Town Meeting members will consider 11 articles at the special Town Meeting opening on Nov. 16, including one to disband the municipal rink and library building committees and another to establish a stormwater enterprise fund.
A citizen petition on the warrant will round out the expected two-day meeting. The petition seeks permission for the Town Moderator to appoint an ad hoc committee composed of Town Meeting members, Warrant Committee members, residents, and the Human Resources director (or a designee) to prepare an updated job description of the town clerk’s responsibilities; conduct a market analysis of compensation for the position; recommend appropriate compensation for the clerk to the 2027 annual Town Meeting; and finally, propose a plan to periodically review and update the job responsibilities and compensation for the town clerk.
The petition has been a recurring conversation between the petitioners—Kathy Keohane and Michael Widmer—and the Select Board in recent months.
Prior to the citizen petition, two motions will be presented as part of Article 5 to disband two major building committees: the Library Building Committee (which was established by Town Meeting vote in November 2017) and the Municipal Skating Rink Building Committee (which was established by Town Meeting vote in June 2022). A majority vote will be required for each motion.
The vote comes several months after the two buildings opened to the public. Both articles were originally on the annual Town Meeting warrant in April but ultimately were pulled.
“They both have certificates of occupancy,” Select Board Chair Taylor Yates said. “That is the milestone that really signals the building is complete.”
Disbanding the committees does not prevent the town from paying any remaining invoices; it transitions maintenance responsibilities to the Facilities Department.
Another significant article on the warrant, Article 6, seeks to establish a Stormwater Enterprise Fund to account for the revenues, expenditures, capital costs, and other financial activities associated with the town’s stormwater management program. This warrant article is one of two the town plans to present—if Town Meeting approves it at the special Town Meeting this month, Town Meeting members will then be asked at the annual Town Meeting to approve a new Stormwater Bylaw and new stormwater budget, according to town officials.
As for zoning articles on the warrant, Article 8 seeks to amend the Inclusionary Housing bylaw, which aims to increase the town’s affordable housing stock.
According to the annotated warrant, the amendment increases the timeframe that counts as “development” from two years to five, tightening the loophole of splitting a project into smaller phases to avoid Inclusionary Zoning requirements.
Additionally, while developers can currently make a cash payment to the Belmont Housing Authority in lieu of building the affordable units, this amendment would limit the cash payment option to projects of six or fewer units. The amendments also include additional oversight to sales (ensuring units go to people who qualify for them), financing and transfers of affordable units.
“I think it’s based on the Housing Trusts’ experience over the last several years with projects,” Taylor said.
Article 9, meanwhile, seeks to amend the zoning bylaw to bring Belmont in line with the state law concerning zoning variances.
In other business, Article 2, Town Meeting will be asked to vote to transfer $1 million from free cash to the General Stabilization Fund for funding future needs, and another $1 million toward the Chenery Roof project, the final of three major projects to the school building.
Article 3 will ask members to appropriate $178,772 from fiscal year 2027 State Aid to the Belmont Public Schools, of which $90,000 will help fund a contract to acquire an additional school bus to support student transportation and $88,772 for Information Technology upgrades.
“We’re trying to use one-time funds for one-time things,” Select Board Vice Chair Matt Taylor said at a recent Select Board meeting for reviewing the warrant.
As always, Article 1 will include hearing reports from any town officers, departments, and committees. No reports are expected at the special Town Meeting on Nov. 16, scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. at the Belmont High School auditorium.
