Published July 2, 2020

THE UPSIDE of a socially-distanced Town Meeting? There’s plenty of leg room, as Jeff Strong and the 48 other voters in the NRHS gymnasium discovered Monday night. (Maureen Doherty Photo)

By MAUREEN DOHERTY

NORTH READING — The inaugural socially distanced Annual Town Meeting went off without a hitch Monday night as voters acted on the entire 24-article warrant in under 40 minutes. That has to be a record for North Reading voters.

In fact, it took less time to work through the articles than it must have taken the entire buildings and grounds crew to set up the chairs and tables spaced precisely six feet apart in the NRHS gymnasium. Or for this crew to set up the long line of orange cones and buckets that stretched out every six feet along the school’s Main Street in an effort to channel each voter to one of four check-in tables where staff members, under the purview of Town Clerk Barbara Stats, were separated from the public by Plexiglas dividers and handed out color-coded “voter” or “non-voter” stickers rather than the traditional silk ribbons with straight pins after checking their current voter status.

There were also several Town Hall employees on hand who volunteered to usher voters to their seats or answer any questions they may have had about this new set-up.

Over the past few months several hours had been spent during several virtual Select Board and Board of Health meetings debating the merits of whether the meeting should be held inside the gymnasium or outside on Arthur J. Kenney Field. In the end, Town Moderator John Murphy took their recommendations under advisement and made the decision that he felt it could be held safely indoors. In doing so, he sided with the majority of the Select Board versus the advice of the Board of Health, which opted to recommend the outdoor setting.

FAMILY SEATING. Sarah Bustin (left) and her mom, Kathy O’Donnell-Bustin, made use of the pairs of chairs set up in gymnasium and interspersed between single chairs, all of which were arranged at least six feet apart to accommodate voters at Town Meeting Monday. (Maureen Doherty Photo)

As the luck of the draw would have it, following a very dry spring, the rain on Monday and Tuesday night would have proven problematic for an outdoor venue. But just in case neither the indoor nor the outdoor Town Meeting could have taken place, the necessary paperwork had been set in motion by the finance department to move forward with a 1/12th budget to get the town through the beginning of a new fiscal year, which began Wednesday. Such a budget would have been 1/12th of the current FY20 budget plus any contractual obligations made during the current fiscal year, such as union contracts.

The downside to Monday’s Town Meeting was the lack of voter participation. Only 49 registered voters participated, according to the Town Clerk, and this figure included members of boards and committees that were present. An additional 18 non-voting visitors were present in the room, including staff and media, for a total of 67 people in a room set up to accommodate far more participants. Everyone in the gymnasium wore a mask or face covering and the Middle School cafeteria was set up for anyone who could not wear a mask.

Now this is all water under the bridge. The town has a valid and balanced budget for FY2021 that department heads and committees have been preparing since late fall and debating over since February.

SELECT BOARD MEMBERS Liane Gonzalez and Vincenzo Stuto (both standing) chat with voters prior to Monday night’s first-ever socially-distanced Town Meeting. (Maureen Doherty Photo)

FY21 budget passes

The FY2021 operating budget of $77,003,665 breaks down to $29,554,978 for general government expenses; $33,324,686 in education expenses (which includes $32,593,216 for town schools with the balance paying for the town’s share of its assessments for students who attend both Northeast Metro Tech and Essex Tech); $6,219,203 in enterprise funds for both Parks and Recreation and the Hillivew; and debt service of $7,904,789.

These totals were amended from the published warrant due to additional new growth funds discovered after the warrant went to press. These additional funds enabled a digital learning specialist position to be restored to the town’s education budget of $66,438; replaced $50,000 that would have been needed from Free Cash to fund the DPW capital expenditure budget; and eliminated $150,000 in funding from the OPEB Trust Fund, and instead funded the pensions and benefits by “raising and appropriating” such funding.

JOHN MURPHY
Town Moderator

The budget was unanimously agreed upon by the Select Board, Finance Committee and School Committee. It was voted as two motions for available funds and debt service. The debt service required a two-thirds vote, therefore the $7,904,789 was voted separately to “raise and appropriate and transfer” this sum of money to meet this obligation. The operating budget required only a simple majority. Both passed unanimously.

The capital budget under Article 15 also passed with one amendment from the printed warrant — a replacement F-350 pickup truck for the Water Department was funded by a transfer. of $53,000 from the Water Infrastructure Stabilization Fund.

Other capital expenditures funded under Article 15 include the following: Funded through the Hillview Enterprise Fund: Reel Grinder ($35K), Fairway aerator ($35K), Greens Tri-Plex Mower ($40K), Fairway Mower ($55K), Rough Mower ($55K); Funded through a Water Enterprise Bond: Water Distribution System Upgrades ($200K) and Replace Takeuchi Excavator ($110K); Funded through Ambulance Receipts Reserve Fund: Stretcher Load System Retrofit ($36,560); Funded through a bond: Replace Boiler for Town Hall, which could be re-used if building is replaced in future ($350K); and Funded through Free Cash: two replacement F-350 pickup trucks at $50K each, one for schools and one for DPW-Highway.