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Home My WebLink About2013-04-29 Annual Town Meeting MinutesANNUAL TOWN MEETING Reading Memorial High School April 29, 2013 Preforming Arts Center The meeting was called to order by the Moderator, Alan E. Foulds, at 7:37 PM, there being a quorum present. Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag was said by the members of Town Meeting. ARTICLE 24 John Arena, Board of Selectmen moved that the Town vote to amend Article 2 -15 of the Reading Home Rule Charter as follows (language with all ketHrengh shows deletions / words in bold denotes new language): No final affirmative vote of a Town Meeting on any Warrant Article shall be operative until after the expiration of seven (7) days following the dissolution of the Town Meeting except the following: (a) a vote to adjourn or dissolve, (b) votes appropriating money for the payment of notes or bonds of the Town and interest becoming due within the then current fiscal year, (c) votes for the temporary borrowing of money in anticipation of revenue, or (d) a vote declared by preamble by a two- thirds vote of Town Meeting to be an emergency measure necessary for the immediate preservation of the peace, health, safety or convenience of the Town. If a referendum petition is not filed within the said seven (7) days, the votes of the Town Meeting shall then become operative. (a) Referendum Petition - If, within said seven (7) days, a referendum petition signed by not less than three (3) percent of the voters certified by the Registrars of Voters containing their names and addresses is filed with the Board of Selectmen requesting that any question of affirmative vote of Town Meeting be submitted to the voters in the form of a ballot question, such ballot question to be in the form required in (b) herein, to the voters, then the operation of the Town Meeting vote shall be further suspended pending its determination as provided below. The Board of Selectmen shall, within ten (10) days after the filing of such referendum petition, call a Special Election that shall be held within thirty (30) days or such longer period as may be required by law after issuing the call, for the purpose of presenting to the voters any such ballot question. If, however, a regular or Special Election is to be held not more than sixty (60) days following the date the referendum petition is filed, the Board of Selectmen may provide that any such ballot question be presented to the voters at that Election. (b) Form of Referendum Petition /Ballot Question - Each ballot question submitted shall appear at the top of each referendum petition and shall be presented in the following form which shall be placed on the official ballot: - "Shall the Town vote to approve the action of the representative Town Meeting whereby it was voted on (insert date of town meeting) to (insert complete language of the vote in the same form in which it was stated when presented by the Moderator to the Town Meeting, and as It appears in the records of the Clerk of the meeting) "? The form of the referendum petition shall be In conformance with this section. The circulator(s) of the referendum petition may make additional copies of the petition form, but such copies must be an exact duplicate thereof. The petition form may not be altered in any way. No extraneous - markings, such as underlines, highlighting, erasures, marking out or insertion of words, or other Information, are allowed on any area of the petition form. Any such extraneous markings on, or alterations of the petition form, or copies of the petition form that are not exact duplicates, will result in the invalidation of all signatures contained on that petition form. Extraneous markings do not include signatures or addresses. Each petition form shall include language informing voters that additional markings will disqualify the signatures on the petition form; that for their signature to be valid, they must be a registered voter of the Town of Reading; that their signature shall be written as they are registered; that they should not sign the petition more than once; and that if they are prevented by physical disability from writing, that they may authorize some person to write their name and residence in their presence. The back of each petition form where signature lines appear shall include the following instruction: "ATTENTION VOTERS: Before signing, read signer Information on the other side ". Upon request, the Town Clerk shall provide a Town referendum petition /ballot question form with the final article language voted at Town Meeting. The Town Clerk shall