move to postcard notices. — Deb Christen, as heard, resident, 100 Bush Road
35. ▶ 6:31:45Asked whether the Kids Kingdom playground could be improved, not just relocated, citing Townsend's new park. — Jackie Haley, as heard, resident, 506 [street]
36. ▶ 6:33:48Supported transferring Kids Kingdom to the select board but asked that future playground funding be prioritized equally with the parking lot. — Laura Broski, as heard, vice chair, school committee, speaking personally
37. ▶ 6:37:40Said she had not realized the Kids Kingdom article involved a parking lot expansion; ultimately supported it. — Carol Shambo, as heard, resident, 662 Page Street

Where the time went

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

• budget fy27201 min · 49%
• override189 min · 46%
• budget120 min · 29%
• personnel103 min · 25%
• state aid74 min · 18%
• facilities56 min · 14%
• legal51 min · 12%
• special education37 min · 9%
• free cash36 min · 9%
• town meeting29 min · 7%

The whole meeting, in order

1. ▶ 0:00Opening, quorum declaration, pledge, clicker-voting instructions, ground rulesinformational · 13:01 long · town meeting
2. ▶ 13:01Recognition of town and school employees for years of service and retireesinformational · 6:05 long · staffing, superintendent report
3. ▶ 19:06Deputy moderator appointment and 'Hope for Hattie' community tributedecided informally (appointment); tribute, no action · 2:04 long · town meeting
4. ▶ 21:10Consent calendar (articles 2,3,6,16-19; article 7 held out)voted, passed · 6:03 long · budget, warrant article, transfers
5. ▶ 27:13Article 1: acceptance of officers' reports; trust fund commission report on mismanaged charitable trusts and AG referralaccepted informally; report informational · 7:56 long · budget, legal
6. ▶ 35:09Article 4: economic development revolving fundvoted, passed · 2:01 long · budget, economic development
7. ▶ 37:10Article 5: technology revolving fund authorized spender changedvoted, passed · 2:51 long · budget, technology
8. ▶ 40:02Article 7: prior-year bills (cemetery portable toilets, school invoice), 4/5 votevoted, passed · 5:53 long · budget, transfers
9. ▶ 45:55Article 8: pass over budget adjustments articlevoted, passed over · 2:58 long · budget
10. ▶ 48:53Article 9: FY26 snow and ice deficit closeout transfervoted, passed · 4:38 long · budget, transfers, free cash
11. ▶ 53:31Article 10: FY27 balanced/tier1/tier2 budget presentation by town manager and superintendentinformational presentation · 1:13:53 long · budget fy27, override, state aid
12. ▶ 2:07:24Category-by-category budget walkthrough; hold placed on human/health services line (board of health clerical position)discussed, no separate vote · 14:16 long · budget fy27, town departments, personnel
13. ▶ 2:21:40Extended floor debate on article 10 balanced budget: assistant town manager position, overrides, stabilization funds, trust in processdebated at length · 1:10:26 long · budget fy27, override, personnel
14. ▶ 3:32:06Vote on article 10 FY27 balanced budgetvoted, passed 340-68 · 5:45 long · budget fy27
15. ▶ 3:38:13Article 11 debate: tier 1 and tier 2 overrides, home-rule investment trust proposal, personal testimony on special education and school programsdebated at length · 36:57 long · override, budget fy27, special education
16. ▶ 4:15:51Vote on article 11 tier 1 override appropriationvoted, passed 331-105 · 4:08 long · override
17. ▶ 4:20:23Vote on article 11 tier 2 override appropriationvoted, passed 302-122 · 3:28 long · override
18. ▶ 4:24:21Article 12: capital-fund transfer cleanup/reauthorizationvoted, passed · 4:32 long · capital, transfers
19. ▶ 4:29:14Article 13: FY27 capital plan appropriationvoted, passed · 2:51 long · capital, free cash
20. ▶ 4:32:25Article 14: PEG access enterprise operating budgetvoted, passed · 2:28 long · budget, technology
21. ▶ 4:34:53Article 15: PEG capital budget (CASTUS system replacement)voted, passed · 2:36 long · capital, technology
22. ▶ 4:37:49Article 20: FY27 salary administration plan and 3% COLAvoted, passed · 2:30 long · contracts and unions, personnel
23. ▶ 4:40:59Article 21: firefighters union contractvoted, passed (amended to correct local number) · 3:24 long · contracts and unions, public safety
24. ▶ 4:44:23Article 22: municipal employees union contractvoted, passed · 2:37 long · contracts and unions
25. ▶ 4:47:00Article 23: DPW (Teamsters) union contractvoted, passed · 3:34 long · contracts and unions, roads and dpw
26. ▶ 4:50:34Article 24: TC Pacios operating/decommissioning funds and assessor special assistant; extended debate on food pantry relocation and building condition; amendment ruled out of scopevoted, passed 116-24; amendment ruled out of scope · 42:59 long · facilities, budget, legal
27. ▶ 5:34:14Article 25: OPEB trust fund transfer, debate on deferring to preserve flexibilityvoted, passed 76-59 · 9:37 long · budget, free cash, retirement
28. ▶ 5:43:51Article 26: compensated absences reserve fund transfervoted, passed · 2:27 long · budget, free cash
29. ▶ 5:46:18Article 27: 300th anniversary committee funding and presentation of planned eventsvoted, passed · 11:05 long · budget
30. ▶ 5:57:23Article 28: general stabilization fund transfervoted, passed · 1:30 long · budget, free cash
31. ▶ 5:58:53Article 29: health insurance special purpose stabilization fund transfervoted, passed · 1:16 long · budget, health insurance, free cash
32. ▶ 6:00:09Article 30: vacation accrual system transition and buyout (two motions)both motions voted, passed · 13:24 long · personnel, free cash, budget
33. ▶ 6:13:33Article 31: assistant town manager salary grade and HR director retitlevoted, passed 75-32 · 2:38 long · personnel, hiring, budget
34. ▶ 6:16:11Article 32: town meeting warrant notice bylaw change (mailed booklet to postcard/opt-in)voted, passed 85-24 · 13:29 long · policy, town meeting
35. ▶ 6:29:40Article 33: transfer of Kids Kingdom care/custody from school committee to select boardvoted, passed 100-9 (2/3) · 13:26 long · facilities, seniors
36. ▶ 6:43:27Article 34: new open space committee bylaw; cemetery commission representation discussionvoted, passed 99-4 · 8:59 long · policy
37. ▶ 6:52:26Article 35: sewer bylaw waiver language amendmentvoted, passed 91-3 · 3:46 long · water sewer, policy

