{"id":813,"date":"2010-05-27T02:54:12","date_gmt":"2010-05-27T06:54:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dandunn.org\/blog\/?p=813"},"modified":"2010-05-27T09:09:57","modified_gmt":"2010-05-27T13:09:57","slug":"town-meeting-10-session-10","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dandunn.org\/blog\/2010\/05\/town-meeting-10-session-10\/","title":{"rendered":"Town Meeting \u00e2\u20ac\u02dc10 Session 10"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>I take notes during Town Meeting. They are not official in any way. As I listen to people speak, I type notes. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m sure that, at times, I mishear or misunderstand the speaker, but my notes represent what I hear at the time. I then publish the notes every night after the meeting. I do go back and make a few edits as errors are pointed out to me.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>I do not try to reproduce my entire notes for this online version. Sometimes I relay a quote from a specific speaker. Most of the time I only summarize the discussion. At points I give a purely personal opinion; those are clearly labeled like this: <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Personal note<\/span>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>8:01 meeting called to order.  <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Attendance definitely looked sparse, but we had quorum.<\/span> Jane Howard played the national anthem on the piano.<\/p>\n<p>Town Moderator John Leone remarked that tonight might be the end of Town Meeting for &#8217;10.  He asked the people in the back of the room to return their\u00c2\u00a0chairs\u00c2\u00a0to the main body of the meeting, or they will not be counted.<\/p>\n<p>Announcements:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Harry McCabe &#8211; Those who would like the report of the Margaret Spengler Committee in writing should ask him for a copy.<\/li>\n<li>Janice Brodman &#8211; remarked on her first town meeting and thanked everyone for the\u00c2\u00a0professionalism of members, committees, and officials.<\/li>\n<li>Hugh McCrory &#8211; also said thank you.  Asked committee members to not terminate debate too quickly.<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"> I understand his point, but on the 10th night of town meeting, it&#8217;s easy to understand why people choose to terminate debate.  If we don&#8217;t cut things off, we&#8217;d be going back to work next week, too. In some ways, we need more concise speakers, not delayed termination. \u00c2\u00a0I can think of a couple speakers who need lessons in brevity!<\/span><\/li>\n<li>Al Tosti announced vacancies on FinComm for Precincts 6, 11,\u00c2\u00a0and\u00c2\u00a017.<\/li>\n<li>Josh Lobel said that the Vision2020 survey data will be up soon.<\/li>\n<li>Gordon Jamieson gave recylcing &#8220;party favors&#8221; on the chairs. Bags, maps, and stickers.<\/li>\n<li>Jack Hurd &#8211; 12th Annual Feast of the East will be on June 19 1-5PM.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Article 49 &#8211; Committees and Commissions.<\/strong> $17,000.  Approved.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Article 50 &#8211; Celebrations.<\/strong> $10,667.  Approved unanimously.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Article 61 &#8211; Miscellaneous<\/strong>.  $16,337.  Approved.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Article 62 &#8211; Scholarship Fund Expenses.<\/strong> No action.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Article 63 &#8211; Appropriation\/Pension Adjustment. <\/strong> $0  Approved.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Article 64 &#8211; Dallin School Area Sidewalks.<\/strong> Al Tosti made an amendment to change the language, but not the intent.  There was a question about how much land you can get for $1500 &#8211; the answer is only the tiny bits that are needed.  John Worden was concerned that the language was not clear enough and further language was added. There were questions about possible lawsuits.  The roads in question are public ways.  There was concern about whether or not the owners of the new sidewalks would know whether or not to shovel their walks. Approved 140-0. <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"> There was a bit of petty drama here as there was not a clear &#8220;no&#8221; heard when the moderator asked for nos. Finally there was a louder no, which forced a standing vote. \u00c2\u00a0The moderator then noted that Brian Lavalle was not in a seat, and therefore there were zero no votes. \u00c2\u00a0See the earlier announcement about seats &#8211; this was a test to see what the moderator would do about the people who are moving chairs around the back of the room.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Article 65 &#8211; Harry Barber Service Program.<\/strong> No action.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Article\u00c2\u00a066 &#8211; Minuteman Senior Services <\/strong>No action.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Article 67 -\u00c2\u00a0Social\u00c2\u00a0Worker II<\/strong> &#8211; $18,179.  Unanimous.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Article 68 &#8211; Traffic Supervisors. <\/strong> Jim Robilard Precinct 3 made a substitute motion to spend $250,000 and move the traffic supervisors to be a police unit.  