Published in the May 7, 2021 edition.
By MARK SARDELLA
WAKEFIELD — Voters will be asked to handle 16 articles at this year’s Annual Town Meeting, which gets underway in the field house at Wakefield Memorial High School (60 Farm St.) at 8 a.m. Saturday.
In addition to socially distanced indoor seating, voters can also take advantage of outdoor seating with audio and visual feed. The microphones and sound system will be upgraded to be sure the acoustics are as clear as possible and ADA headsets will be available for those who prefer to use a personal audio device.
Copies of the Town Meeting Warrant and the Annual Appropriations Recommendation Book will be available when voters check in. The Warrant and Recommendation Book are also available online on the town’s web site: wakefield.ma.us/.
Article 1 concerns the $108,916,424 town budget for Fiscal Year 2022, which runs from July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022. The budget is typically broken into broad categories including General Government, Protection of Persons and Property, Human Services, Public Works, Public Service Enterprises, Education, Unclassified, Benefits & Administration and Light Department.
Separate motions will provide for the breakdown of each section of the budget and the respective dollar amounts will be discussed and voted separately. The breakdown for each category is set forth in the Recommendation Book.
Article 2 will ask voters to raise and appropriate $1,982,325.19 for capital outlay and to transfer $170,000 from the sewer receipts account to the Sewer Department capital outlay account and $250,000 from the water receipts account to the Water Department capital outlay account for the purchase of capital items as detailed in the Recommendation Book.
Under Article 3, Town Meeting will be asked to raise and appropriate from tax levy to the Capital Projects fund, also known as the Debt Service Fund, the sum of $4,133,698 to carry out the purpose of this article.
Article 4 relates to the Wakefield Municipal Gas & Light Department’s annual payment to the town in lieu of taxes.
Article 5 asks that the town raise and appropriate from free cash the sum of $309,320.00 to balance the current year’s (FY 2021) town budget.
Under Article 6, voters will be asked to raise and appropriate $100,000 to indemnify certain police officers and firefighters for medical, surgical and hospitalization expenses as a result of injuries sustained the performance of their duties, as provided under Massachusetts General Laws.
Article 7 is a routine annual request to authorize the Town Council to accept or take by eminent domain proceedings, conveyances or easement from time to time, giving the Town the right to construct and maintain drains, sewers, water lines, retaining walls and streets and to raise and appropriate $1 to carry out the purpose of this article.
Under Article 8, voters will be asked to raise and appropriate from tax levy the sum of $2,199,441 for the collection, disposal, recycling and composting of refuse.
Article 9 asks the voters to authorize the Town Council to sell a piece of property at 124 Green Street in Stoneham. The property is owned by the town of Wakefield and was once the site of a water tank.
Article 10 relates to Chapter 143 of the General Bylaws, entitled “Fingerprint-Based Criminal Record Background Checks.” The recommended changes will be described at the time the motion is made.
Article 11 is sponsored by the Board of Assessors. The voters will be asked to raise and appropriate from tax levy the sum of $38,000 for professional services to assist in the Fiscal Year 2022 revaluation of real estate within the town.
Article 12 is also sponsored by the Board of Assessors and asks that that Town Meeting vote to raise and appropriate from tax levy the sum of $45,000 for professional services to assist in the revaluation of all locally assessed personal property within the Town.
Under Article 13, Town Meeting will be asked to supplement the School Department budget for the period of July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021 by transferring the sum of $230,000 from the Special Education Stabilization Account.
Under Article 14, voters will be asked to adopt provisions of Massachusetts State Building Code, (780 CMR, the “Stretch Energy Code”) as Chapter 180 of the General Bylaws of the Town for the purpose of regulating the design and construction of buildings. The provisions are detailed in the Recommendation Book.
Article 15 asks town meeting the authorize the Town Council to relocate and/or reconfigure drainage easements and/or other municipal easements on the property known and numbered as 123 Pleasant St., Wakefield, Massachusetts, including without limitation the abandonment of portions of such easements in consideration of the acquisition of replacement easements on the same lot.
Article 16 is sponsored by the Board of Library Trustees and asks that voters implement a collective bargaining agreements between the Town of Wakefield and the Lucius Beebe Memorial Library Staff Association for the period July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2024 and to raise and appropriate funds sufficient to do so.