This is a time of year when most town volunteers and administrators breathe a sigh of relief. The long hours spent reviewing budgets, drafting bylaw changes, or considering new hires have come to an end. Gone are the late-night, early-morning, and Saturday meetings. Now it’s the job of Harvard’s citizens to review the results of all that labor, which are encapsulated in the 50 articles of the Town Meeting warrant, and to show up at Annual Town Meeting Saturday, April 1, to debate and decide them.
That warrant and supporting commentary will be arriving in residents’ mailboxes sometime this week or next in the form of a 54-page booklet. Don’t toss it into the trash; it’s a valuable document, containing most of what townspeople need to know about the state of town finances and the substance of the articles on which they’ll be voting. It’s worth a read even by those who don’t plan to attend Town Meeting. Start with the “Finance Committee Address” on pages 1–9, especially the page 9 spotlight on the Hildreth Elementary School renovation, the most expensive project in the town’s five-year capital plan.
Read the report of the Capital Planning and Investment Committee as well, and take a few moments to study the table entitled “Excluded Debt Service Projection through 2026” on page 24, which forecasts the impact of future projects on town debt.
This week the Press also begins its coverage of Town Meeting articles, with pieces on planned work to restore town fire ponds and on proposed improvements to the Bromfield School. More will follow next week when we’ll also publish our annual “Warrant in Plain English,” our quick guide to this year’s Town Meeting business. We hope you’ll bring your copy along with the warrant booklet to Town Meeting on April 1, and then let us know how to make it even better for next year.
