By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — Spring Town Meeting will take place on Monday, April 24, beginning at 7 p.m. in the Lynnfield Middle School auditorium.
A quorum of 175 voters is needed for Town Meeting to proceed. If the quorum is not reached on Monday, Spring Town Meeting will be moved to Monday, May 1.
Town Administrator Rob Dolan urged residents to attend Spring Town Meeting in a “Town Talk” episode.
“Please put on your calendar Monday, April 24 at 7 p.m. at the middle school,” said Dolan. “It’s where you, as a citizen, will have as much say as a Select Board member or any other citizen. Town Meeting is where you can vote on the future of your town. We must have 175 people at Town Meeting in order to do the nuts and bolts of government.”
The 15-article Spring Town Meeting warrant features mostly routine matters related to the town’s fiscal year 2024 operating and capital budgets. There are no large capital projects or any proposed zoning changes that will be voted on at Spring Town Meeting.
“If you are interested in road repair, which I know a lot of you are, we have an appropriation that is among the biggest in the town’s history,” said Dolan. “But we cannot build those roads unless you participate in Town Meeting and we get that quorum.”
The Select Board unanimously voted to recommend 13 out of the 15 warrant articles during last week’s meeting. Assistant Town Administrator Bob Curtin noted that department heads will be finalizing how much money has to be transferred under Article 4 and if any overdue bills have to be paid under Article 5.
“Traditionally, the board has waited until the night of Town Meeting to vote on these two articles,” said Curtin.
Spring Town Meeting is headlined by the town’s operating budget for FY24. Article 6 will ask Spring Town Meeting to approve the proposed $65,049,217.48 spending plan, representing a 3.4 percent increase over FY23’s $62,930,355 operating budget.
There are no new positions in the FY24 operating budget, including the School Department.
The town’s FY24 capital budget, totaling $2,880,929, will be appearing as Article 7. The capital budget includes $850,000 for a new fire engine, $550,000 for road construction, $400,000 for an ambulance, $250,000 for school technology and $141,000 for the secondary schools’ gymnasiums to be refinished. The gymnasium project includes replacing six basketball hoops at Lynnfield High School.
Cemetery fees increase
Voters will also be asked to approve Article 13, which seeks to increase the town’s cemetery fees. According to Article 13, the cost for an individual grave for a current resident or a former town employee would increase from $600 to $1,000. The cost for the DPW to maintain a resident or former employee’s grave perpetually would go up from $400 to $500.
There are also new fees for former residents who want to be buried in town. The proposed cost for a single grave is $1,200 and the fee for perpetual care is $800. There will be a two grave limit for former residents.
According to the proposed revised fee schedule, the cost for interment would increase from $750 to $1,000. The cremation burial fee would go up from $300 to $500. The cost to exhume a body would increase from $1,000 to $2,000.
The fee for burying a child under the age of 2 will remain at $200. There is no fee for burying a stillborn baby.
Veterans’ articles
There are two warrant articles that seek to support the town’s veterans.
Article 14 will ask Spring Town Meeting to accept the provisions of a state law that would allow veterans living in properties held by a trustee, conservator or other fiduciary to be able to receive real estate tax exemptions.
Additionally, Article 15 would allow the town to accept provisions of a state law that would exempt Gold Star parents or guardians from paying real estate taxes on their late child’s property if they were soldiers, sailors and National Guard members who died in active service or as the result of their service.
Remaining warrant articles
According to the warrant, Article 1 will ask Town Meeting to approve the annual Town Report. Article 2 will choose all town officers “not required to be chosen by ballot,” which are three field drivers, one pound keeper and three wood measurers.
Article 3 will request Town Meeting to approve the salaries for the Board of Assessors and the Select Board. The Board of Assessors and Select Board are the only boards in town whose members get paid.
According to the warrant, Article 4 will ask Town Meeting to transfer funds to supplement certain accounts in the current FY23 budget. Article 5 will request Town Meeting to pay “overdue bills from a prior fiscal year.”
Article 8 will ask Town Meeting to appropriate $50,000 to the Capital Facilities Fund. Article 9 will request Town Meeting to allocate $150,000 to the Stabilization Fund.
According to the warrant, Article 10 will request Town Meeting to appropriate $845,394 to the Emergency Medical Service Enterprise Fund’s budget. Article 11 seeks to allocate $1,104,332 for the Golf Enterprise Fund budget that is used to “pay expenses and contractual services required to operate the Reedy Meadow Golf Course and King Rail Golf Course.”
“Both of those are paid for by the receipts the town receives from those services,” Curtin said about Articles 10 and 11 during a recent Select Board meeting.
Article 12 will set spending limits for the town’s revolving funds. The limit for the Council on Aging’s revolving fund totals $85,000. The Board of Health’s revolving fund’s limit is $15,000. The Lynnfield Public Library’s revolving fund limit totals $10,000. Lynnfield Recreation’s revolving fund limit equals $340,000. The DPW’s fields’ revolving fund limit totals $100,000. The DPW’s revolving fund limit for the Al Merritt Media and Cultural Center is $10,000.