Merrimac Select Board Shares Information About Upcoming Town Meeting on April 28

MERRIMAC – The Merrimac Select Board would like to share information about the upcoming Annual Town Meeting. 

Town Meeting will take place on Monday, April 28, at 7:30 p.m. in the Sweetsir School Cafeteria, 104 Church St.

At Town Meeting, registered voters gather as the Town’s deliberative body, and vote on items including the town budget, bylaw changes, and zoning changes. The Town Meeting warrant can be viewed here. The Finance Committee report can be viewed here, and the Capital Planning Committee report can be viewed here.

The town is proposing three special funding items on the warrant:

• The Police Department is requesting a Proposition 2 ½ override of $141,000 for one additional officer and associated costs. This will appear as Article 1 on the warrant and Question 1 on the ballot.
• The Fire Department is requesting a Proposition 2 ½ override of $484,000 for four additional firefighters and associated costs. This will appear as Article 2 on the warrant and Question 2 on the ballot.
• The Town is requesting a debt exclusion of $5 million for roadway repair and reconstruction. This will appear as Article 3 on the warrant and Question 3 on the ballot.

An override is a permanent increase to the tax base. A debt exclusion is a temporary increase to pay for the principal and interest on bonds the Town will seek to pay for the project.

The overrides require majority approval in the Town Meeting, and the debt exclusion requires a two-thirds majority.

The Town held two public forums on Tuesday, April 15, and Wednesday, April 23, in Sargent Auditorium in Town Hall to share information regarding the funding items. Select Board members and department heads shared information about their requisitions and took questions from the community.