Town Meeting Date in Limbo

Gridlocked by a mid-May vacation of one of its members, the town election, a high school musical that takes up the stage in the auditorium, incomplete figures from the finance committee, Memorial Day weekend, and the restrictions of the town charter, selectmen threw up their collective hands Wednesday in their attempt to set a date for Town Meeting. Two separate discussions during their regular meeting failed to settle the matter.

Over questions about the legality of the move, the board scheduled an emergency meeting for tonight, Thursday March 31, at 7 p.m., in the hopes they can somehow resolve the conflicts and set the date.
 
Problems arose when the finance committee stated they would not be ready for an early May meeting, partly because of a lag on the school side trying to calculate exactly what the "net school spending" numbers actually are - state requirements for spending on education for each community.

"Trying to understand that formula will make your eyes glaze over," said Town Manager Bill Ross, who also commented the figures on the town side are "pretty much ready."

The yearly high school musical is another hitch, scheduled for the first week of May. The two most likely weeks for the meeting in the middle of the month are out because board member George Dentino scheduled his vacation for those weeks. Dentino said he had asked the board, the school committee, and the finance committee if that time period would work back in December, because he had assumed Town Meeting would occur before town elections, this year on the 10th - a target the town has managed to miss on several occasions. The intent is to make sure the board members who actually put the budget and the warrant together get a chance to discuss it with voters before others are elected to the boards.

The board rejected the week of elections for Town Meeting, saying the Town Clerk's office just could not turn around from the election and be expected to put a Town Meeting together, even if it was held on a Thursday, two days later.

When board chairman Kevin Moran suggested the two weeks of Dentino's vacation might be the only available dates, Dentino reacted, saying, "This is the third time in five years I will be told I will miss Town Meeting."

"I specifically asked about when the numbers would be in - everybody agreed," he said. When he implied Moran did not care about the election dates because no one was running against him, Moran shot back, "You scheduled your vacation for two of the eligible three weeks we could have Town Meeting - you make it a personal thing, and it ticks me off."

An additional complicating factor is the ongoing search for a Town Accountant - in the absence of a full time person in that spot, the office has been struggling with part time help.

Memorial Day weekend makes the last Tuesday, the 31st, an improbable date, both because of the difficulty of getting a quorum the day after a long weekend, and the possibility of the meeting running into a second night. The Town Charter states Town Meeting must be completed by June 1.

Ross said he would check with the finance committee, the school committee, the Town Clerk's office, and Town Counsel before tonight's continued meeting.