He asked Rose Casazza to speak; she&#8217;s the president of the local representing the traffic supervisors.  She wants the budget to be transferred to the police department, but does not want to impact the current police budget.  She wants $250,000 to be taken from another budget.  She threatened a more expensive lawsuit if this is not done.  She talked about irresponsible drivers and unsupervised children.  She complained that the school administration does not give supervisors the management and respect that they deserved.  She said it is a public safety issue.  She talked about possible sources of the funds &#8211; various stability funds.  She ran out of time and the moderator asked her to stop.  Mike Healey supports the substitute motion.  Al Tosti reported that the Finance Committee voted no.  He said that we don&#8217;t have the money &#8211; he noted that most of the reserve funds Rose Casazza had cited were already being used this year. \u00c2\u00a0He noted that the reason this budget was moved to the school budget was because when it was under the police before, they collected unemployment, which makes it even more expensive. \u00c2\u00a0He said that if this passes, he will ask to reconsider the budgets and take this out of the school budget.  If that fails, he&#8217;ll ask to take it out of unencumbered fund, which will make next year&#8217;s budget even harder.  The schools budget had $220,000 for this originally &#8211; why is the request for $250,000? He noted that in the meetings and surveys the school committee did about spending priorities, the traffic supervisors were lower priorities.  He said that the responsibility for getting children to schools belongs to the parents, not the town.  <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">On that, the crowd started booing &#8211; people opposed to parental responsibility, I guess.<\/span> Traffic supervisors have the power to stop traffic.  Paul Schlictman argued that it&#8217;s a public safety issue, not a educational issue.  He said he wasn&#8217;t skilled in public safety, but he is in education.<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"> I don&#8217;t think that&#8217;s a great point &#8211; it&#8217;s not his skills that matter, it&#8217;s the Superintendent&#8217;s.  The Superintendent must be a manager of many skills, from education to physical plant to weather prediction to hall monitors to school security. \u00c2\u00a0Traffic supervisors is just one of many.<\/span> He started conflating the issue with people who park illegally.  Dean Carman asked a couple questions: Does the town meeting have the power to tell the Manager to hire these supervisors? \u00c2\u00a0The answer is no, town meeting can appropriate money, but the manager chooses what it&#8217;s for.  Can the union decline unemployment?  No, they can&#8217;t legally. Carman\u00c2\u00a0said that Town Meeting is a horrible place to resolve employee grievances.  The union and the School Department have a history, and we aren&#8217;t good at resolving that history.  Carman noted the finance committee asked the school\u00c2\u00a0superintendent\u00c2\u00a0and CFO if they wanted this transfer, and they were indifferent &#8211; but they wanted to keep the money. \u00c2\u00a0Carman said this is a budget issue, and if parents feel really strongly about this, they&#8217;ll get the elected school committee to act.  Clarissa Rowe is in favor of the substitute motion &#8211; she thinks its a public safety issue.  Maher said that this is not a feel-good decision &#8211; what we decide to fund here, we need to cut somewhere else.  Gordon Jamieson &#8211; we&#8217;re forced to live within the choices of our leaders, for instance not doing things like PAYT.  Wagner: &#8220;if we cut traffic supervisors, we&#8217;ll have smaller class sizes when someone gets hit by a car.&#8221;  Vote to terminate debate failed by a vote of 67-85.  Town Manager Brian Sullivan supports retention of most of the traffic supervisors.  He said that this is a budget decision of the schools.  He is opposed to doing it within the police department &#8211; it would cost more there. \u00c2\u00a0There was a complaint that the Dunkin Donuts hasn&#8217;t paid it&#8217;s bill yet to support the traffic supervisors.  Diane Mahon said that this change isn&#8217;t in line with the 5-year plan &#8211; the schools aren&#8217;t keeping up.<\/p>\n<p>12 minute break.<\/p>\n<p>Janice Weber accused the school department of misusing money, and says we should take the money from them to pay for crossing guards. \u00c2\u00a0Thouis\u00c2\u00a0Jones Pct 6 moved an amendment to change it to $120,000.  Questions about town liability. \u00c2\u00a0Several speakers were in favor of the substitute motion for safety reasons. \u00c2\u00a0Statements about there being a pro-car bias. School Committee Chair Joe Curro explained that the budget process started last fall, and public\u00c2\u00a0presentation\u00c2\u00a0in November. They had budget simulations at that meeting.  There were hearings at several schools, too, with hundreds of visitors.  