deliver A) sufficient paper copies or B) an electronic version by email at the requestor's option. Provided forms shall be deemed compliant with form conformance requirements. In addition to the certification of signatures on the petition form, the Board of Registrars of Voters shall examine the petition forms for extraneous markings, and determine whether they are exact copies. Background: A) The proposed amendments to Reading Home Rule Charter Section 2 -15, Referendum Procedure aligns Reading's Referendum Petition language with State of Massachusetts law requiring the governing authority to provide petitioners with a proper blank petition form to avoid variant or invalid petitions being returned. B) The amendment also aligns the petitioner filing days requirement to the Town Hall's ability to accept the petitioner filing. The existing `business days' definition is misaligned to the scheduling of Town Hall closures during the business week. This proposed definition is presently used in Reading General Bylaw Section 4.1.5.3 for similar reasons. Following discussion with the Bylaw Committee, the proponent of this article has agreed to not move forward with the changes to the definition of the time to act, deferring instead to take a more comprehensive look at that issue in the Charter and General Bylaw at the Subsequent Town Meeting. If passed by a 2/3 vote at this Town Meeting, this Charter amendment, and any Subsequent Town Meeting Charter Amendment addressing the question of calculation of timing and definition of "day" would appear on the ballot of the 2014 Town Election. Finance Committee Report: No report Bylaw Committee Report: The Bylaw Committee recommends the subject matter of Article 24 by a vote of 3 -0 -0. The Bylaw Committee although in favor of the entire subject matter of the article is recommending approval at this Town Meeting of the section of the article requiring the governing authority to provide petitioners with a proper blank form to avoid variant or invalid petitions being returned. The Bylaw Committee has been informed that the part of the article addressing the aligning of the petitioner days should be delayed at this Town Meeting and taken up at the subsequent Town Meeting in November. The Bylaw Committee although fully in favor of this section of the article does agree that it should be delayed until the Subsequent Town Meeting. 2/3 Vote Required 123 Voted in the affirmative 13 Voted in the negative 154 Town Meeting Members in Attendance Motion Carried ARTICLE 25 James Bonazoli, Board of Selectmen moved to see if the Town will vote, pursuant to Section 2 -6 of the Reading Home Rule Charter, to declare the seats of certain Town Meeting Members to be vacant and remove certain described persons from their position as Town Meeting Members for failure to take the oath of office within 30 days following the notice of election or for failure to attend one half or more of the Town Meeting sessions during the previous year, or take any other action with respect thereto: Member Remove from Town Meetina = No Remain Town Meetina Member = Yes Precinct 1 Marc Pinette No Thomas J Ryan Yes Motion Carried Precinct 2 Walter Carroll No David Wayne Decker No Christine Ford Yes Priscilla Ryan No William C Ryan No George Snow Yes Motion Carried Precinct 3 Michael A Bertone Yes Norman W Blanchard Yes Rachelle Garcia Yes Lawrence A Hurley Yes Michael J McDade Yes John P Tuttle No Motion Carried Precinct 4 None Precinct 5 Megan Boissonneau No Precinct 6 Christopher R Campbell No Donna L Dudley Yes Frank Kyle No Valarie Perry No Motion Carried Precinct 7 Darlene C Porter No Precinct 8 None Backaround:The Reading Home Rule Charter provides for the removal by Town Meeting of Town Meeting Members who did not get sworn in within 30 days of being elected or appointed, or who did not attend at least half of the Town Meeting sessions during the previous year. There are 22 members who meet these criteria. The remaining Town Meeting Members from Precincts 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7 and 8 will be asked to meet in a caucus before this Article is taken up, and to evaluate the particular circumstances of each of these situations for the listed Town Meeting members within their precinct. The affected precincts will then make a recommendation to Town Meeting as to whether the member should be removed. Finance Committee Report: No report Bylaw Committee Report: No report Entire Motion Carried as Listed Above ARTICLE 11 David Greenfield, Finance Committee moved to see If the Town will vote to determine how much money the Town will appropriate by borrowing, or