Published in the May 10, 2021 edition.
By MARK SARDELLA
WAKEFIELD — It took 112 voters just two hours to complete work on the 2021 Annual Town Meeting Saturday morning. There was not a single comment or question from the floor as voters agreed to over $110 million in spending for FY 2022. In fact, work was completed on nearly three quarters of the 16-article Town Meeting before the first question from the floor was asked.
Town Moderator William Carroll set the tone early in the meeting, when he asked voters to dispense with a quarter of the warrant in one fell swoop under a “consent agenda.”
The four routine annual articles seldom generate any discussion and were grouped together and unanimously approved by Town Meeting. They included Article 4, the Light Department’s annual payment to the town in lieu of taxes; Article 6, indemnifying police and firefighters for injuries in the line of duty ($100,000); and a $1 appropriation under Article 7 for the annual, seldom-used “eminent domain” provision. Also included in the consent agenda was the indefinite postponement of Article 16, pertaining to the library employees’ union contract, as negotiations have not been completed on that agreement.
After a brief report on the town’s current financial picture from Dan Sherman of the Finance Committee, Town Meeting turned its attention to the town’s $108,916,424 operating budget for FY 2022, as requested under Article 1.
Town Administrator Stephen P. Maio broke the budget down into broad categories and voters were asked to approve each section separately, which they did with no discussion from the floor. Prior to each vote, Finance Committee chairman Jim Sullivan noted the FinCom’s favorable recommendation.
The voters approved $2,571,431 for “General Government,” which includes most Town Hall departments.
Under “Protection of Persons and Property, they OK’d a total of $12,946,076 including $6,312,358 for the Police Department and $6,057,188 for the Fire Department. Also included under this section of the budget were funds for fire alarms and traffic signals, Emergency Management, the Building Department, the Animal Inspector and the Parking Clerk.
Voters approved $903,626 for “Human Services,” which includes budgets of the Council on Aging, the Health Department, the Recreation Department and the Veterans Department.
Town meeting voted $7,356,335 to fund the Department of Public Works for FY 2022. They also approved the $6,277,749 Water Division budget and $8,982,133 for the Sewer Division, both of which are self-sustaining enterprise departments not funded through the tax levy.
Not even the $45,458,200 School Department budget sparked a question or comment from the floor. School Superintendent Doug Lyons presented the budget and told Town Meeting that the schools are prepared for a full opening in the fall, including all sports and extracurricular activities. Voters passed the budget.
Maio presented the $1,751,632 Library Department budget, which was approved.
The $1,909,388 Vocational School budget was also approved with no discussion.
The catchall “Unclassified” budget, which includes such items as street lights, Medicare, General Insurance, Unemployment Insurance and the Reserve Fund was approved at $2,472,045 with no discussion from the floor.
Maio presented the $18,287,809 Benefits and Administration budget, which includes Group Health Insurance ($12,070,620), the Retirement budget ($5,599,427) and Workers’ Compensation ($420,990). Voters passed the budget with no discussion.
Voters also approved $982,772 from the Light Department to pay various benefits for WMGLD employees, which are not funded through the tax levy.
Under Article 2, Capital Outlay Committee chairman Frank Leone made a brief presentation on the $1,982,325.19 FY 2022 Capital Outlay budget, was approved with no discussion.
Maio presented Article 3, the Capital Projects/Debt Service budget. Voters approved the requested $4,133,698 with no discussion from the floor.
Under Article 5 voters approved a sum of $309,320 to close funding gaps and balance the current (FY 2021) town budget.
DPW Director Joseph Conway presented Article 8, the budget for trash collection, recycling and composting. Voters approved $2,199,441 for this budget.
Under Article 9, Town Meeting authorized the Town Council to sell property at 124 Green St. in Stoneham that is owned by the town of Wakefield for $261,000. Maio explained that the amount represented the highest offer after a bid process.
Police Chief Steven Skory presented Article 10, which related to changes in the General Bylaws regarding fingerprint-based criminal background checks. Skory explained that the internet has greatly changed businesses such as dealing in second-hand items and antiques. In addition, ride sharing had changed the landscape for taxi businesses. Plus, state law covers some of what was in the local bylaw. Voters approved Article 10 with no discussion.
Director of Assessments Victor Santaniello presented Article 11, which sought $38,000 to hire an outside vendor to assist with the upcoming five-year audit of properties. Voters approved Article 11.
Article 12 brought the first discussion from the floor. Also presented by Santaniello, the request was for $45,000 to bring in an outside firm to assist the Assessing Department with the required 10-year audit of all business-owned personal property. After a citizen’s question was answered, Town Meeting approved Article 12.
Article 13 related to a School Department request to tap the Special Education Stabilization Fund for $230,000. School Superintendent Doug Lyons explained that COVID had brought some unexpected SPED expenses to the current year’s school budget. The request required a two-thirds majority. Voters approved Article 13 unanimously.
Article 14 asked Town Meeting to adopt provisions of state law known as the Stretch Energy Code. Julie Smith-Galvin of the Environmental Sustainability Committee reviewed the provisions, which call for more stringent guidelines for energy efficiency in new construction. The goal, she said, was to have Wakefield designated as a “green community,” making the town eligible for annual grants.
Doug Butler of Main Street asked if these changes represented higher construction costs for the home builder/owner. Smith Galvin acknowledged that increased costs were involved, but said that those costs are typically recouped in energy savings over the first couple of years.
Myra Sessions of Main Street said that she supported the changes requested under Article 14.
Article 15 related to moving an old town drainage easement which was discovered to run under one corner of a home on Pleasant Street. Article 15 was a request to relocate or reconfigure the easement to facilitate the owner’s sale of the property. Maio explained that there was no cost to the town. The article required a two-thirds majority. The vote was unanimous in favor.
The 2021 Annual Town Meeting was dissolved at 10:05 a.m.