By MARK SARDELLA
WAKEFIELD — Annual Town Meeting returns to the Galvin Middle School Auditorium tonight after two years of COVID exile to the high School field house. Voters will begin dealing with the 18-article warrant when Town Moderator William Carroll gavels the meeting open at 7 p.m.
Masks will be available for those who feel more comfortable wearing them. COVID test kits will be distributed so Town Meeting participants can test themselves at home. There will also be a designated area inside the auditorium for people who want to socially distance.
Article 1 pertains to the town’s Fiscal Year 2023 budget. The $114,171,027-request is $6,368,000 (6.3 percent) higher than the FY 2022 budget.
Under Article 1 broad categories of the FY 2023 budget will be presented, discussed and voted separately. Those sections include General Government, Protection of Persons and Property, Human Services, Public Works, School Department, library, Vocational school, Benefits and Administration and “unclassified.”
Article 2 seeks voter approval to appropriate from tax levy the amount of $2,100,000 for Capital Outlay in FY 2023. The capital spending is broken down and listed by item in the Town Meeting appropriations booklet.
Under Article 3, voters will be asked to raise and appropriate $4,133,698 for the Capital Projects Fund, also known as the Debt Service Fund. This fund is used by the town to make bond payments on large capital projects.
Article 4 pertains to the Wakefield Municipal Gas & Light Department’s payment of $945,828 to the town in lieu of taxes.
Article 5 seeks voter approval to transfer $202,500 from Free Cash to supplement the current year’s (FY 2022) budget.
Under Article 6, voters will be asked to appropriate from Free cash $130,000 to indemnify certain police officers and firefighters for medical, surgical and hospitalization expenses as a result of injuries received by the officers/firefighters in the performance of their duties.
Article 7 is a routine though seldom used annual provision authorizing the Town Council to accept, or take by eminent domain proceedings, conveyances or easements from time to time, giving the Town the right to construct and maintain drains, sewers, water lines, retaining walls and streets. An appropriation of $1 is associated with of this article.
Article 8 relates to trash and seeks $2,292,046 for the collection, disposal, recycling and composting of refuse.
Under Article 9, voters will be asked appropriate the sum of $900,000 for the completion of repairs to the drainage systems throughout the Town and to borrow the money for that purpose.
Replacement of the Hart’s Hill Water Tower is the subject of Article 10. Voters will be asked to appropriate the sum of $5 million for the purpose of replacing the Harts Hill Water Tower, including design, construction, and other related costs. The funds for this project would be borrowed from the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority.
Article 11 seeks voter authorization to appropriate the sum of $2,000,000 for the design and/or construction of railroad crossing improvements. This relates to the installation of “quad gates” at Broadway commuter rail crossing in order to maintain the town’s Quiet Zone status and avoid the future closure of crossings. The article authorizes the town to borrow the funds.
With Article 12, voters will be asked, under a program known as “tax increment financing,” to implement an agreement with Nanoramic Laboratories for improvements to property located at 7 Audubon Rd. Tax increment financing, or “TIF,” subsidizes companies by refunding or diverting a portion of their taxes to help finance development in an area or on a project site.
Article 13 asks voters to accept the provisions of G.L. c. 59, §5, cl. 56, authorizing the Board of Assessors to grant real and personal property tax abatements to members of the Massachusetts National Guard and to reservists on active duty in foreign countries.
Article 14 seeks to raise and appropriate from tax levy $50,000 for a professional consultant to assist in the review and re-codification of the Zoning Bylaws.
Article 15 asks that the Town approve the Wakefield Retirement Board’s vote to increase the maximum base amount on which the cost-of-living adjustment is calculated from $14,000.00 to $16,000.00 for Fiscal Year 2023 and subsequent years in accordance with G.L. c. 32, §103(j).
Under Article 16, voters will be asked to approve the Wakefield Retirement Board’s vote to increase the Member Survivor Minimum allowance from $250.00 per month to $500.00 per month for surviving spouses of deceased employees for Fiscal Year 2023 and subsequent years in accordance with G.L. c. 32, §12(2)(d).
Article 17 stems from a citizen petition and will ask Town Meeting to amend the Zoning Bylaw by amending the existing Wakefield Zoning Map by changing the zoning district designation of 343 Albion from the Single Residence District to the General Residence District, as shown on the map on file with the Town Clerk.
Article 18 relates to another citizen petition asking the town to repeal Zoning Bylaw §190-31(H), which reads: “In no case shall any building or structure be permitted within 50 feet of the embankment of any open stream, as defined by the Conservation Commission using the applicable Massachusetts Department of Environmental Quality Engineering standards.”
Articles 3,4,5,6 and 7 are deemed “routine” and Town Meeting will be asked to vote on them collectively as part of a “consent agenda.”
Anyone registered to vote in Wakefield may attend, speak and vote at tonight’s Town Meeting. The Annual Appropriations booklet is available online at wakefield.ma.us/home/news/annual-town-meeting. Paper copies will be available at the meeting.