from the tax levy, or transfer from available funds, or otherwise, for the operation of the Town and its government for Fiscal Year 2014 - beginning July 1, 2013, or take any other action with respect thereto. Move that the Town raise by borrowing, or from the tax levy, or transfer from available funds, and appropriate the sum of: $90.719.561 for the operation of the Town and its Government for Fiscal Year 2014, beginning July 1, 2013. Move that the Town approve and appropriate the proposed FY 2014 Budget as presented for Line Item 899 (Benefits): $13.565.050 to be provided as follows: Line B99 - $1,050,000 from Free Cash; $350,000 from Overlay and the balance from property taxes, State aid and non - property tax local receipts Move that the Town approve and appropriate the proposed FY 2014 Budget as presented for Line Item C99 (Capital): $2.098.000 to be provided as follows: Line C99 - $200,000 from the Sale of Real Estate Fund, $257,000 from the Smart Growth 40R Stabilization Fund and the balance from property taxes, State aid and non - property tax local receipts Move that the Town approve and appropriate the proposed FY 2014 Budget as presented for Line Item D99 (Debt): $4.368.000 to be provided as follows: Line D99 - $817,305 from MSBA construction grant and the balance from property taxes, State aid and non - property tax local receipts Move that the Town approve and appropriate the proposed FY 2014 Budget as presented for Line Item E99 (Vocational Education): $341.250 to be provided as follows: Line E99 - from property taxes, State aid and non - property tax local receipts Move that the Town approve and appropriate the proposed FY 2014 Budget as presented for Line Item 392 (FINCOM Reserve Fund), $150.000 to be provided as follows: Line 392 - from property taxes, State aid and non - property tax local receipts Move that the Town approve and appropriate the proposed FY 2014 Budget as presented for Line Item G91 (Town Administration Wages); $229480 and Line Item G92 (Town Administration Expenses): $518.250 to be provided as follows: Lines G91 and G92 - from property taxes, State aid and non - property tax local receipts Move that the Town approve and appropriate the proposed FY 2014 Budget as presented for Line Item H91 (Accounting Wages), $1158.630 and Line Item H92 (Accounting Expenses): $2.300 to be provided as follows: Lines H91 and H92 - from property taxes, State aid and non - property tax local receipts Move that the Town approve and appropriate the proposed FY 2014 Budget as presented for Line Item I91 (Finance Wages)• $1,062.100 and Line Item I92 (Finance Expenses): $610.900 to be provided as Lines I91 and I92 - from property taxes, State aid and non - property tax local receipts Move that the Town approve and appropriate the proposed FY 2014 Budget as presented be provided as follows: Lines K91 and K92 - from property taxes, State aid and non - property tax local receipts Move that the Town approve and appropriate the proposed FY 2014 Budget as presented for Line Item L91 (Library Wages): $1.040.442 and Line Item L92 (Library Expenses): $284.000 to be provided as follows: Lines L91 and L92 - from property taxes, State aid and non - property tax local receipts Move that the Town approve and appropriate the proposed FY 2014 Budget as presented for Line Item M91 (Public Works Wages): $2.458.304 and Line Item M92 (Public Works Expenses): $837,750 to be provided as follows: Line M91 - $50,000 from the Reading Ice Arena to support Recreation wages; Line M92 - $25,000 from the Sale of Cemetery lots to support Cemetery expenses; and the balance of Lines M91 and M92 from property taxes, State aid and non - property tax local receipts Motion made by Bill Brown, Precinct 8 to amend line Item M92 by deleting DPW account; Line # 142 15540 - 540030 EDC Flowers so that M92 shall read $ 827,750 Motion to Amend Does Not Carry Move that the Town approve and appropriate the proposed FY 2014 Budget as presented for Line Item M93 (Public Works - Snow & Ice Expenses): $625.000: Line Item M94 (Public Works - Street Lighting Expenses): $200000 and Line Item M95 (Public Works - Rubbish Collection & Disposal Expenses): $1.490.000 to be provided as follows: Lines M93, M94 and M95 - from property taxes, State aid and non-property tax local receipts Move that the Town approve and appropriate the proposed FY 2014 Budget as presented for Line Item N91 (Public Safety Wages) $8.477.625 and Line Item N92 (Public Safety Expenses), $381.425 to be provided as follows: Lines N91 and N92 - from property taxes, State aid and non - property tax local receipts Move that the Town approve and