They also surveyed the community &#8211; 1500 responses; supervisors were lowest priority. \u00c2\u00a0In the most recent decision, they funded a transition counselor in the high school instead of traffic supervisors &#8211; that&#8217;s someone who helps students coming back from\u00c2\u00a0hospitalization, suicide attempts, etc. John Deyst says the way to get traffic supervisors is through Bridge the Gap, not this motion.  Another speaker on public safety.  Leo Doherty voted to terminated debate. There were many post-debate questions about what we&#8217;re voting on. \u00c2\u00a0Jones&#8217;s amendment to $120,000 fails on voice vote.  64-89 the substitue motion failed. \u00c2\u00a0No action passed on voice vote.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Article 69 &#8211; Water Bodies.<\/strong> Affirmative.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Article 70 &#8211; Uncle Sam<\/strong>.  Lawrence McKinney spent 7 minutes talking about Uncle Sam and his skills as a marketer.  He moved a substitute motion for $500.  Al Tosti reported the Finance Committee recommended no action because the effort is fragmented; it should be a part of the selectmen&#8217;s tourism committee. There were several speakers about the history of the town. \u00c2\u00a0Debate terminated by Lewiton. \u00c2\u00a075-45, McKinney&#8217;s $500 was approved. <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"> I voted no. \u00c2\u00a0This is an item that begs for a private solution, not a government solution. \u00c2\u00a0We shouldn&#8217;t be paying money for speculative gee-gaws &#8211; if there&#8217;s a market there, the market will find it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Article 71 &#8211; Restoration of Trees. <\/strong> No action.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Article 72 &#8211; Local Option Taxes<\/strong>. \u00c2\u00a0No action unanimous.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Article 73 &#8211; Other Post Employee Benefits.<\/strong> $345,000.  Question on a study &#8211; waiting for GIC before we do the study. \u00c2\u00a0Approved.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Article\u00c2\u00a074 -\u00c2\u00a0Stabilization\u00c2\u00a0Fund.<\/strong> $688,000.  <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Someone voted no, and there was groaning because it had to be a standing vote.  I don&#8217;t know who it was, but I support their position to vote no.  I&#8217;ve been the lonely no vote before. And sometimes, you end up being right after all.<\/span> Approved\u00c2\u00a0130-1.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Article\u00c2\u00a075 &#8211; Transfer of Cemetery Funds. <\/strong> Approved.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Article 76 &#8211; Overlay Reserves.<\/strong> $500,000.  Unanimous.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Article 77 &#8211; Stabilization fund<\/strong>.  $1,580,000.  Wagner asked how much money we lost in the stock market in this fund and where the money is now.  Treasurer Stephen Gilligan reported that they are not invested now, but they are in deposit, as requested by Town Meeting. He said that $457,000 was realized as a loss. It was much more lost from high point to sell point.  Schlictman terminates debate. Approved 127-1.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Article 78 &#8211; Use of Free Cash.<\/strong> $582,051.  Approved.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Article 28 &#8211; Pension legislation. <\/strong> No action.<\/p>\n<p>Article 3 taken from the table.<\/p>\n<p>The meeting was dissolved. \u00c2\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">It was 10:59 or something like that &#8211; just finished before 11.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I take notes during Town Meeting. They are not official in any way. As I listen to people speak, I type notes. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m sure that, at times, I mishear or misunderstand the speaker, but my notes represent what I hear at the time. I then publish the notes every night after the meeting. I do [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,33],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-813","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-arlington","category-town-meeting-10"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dandunn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/813","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dandunn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dandunn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dandunn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dandunn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=813"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/dandunn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/813\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":819,"href":"https:\/\/dandunn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/813\/revisions\/819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dandunn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=813"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dandunn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=813"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dandunn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=813"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}