Town Meeting, Harvard’s annual legislative session, is barely a week away, and the Press is working hard to provide readers with information they need to inform their votes on several key spending bills (known as “articles,” in Town Meeting lingo). Though not easy to locate, this year’s Town Warrant booklet, arriving soon in residents’ mailboxes, is available today at the town website. Now all you have to do is master its details.
Aside from the town’s $22 million omnibus budget, the most expensive item in this year’s warrant is Article 22, the proposal to borrow approximately $1.26 million to upgrade the accessibility and safety of Harvard’s senior center. Other big-ticket items include three new trucks, a new air-exchange system for Bromfield’s science labs, and a new voice-over-internet (VOIP) phone system for the schools.
In a previous issue of the Press (see “Bad Air Days,” February 19, 2015), we’ve explained the problems afflicting the Bromfield chemistry, biology, and physics classrooms. Article 23 recommends that the town spend $315,000 to fix the problem, borrowing $185,000 of that amount.
In this issue Joan Eliyesil describes the accessibility and safety upgrades planned for Hildreth House and how they will benefit Harvard’s seniors. Lucinda Bowen takes a look at the trucks the fire department and DPW say are needed to fight fires and keep the roads plowed. And Marty Green explains two additions to Harvard’s conservation land that Town Meeting attendees will be asked to approve.
Next week, we’ll deconstruct the town’s fiscal year 2016 omnibus budget and explain the benefits of the VOIP system proposed for the Hildreth Elementary and Bromfield schools. We’ll also explore several changes to town bylaws that have been proposed by various boards and committees.
Finally, be sure to look for our “Town Meeting Warrant in plain English,” our annual attempt to make the arcane language of municipal government as plain as day.