appropriate the proposed FY 2014 Budget as presented for Line Item U99 (School Department): $38.701.365 to be provided as follows: Line U99 - from property taxes, State aid and non - property tax local receipts Move that the Town approve and appropriate the proposed FY 2014 Budget as presented for Line Item V99 (Town Facilities), $704.633 to be provided as follows: Line V99 - from property taxes, State aid and non - property tax local receipts Move that the Town approve and appropriate the proposed FY 2014 Budget as presented for Line Item W99 (Water Enterprise Fund): $5.011.529 to be provided as follows: Lines W99 - from user fees and other charges Move that the Town approve and appropriate the proposed FY 2014 Budget as presented for Line Item X99 (Sewer Enterprise Fund), $5.741.407 to be provided as follows: Line X99 - $75,000 from Sewer Reserves and the balance from user fees and other charges Move that the Town approve and appropriate the proposed FY 2014 Budget as presented for Line Item Y99 (Storm Water Enterprise Fund): $392.846 to be provided as follows: Line Y99 - $30,000 from Storm Water Reserves and the balance from user fees and other charges Move that the Town approve and appropriate the proposed FY 2014 Budget, exclusive of State and county assessments: 490.719.561 as proposed • Representing the total of all motions made under ARTICLE 11 as amended • Funds are to be provided as set forth In said motions as amended Backaround: Please see the Report of the Warrant for full details of the FY 2014 budget. Finance Committee Report: Please see the Report of the Warrant for the votes by the Finance Committee for line items in the FY 2014 budget. The Finance Committee recommends the subject matter of Article 11 as explained by these votes at their meeting on March 27, 2013. Bylaw Committee Report: No report Presentation given by: • Peter Hechenbleikner - See Attached • Bob LeLacheur - See Attached • John Doherty - See Attached • Mary Delai - See Attached After discussion a vote was taken: 2/3 Vote Required 138 Voted in the affirmative 0 Voted in the negative 154 Town Meeting Members in Attendance Motion Carried ARTICLE 3 Move to choose all other necessary Town Officers and Special Committees and determine what Instructions shall be given Town Officers and Special Committees, and to see what sum the Town will vote to appropriate by borrowing or transfer from available funds, or otherwise, for the purpose of funding Town Officers and Special Committees to carry out the instructions given to them, or take any other action with respect thereto. Backaround: This Article appears on the Warrant of all Town Meetings. There are no known Instructional Motions at this time. The Town Moderator requires that all proposed Instructional Motions be submitted to the Town Clerk in advance so that Town Meeting Members may be "warned" as to the subject of an Instructional Motion in advance of the motion being made. Instructional Motions are normally held until the end of all other business at Town Meeting. Finance Committee Report: No report Bylaw Committee Report: No report Instructional Motions Submitted: Motion made by Angela Binda, Precinct 5 to move that Town Meeting instruct the Community Planning and Development to rewrite zoning bylaws to prohibit electronic billboards from being erected in the Town of Reading and to have a warrant article to that effect ready for the November 2013 Subsequent Town Meeting. Motion Carried Motion made by Ron D'Addano, Precinct 6 to move that when the new library renovation is complete that the Selectmen and Town Manager consider extending the library hours on Thursday from 1 PM to 9 PM to 9 AM to 9 PM. Motion Carried Motion made by Robert Lynch, Precinct 6 to move to bring to Town Meeting the subject of microphones being brought to members when they are recognized to speak. Motion Does Not Carry Motion made by Bill Brown, Precinct 8 to move that a "Home Rule Petition" committee be formed to review the Town of Reading Home Rule Charter, said committee shall have one Town Meeting member from each precinct to be appointed by the Moderator and the Moderator who shall server as the Chair. Said committee shall report its findings and recommendations to the annual Town Meeting of 2014 or may be extended until the fall Town Meeting of 2015 by a majority vote of Town Meeting. Said committee shall convene under the rules of the Open Meeting Laws. Motion Carried lames Bonazoli, Board of Selectmen moved to adjourn the 2013 Annual Town Meeting sine die at 10:29 PM with 154 Town Meeting Members in attendance. 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