Select Board closes Town Meeting warrant, with $34M budget and money for DPW facility

Select Board members voted unanimously, 5-0, Tuesday night to close the April 6 Annual Town Meeting warrant and Town Election ballot and hand both to Town Constable Greg Newman for posting at Town Hall and the post office.

Traditionally, spring’s Town Meeting deals with financial matters, and this year’s warrant is no exception. Among its 26 articles is a request for $34 million to pay for municipal services and the schools next fiscal year (Article 10), but there’s a catch. Fulfilling the request is contingent on passage of a $752,964 Proposition 2½ tax override at Town Election on April 9, as explained later in this story.

In addition, the warrant includes requests for 15 capital projects totaling $1.4 million (Article 12) to be paid for by drawing on the Capital Stabilization and Investment Fund. There’s a request to borrow $9.9 million to reconstruct and renovate the DPW facility on Depot Road (Article 14) to be paid for by excluded debt, which requires passing Question 1 on this year’s April 9 ballot.

Finally, the Community Preservation Committee wants to use $611,000 from the Community Preservation Fund to pay for six projects and to set aside money for future conservation ($200,000) and affordable housing ($190,000) initiatives (Article 16). A 3% surcharge replenishes the fund each year, which also receives matching funds from the state.

Other articles ask to move money among town accounts for various purposes and draw on free cash or the Stabilization Fund to pay for expenses that could not be included without throwing the budget further out of balance.

Bylaws and a citizen petition

The warrant includes two additions to the town’s bylaws. The first creates by-right zoning for the development of multifamily housing in Harvard, as required by the state’s recently passed MBTA Communities Act. The proposed multifamily district is an 8-acre parcel on Ayer Road, across the street from Dunkin’ Donuts close to the Route 2 interchange. The language that appears in the warrant, however, may not be final, and the Planning Board has said it will present the final wording to attendees in a handout at Town Meeting. The second bylaw, if passed, allows the town to place liens on property whose owners have failed to pay town charges and fees.

Also in the warrant is a nonbinding citizen petition that asks the Select Board to delay sale of the Bromfield House and “allow it to continue to be used as a residence for refugees, with utilities paid by tenants, in exchange for a monthly payment equal to the monthly cost of insurance for the Property and a fair and appropriate rent, for a period of at least five years, or pass any vote or votes in relation thereto.” Tuesday night, the Select Board voted to extend the lease for one year. (See story on page 1.)

Question 2: A two-tier override to balance the budget

Paying for some or all of the board’s recommended fiscal 2025 budget requires passing a question on this year’s ballot. The state’s Proposition 2½ limits the amount a town may increase taxes each year to 2½% of the previous year’s levy plus an allowance for new construction—unless voters approve a larger increase. Such a request is included in this year’s two-tiered Question 2.

The first tier, Question 2A, asks taxpayers for an extra $423,902, enough for town departments and the schools to continue operating at the same level as the current fiscal year. Question 2B, the second tier, asks for a $792,964 override to pay for everything in the board’s recommended budget, which includes additional personnel for both the town and schools.

Questions 2A and 2B require a majority vote. If both pass, the higher amount prevails; if both fail, the Select Board must make up for the shortfall by cutting the budget of town departments below the amount required for level service: reducing hours at the library and Council on Aging, delaying purchase of a police cruiser and other equipment, for an estimated $83,830. The schools would have to reduce their spending by $340,072, which the administration has said would require the layoff of three to four members of staff. The impact of these cuts will be explored in a later issue of the Press.

Question 1: Excluded debt to reconstruct DPW facility

The other ballot question, Question 1, asks voters to permit the town to borrow as excluded debt the $9.9 million required to reconstruct and renovate the DPW facility. Excluded debt allows the principal and interest of a loan to be charged to taxpayers outside the limits of Proposition 2½. Finance Director Jared Mullane has told the Press that because the money will not be borrowed until fiscal 2026 the tax impact of the loan would not be felt until then, when the town’s present outstanding debt will be lower.

Assembling the warrant for Town Meeting—essentially the meeting’s agenda—is the responsibility of the Select Board, which has the power to decide what to include and what to omit. The Harvard Charter also holds the board responsible for delivering an annual budget, though the behind-the-scenes work of building it is typically done by Town Administrator Tim Bragan, Assistant Town Administrator Marie Sobalvarro, and Mullane. The Finance Committee reviews every department request, including the schools, and provides the Select Board with its recommendations. Two weeks ago, the Select Board approved the budget that now appears in the warrant. FinCom endorsed the budget last week, 5-1.

Copies of the warrant and ballot questions were to be posted on the town website Wednesday morning, Bragan told the Press. Executive assistant Julie Doucet said the town will mail a postcard to residents next week with information and a QR code to access it.

Town Meeting will convene Saturday, April 6, at noon in Cronin Auditorium at the Bromfield School. It will be followed three days later by Town Election Tuesday, April 9, also at the Bromfield School, where the polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

In the weeks that remain before Town Meeting, the Press will explore the most consequential of this spring’s articles. And readers can expect to learn more in our special townwide Town Meeting issue and Warrant in Plain English available online and in residents’ mailboxes April 5.