When Town Meeting convenes in May, Town Meeting members will consider nine citizen petitions, ranging from a referendum on naming town assets to one seeking to move the deadline for petitions closer to Town Meeting.
The deadline for submitting the petitions was Jan. 9.
According to former Town Moderator Michael Widmer, who held the post for two decades, this is the largest number he has seen. Town Clerk Ellen O’Brien Cushman confirmed it was the most she’s seen since taking office in 2010.
Current moderator Michael Crowley is sponsoring one of the petitions, a move he admitted was uncommon for the moderator.
Crowley’s petition seeks to make hybrid and remote Town Meetings permanent fixtures in Belmont. To do that, the Select Board will have to make a special request to the state Legislature.
“This petition is about making sure our ability to meet this way is not temporary or fragile,” Crowley wrote in an email. “Hybrid Town Meeting has proven that it works, and it has strengthened local democracy.”
While the volume of citizen petitions is unusual, Crowley called the process vital to the Town Meeting process.
“From my perspective, the Citizen Petition process is an important part of our Town Meeting process and local democracy,” Crowley wrote.
Precinct 7 Town Meeting member Paul Joy filed six different petitions.
- A Home Rule petition to elect rather than appoint the planning board.
- Requiring an annual “State of Belmont” address covering financial summaries, capital project updates, and other relevant information.
- A non-binding resolution urging the state to increase aid to cities and towns.
- A mandatory annual independent audit and public presentation of the information.
- Creation of an annual report on the town’s revolving funds.
- Requiring fiscal impact statements and public hearings on zoning articles.
According to Joy, each of his proposals builds on existing state laws while addressing Belmont-specific needs.
Precinct 7 Town Meeting member Thomas Foley’s petition would shift the deadline for filing citizen petitions.
“I believe a January deadline to submit articles for the May Annual Town Meeting is simply
too early and unduly restrictive to Town Meeting’s ability to consider and act on issues in a timely manner and fulfill its legislative role,” Foley wrote in a letter to fellow members.
Finally, Precinct 5 Town Meeting member Tommasina Olsen has filed a petition aiming to clarify who has final say in naming town assets.
Stemming from the summer-long controversy over the naming of the new ice rink, Olsen’s petition would put who is responsible for the naming of town assets firmly in the hands of Town Meeting members. It would not apply to Belmont Public School assets.
The original ice rink was named for James “Skip” Viglirolo, who died in June. A group of residents, interested in keeping his name attached to the new facility, eventually petitioned for a special Town Meeting, which was held in July. Members at that meeting backed naming the rink for Viglirolo. Eventually, the Select Board settled on the Belmont Sports Complex, home of the Skip Viglirolo Rink, as the official name of the facility.
