For nine years, Town Moderator Mike Crowley was among the hundreds of Town Meeting members who sat in the audience as warrant articles were debated each spring and fall.
On Monday night, he’ll get to see how Town Meeting unfolds from an entirely new perspective—the stage of the Belmont High School auditorium. In April, Crowley was elected to assume the role vacated by longtime Town Moderator Mike Widmer.
“I think of it as an awesome responsibility,” Crowley said. “One always has questions about their ability to live up to everyone’s expectations, and frankly, as a newbie to the role of moderator, I expect that it won’t go perfectly … but I think between myself and the people I have there to support me, including town counsel and the town clerk, I will be fine. … I hope I live up to expectations.”
Beginning Monday, Town Meeting members will be asked to consider 20 articles on the Annual Town Meeting warrant, including a $166 million budget, several capital requests, and seven recommendations for Community Preservation Act funding. Meeting dates set aside to complete business include May 5, May 7, and May 12, with May 14 as an overflow date, according to Crowley. A special Town Meeting, then, is expected to be called May 21.
“In terms of the Annual Town Meeting warrant, I don’t think we have anything that’s too aggressive,” said Town Administrator Patrice Garvin. “A lot of them are standing articles that we generally have year over year.”
Among the items up for discussion are a citizen petition regarding the use of rodenticides, salaries for elected officials, and an amendment to the floodplain district zoning bylaw.
“That’s just to comply with state bylaw floodplain guidelines and requirements,” Garvin said.
Other articles include one seeking to establish expenditure limitations on revolving funds, and another seeking to approve a four-year term for financing school iPads.
Garvin anticipates the Community Preservation Committee recommendations will be among the articles generating the most discussion.
“I think people understand we’re limited on funds for CPC,” she said.
The Community Preservation Act, signed into law in 2000 and adopted by Belmont in 2010, allows the town to impose a 1.5% surcharge on local real estate taxes to provide a funding source for open space, community housing, and historic resources.
Whatever a community raises, the state matches.
In January, the committee voted on its recommendations for Town Meeting, resulting in seven projects.
Town Meeting Preparations
In recent weeks, Crowley has been part of planning meetings that included Garvin, Town Clerk Ellen Cushman O’Brien, Select Board Chair Elizabeth Dionne, town counsel, and members of various town departments, particularly the Information Technology department. Town Meeting will be held in person, but hybrid in that it’s accessible for those who prefer to remain remote, according to Crowley.
“One would perhaps think it wouldn’t be a challenge because we have done a hybrid Town Meeting before, and we have done a remote Special Town Meeting as recently as this past February,” Crowley said. “But there are challenges. We have a town IT department that’s almost turned over wholesale since our last attempt at hybrid under Mike Widmer.”
In general, Crowley said he is feeling ready for his first Town Meeting as moderator.
“Part of being ready is trying to familiarize yourself with everything that might possibly happen,” he said. “This includes some of the questions people might ask. That’s why I felt it was important to pay attention to the questions that were being asked at the League of Women Voters [Monday] night.”
Even the most routine articles can generate questions, he said, such as salaries for elected officials, or bylaws the town needs to update to align with state law, such as the article that seeks to amend the floodplain district zoning bylaw. People want to know how such changes might affect their property, he said.
In addition to the articles, Town Meeting members will hear from state Rep. Dave Rogers, according to Crowley.
Annual Town Meeting kicks off Monday, May 5 at 7 p.m. in the Belmont High School auditorium.