What the captions could not carry

• Exact vote tally on article 5 was rendered as '231-836' in captions, likely a transcription error for a smaller opposition count.
• Several roll-call finance-committee first names (Mike, Anna/J, Tom, Jean/James) are ambiguous or inconsistently rendered across articles.
• Precise dollar figures in several motions (e.g., article 10's '$49,557,97.80', article 23's '$51,46.33', article 30's underlying totals) appear garbled by the caption model.
• The full text and final wording of several bylaw amendments printed in the warrant booklet (articles 4, 32, 34, 35) is not read out in full audible detail.
• Names of several public speakers were not clearly captioned (e.g., 'Carol' at 662 Page Street, 'Paul' of Free Town Road, 'Hall' of Pine Grove Road) and street numbers are often unclear.
• The precise vote count on some smaller procedural roll calls (e.g., finance committee sub-votes 4-1-1, 4-2) could not be fully confirmed against the visual results shown on screen.
• Long stretches of the article 24 (TC Pacios/food pantry) exchange between residents, town counsel and officials overlap and are hard to attribute precisely to individual speakers.

Written 2026-09-19 by scripts/write_recording_minutes.py (sonnet) from sources/data/youtube-transcripts/town-meeting/2026-05-02-F0viGd2yFSU.json — 9,460 caption segments, sha256 d40119114be9…. All recorded meetings.