March 29, 2024

Seekonk Town Meeting To Review Budget & 29 Articles

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Seekonk’s Annual Town Meeting will take place on Monday, June 9 at 7 p.m. and voters will be reviewing the budget for Fiscal Year 2015 as well as 29 other articles.

Town clerk Jan Parker is expecting an average turnout of about 225 to 250 people. The entire warrant for the meeting, including the budget, is available on the town website at www.seekonk-ma.gov.

The proposed budget for next year is $45.6 million, representing a 2.79 percent increase over the current year.

Town Administrator Shawn Cadime said that some departments had increases and some saw slight decreases.

There are a few additions to the Police and Fire Departments in the budget. Two positions have been added to the Police Department – one Detective/Supervisor and one Patrol Officer. Police Chief Craig Mace had reported to selectmen a few months ago that the department had a shortage of personnel due to injuries suffered on duty and two vacant positions. These additions are expected to improve the staffing situation according to Cadime.

Another public safety addition is $100,000 in overtime funding for the Fire Department to help staff the new Banna Fire Station. The station will be operated 24 hours a day, seven days a week after it opens sometime this summer.

“I think it’s a good budget. I don’t think the town will see any decreases in services and they may see some increases, especially in public safety,” said Cadime.

The proposed town budget includes approximately $438,935 for capital expenditures including $202,428 for a modular building at Seekonk High School to be used as a maintenance shed, $111,000 for the first year of a seven year lease for fire apparatus, $54,750 for a heavy duty dump truck with plow and sander and $71,000 for roof repairs at Martin Elementary School.

The expenditure for the maintenance shed may be amended at town meeting. Cadime said the town may be able to repair the current building for less money. The new dump truck would replace a truck that has been taken out of service because it is not “road-worthy” according to Finance Director Bruce Alexander.

There are a few articles that will probably require some discussion at town meeting. One concerns restrictions on the location of medical marijuana dispensaries in town. The other issue, outlined in four articles, asks town meeting to amend the town charter regarding appointments to town boards.

Article on Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

The article on medical marijuana dispensaries will restrict the operations of such centers to an overlay district along Route 6. It lies mostly between Industrial Way and Hollister Road.

“There’s an adult entertainment zone specified and it (the medical marijuana overlay district) is the same footprint,” said Alexander.

Last year the town voted to put a temporary moratorium on medical marijuana treatment centers, but that moratorium expires at the end of June.

The town cannot prevent the facilities from operating, but it can designate where they can be located.

“These facilities have the right to operate based on a referendum vote that was passed,” Cadime said.

“If you don’t pass the overlay districts, these facilities would be able to locate anywhere in town,” he added.

The article also states that the marijuana dispensaries may not be located within 1,000 feet of schools, child care facilities, libraries, playgrounds, public parks and other places where children may be present.

The article does not affect patients who cultivate their own marijuana for approved medical purposes. It only regulates the dispensing and growing at treatment centers.

Articles on Town Board Appointments

Articles 25 through 28 involve changes to the town charter regarding appointments to four town boards – the Board of Assessors, Planning Board, Board of Health and Conservation Commission. Voters are being presented with three options for the board appointments.

Currently, the assessor, town planner, health agent and conservation agent are appointed by their respective boards. Cadime says the purpose of these articles is to have consistency in the way department heads are appointed.

There will likely be a motion to combine the four articles, says Cadime, so that all the appointments will be made in the same way.

In Option 1, the town board would recommend three candidates to the Town Administrator and he will recommend one of the candidates to the Board of Selectmen. Selectmen will then have final approval.

In Option 2, the Town Administrator will make a recommendation to the town board and the board may reject the candidate by a unanimous vote of all its members (a super majority vote).

Option 3 is basicly the same as Option 2, but the board may reject a candidate by a simple majority vote of its members.

The board of selectmen and town administrator are recommending Option 1.

Cadime says the change will improve the efficiency of the town’s operations.

The town has 11 dept. heads who report to the town administrator and four who “technically” do not report to the town administrator.

“It becomes difficult to manage the day to day operations when you have four department heads at town hall…and not be able to really hold them accountable if something were to go awry,” Cadime said.

The issue of making board appointments has been a controversial one in town. Cadime says this is not a “power grab” on the part of selectmen. Their intentions are to take the politics out of the board appointments, he says.

Other Articles

Other articles on the town meeting agenda include:

-The allocation of funds from the Community Preservation Fund

-To amend the zoning bylaws regarding Wetlands and Floodplain Protection District. FEMA updated the floodplain maps and this amendment will insert the proper reference to these new maps in the bylaw, according to Town Planner John Hansen.

-A bylaw change imposing a lien on property if charges for cleaning up abandoned or neglected property are not paid by the due date.

-To approve $223,876 for entry way security enhancements at all the school buildings in Seekonk.

-To amend the bylaws regarding the Capital Improvement Committee so that term limits are removed and the language for the purpose and function of the committee is strengthened. The Capital Improvement Committee is the only board or committee with term limits.

-To allocate funds for the continued rehabilitation of “Old Town Hall.” No amount for the project was provided in the article and should be announced at town meeting.

The remaining articles are typical housekeeping items including re-authorizing revolving accounts, re-authorizing salaries for elected officials, and updating the bylaw on licensing of dogs and cats.

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