HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-05-18 Board of Selectmen PacketTO: Board of Selectmen
Date: Friday, May 14, 2010
Re; Referendum for Special Election
On May 6, 2010 Town Meeting voted the following under Article 13:
Move that the Town vote to accept the provisions of Massachusetts General Laws Chapter
64L, § 2(a) to impose a local sales tax upon the sale of restaurant meals originating within the
Town by a vendor at the rate of .75 percent of the gross receipts of the vendor from the sale,of
restaurant meals to take effect July 1, 2010.
On May 12, 2010, (within the 7 business days allowed by charter) the Board of Registrars
certified a referendum petition under Section 2-15 of the Reading Home Rule Charter for a
special election for the voters to consider whether or not to approve the action of the 2010
Annual Town Meeting under Article 13, which accepted the provisions of MG.L. c.64L, section
2(a) imposing a .75% local meals tax.
While 4 versions of the petition containing slightly differing language were submitted (the
wording follows), the Secretary of State's office, in consultation with the Town Counsel, has
advised that all petitions had in common the request to have a referendum vote on Town
Meeting's acceptance of the local meals tax under Article 13, and therefore have advised the
Board of Registrars to certify the petition.. A total of 499 valid signatures were required to meet
the referendum requirements, and the petitions contained 637 valid signatures.
Registered voters have until 5 PM on Friday, May 14 to file a written objection to the petition -
these may be filed at Town Hall at the Town Clerk's office. If there are any written objections
filed, the Board of Registrars then has 4 business days to hold a hearing on the objections. A
meeting of the Board of Registrars has been scheduled for May 17, if needed.
The Board of Selectmen has until Saturday, May 22 to set the election date, and is scheduled to
meet on May 18, 2010 regarding this matter. The election must then take place within 30
days of the certification of the petition.
Pursuant to Section 2-15 of the Charter, no action of the Town Meeting shall be reversed unless
at least twenty percent (20%) of the eligible voters vote in the election, and the ballot question
must be determined by a majority vote of the voters voting at the Special Election. The local
meals tax was to become effective on July 1, 2010 but as a result of the referendum petition
0 Page 1 '
and Special Election, the local meals tax will not go into effect, if approved, until October 1,
2010.
The following is a portion of the Reading Home Rule Charter, with all revisions through April,
Section 2-15: Referendum Procedures
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.
If, within said seven (7) days, a 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-be submitted to the voters, then the operation
of such 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 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 question. If, however, a
regular or special election is to be held not more than sixty (60) days following the date the
petition is filed, the Board of Selectmen may provide that any such question be presented to the
voters at that election.
Any question so submitted shall be determined by a majority vote of the voters voting in said
election, but no action of the Town Meeting shall be reversed unless at least twenty percent
(209,6) of the eligible voters vote ' in such election. Each question so submitted shall be in the form
of the following question 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 (brief description of
the substance of the vote in substantially the same language and form in which it was stated
when presented by the Moderator to the Town Meeting, as appears in the records of the Clerk of
the meeting) "?
The wording differences in the petitions that were submitted that I can identify are:
Version I "We the undersigned registered voters of Reading Massachusetts, hereby submit
this referendum petition of Article 13 of the 2010 Annual Town Meeting Warrant to ask: shall the
Town vote to approve the action of the representative Town Meeting whereby It was voted to
accept the provisions of Massachusetts General Law Chapter 64L section 2(a) to impose a local
sales tax upon the sale of restaurant meals originating within the Town by a vendor at. the rate of
.75 percent of the gross receipts of the vendor from the sale of restaurant meals?"
• Page 2
Version 2 "We the undersigned registered voters, of Reading Massachusetts, hereby submit
this referendum petition of Article 13 of the 2010 Annual Town Meeting Warrant to repeal the
vote of Town Meeting accepting the provisions of Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 64L
section 2(a) to impose a local sales tax upon the sale of restaurant meals originating within the
Tom by a— vendor —at-. the —rate—of-.75- percent of -the gross receipts of -the —vendor from -the sale -of
restaurant meals?"
Version 3 "We the undersigned registered voters of Reading Massachusetts, hereby submit
this referendum petition of Article 13 of the 2010 Annual Town Meeting Warrant to repeal
approve (note - the word "repeal" is crossed out and the word "approve" is written in) the
vote of the Representative (note - the. words "the Representative" are written in)Town
Meeting accepting the provisions of Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 64L section 2(a) to
impose a local sales tax upon the sale of restaurant meals originating within the Town, by a
vendor at the rate of .75 percent of the gross receipts of the vendor from the sale of restaurant
meals?"
Version 4 "We the undersigned registered voters of Reading Massachusetts, hereby submit
this referendum petition of Article 13 of the 2010 Annual Town Meeting Warrant to repeal
accept (note - the word "repeal" is crossed out and the word "accept" is written in) the
vote of the Representative (note - the words "the Representative" are. written in)Town
Meeting accepting the provisions of Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 64L section 2(a) to
impose a local sales tax upon the sale of restaurant meals originating within the Town by a
vendor at the rate of .75 percent of the gross receipts of the vendor from the sale of restaurant
meals?"
Based on the *above information the following draft motion is offered for the Board of
Selectmen's consideration:
Move that the Board of Selectmen of the Town of Reading calls a Special Election pursuant to a
petition filed pursuant to Section 2 -15 of the Reading Home Rule Charter, amended through April
2006, to be held at.the Hawkes Field House at Reading Memorial High School 62 Oakland * Road on
Tuesday, June 15, 2010 from 7:00 am until 8:00 PM. The sole item on the ballot at the election shall
read:
"Shall the Town vote to approve the action of the representative Town Meeting whereby it was
voted to accept the provisions of Massachusetts General Law Chapter 64L, Section 2(a) to
impose a local sales tax upon the sale of restaurant meals originating within the Town by a
vendor at the rate of .75 percent of the gross receipts of the vendor from the sale of restaurant
meals? Yes No
0 Page 3
Page 1 of I
Schena, Paula
-From: Hechenbleikner-; -Peter - - - - - - -- - -- -- - -- -- - - - - -- - - -- --- - - - - -- - -- — - - - - -- - --
Sent: Friday, May 14, 2010 2:00 PM
To: Schena, Paula
Subject: FW: Objection to meals -tax repeal vote
To go with Tuesday's packet
Peter I. Hechenbleikner
Town Manager
Town of Reading
16 Lowell Street
Reading MA 01867
phone: 781 -942 -9043
fax 781 - 942 -9071
web www,readingma.gov
email townmanager@ci.reading.ma.us
Please let us know how we are doing - fill out our brief customer service survey at ham: / /readingma-
survey.virtualtownhall. net /survey /sid /de8bdaa16db9e6b4/
From: David Talbot [mailto:talbot.david @gmail.com]
Sent: Friday, May 14, 2010 11:57 AM
To: Reading - Selectmen
Subject: Objection to meals -tax repeal vote .
Dear Board Members,
I object to the Town organizing a costly special election to consider a repeal of the meals tax. I am told
that with enough opposition to this misguided move, it might be possible to avert such a wasteful and
counterproductive process.
Town Meeting voted this tax overwhelmingly in the face of a big budget gap, and will have an
opportunity to repeal it in three years.
If this email can be counted in some way against holding such a special election, please add it to the list.
If there is another means by which I can help stop this effort, please advise.
Sincerely,
David Talbot,
Precinct 5
5/14/2010