What is the most accurate adjective to describe Bedford’s 2023 Annual Town Meeting warrant? “Subsistence?” “Rudimentary?” “Uncomplicated?”
How about “minimalist?”
Town Meeting opens Monday at 6:30 p.m. in Buckley Auditorium, Bedford High School. And there’s a chance it could adjourn sine die (indefinitely) a few hours later.
The 22-article warrant contains only a single initiative – the Planning Board’s proposal to amend the zoning bylaw, in order to facilitate the construction of and conversion to two-family residences. This is the final article on the warrant and will require a minimum two-thirds vote for approval.
Everything else is about financing the next year of town government and education beginning July 1 – the operating budget, capital and community preservation projects, and a variety of interlocking items that comprise the total financial package, from ambulance enterprise fund to the budget for cable TV’s public access, from adding to the stabilization fund to spending to promote the 300th anniversary of Bedford’s founding.
The most dramatic feature of this year’s annual meeting may be the start time, which, for the first time, is 6:30 p.m. The Select Board approved the earlier start in step with a proposal to prohibit moving new articles after 10:15 p.m. Both times are 30 minutes earlier than previous years.
If the end of the warrant is in sight, Town Meeting members may vote to waive the 10:15 p.m. deadline rather than adjourn until 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
A year ago, Town Meeting approved site acquisition and design funds for a fire station. Voters fell short of the required two-thirds minimum to acquire easements on the route of the Minuteman Bikeway extension; a Special Town Meeting attended by more than 1,000 voters in November sealed that outcome.
Those sessions followed two consecutive Annual Town Meetings held on Sabourin Field to minimize exposure to Covid-19.
Upcoming annual meetings will face significant proposed appropriations, not only to build the fire station but also for upgrading the schools’ heating equipment, as well as infrastructure upgrades on the Middlesex Turnpike corridor.
So next week’s event is almost an interlude, like a palate cleanser between memorable culinary adventures.
The 22 articles aren’t the fewest in modern times – the 2004 annual meeting faced only 21 articles. But those included a few headliners: a proposed zoning overlay district; changes to dog regulations; and a resolution supporting the retention of Hanscom Air Force Base.
Conversely, the 2023 warrant is almost entirely business. It’s wrong to call it nondiscretionary – there’s no requirement to add money to a stabilization fund or an account to offset future payments toward retired employees’ health benefits. The expression town officials use to describe the various measures is “continuing operations.”
Essential financial articles – the budget, the salary bylaw amendments, the revolving-fund authorizations, capital projects – are the core of a network of proposals that emerge from many weeks of financial planning.
Many of the 28 capital items renew annual expenses – school furniture, computer equipment, flooring and painting; town vehicle replacement. There are a few new capital proposals, including $150,000 for a tree master plan and ash tree removal and replacement.
Even some of the six bonded items are routine – a new dump truck, ongoing sewer pump station rehabilitation., and a salt-storage shed at 108 Carlisle Road, the former landfill.
A new proposal is for execution of the first phase of a school safety and security study, $350,000 bonded for door access controls, panic alarms, and a mass notification system.
There’s a single general bylaw amendment proposal, to establish three new revolving funds.
Even the proposed community preservation fund expenditures for fiscal 2024 are modest. Other than bond installments, the largest expenditure is $152,000 for work to ensure the integrity of the ponds at the Buehler conservation area.
Town Meeting will open with the annual posting of the colors by the Bedford Minutemen, followed by a memorial resolution acknowledging town and school employees and volunteer committee members who died over the past 12 months.
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