On Monday night, one of the public opponents who helped pressure the Select Board to withdraw from the Metrowest RECC in 2023, made the board’s case for rejoining it. Voters supported the plan. Read the full article → from Town Meeting gives thumbs up for joining a Metrowest RECC (Updated)
All registered Southborough voters are encouraged to act as the Town’s legislature on Monday night. If you are planning on attending Special Town Meeting (or thinking about it), here are the important details you may want to know in advance. Read the full article → from Special Town Meeting Overview (Updated)
The Town has posted the Warrant for this fall’s Special Town Meeting. They have also announced a new setup that will be a bit more welcoming for parents to participate. Read the full article → from A friendlier Special Town Meeting – Sept 30 (Updated – again)
At tomorrow night’s Select Board meeting, the board will hold a “public forum” to discuss its plans for potentially regionalizing police and fire dispatch services. Read the full article → from Forum on potentially joining a RECC – Tuesday
At the upcoming, Special Town Meeting, the Select Board will take the unusual step of asking voters to cast a non-binding vote to advise them. The Article will ask voters to “recommend” the board pursue regionalizing public safety dispatch services. Read the full article → from 911 Regionalization Article headed to Special Town Meeting (Updated)
On Saturday, Town Meeting voters shot down one resident’s pitch to shave 1% off the overall budget. Soon after, they agreed with another resident’s push to improve public safety by increasing the budget to hire two more dispatchers. Read the full article → from Annual Town Meeting votes No on budget decrease, Yes on specific increase
Yesterday, a small percentage of Southborough voters agreed to fund improving public safety, pursuing a Library expansion project, investing in Town recreational assets, stabilizing special education budget impacts, preserving the Town’s history and seed money for Tricentennial celebrations. They also enabled pursuit of a solar project at Trottier and agreed to clean up zoning language.
They even weighed in on the Patriot’s decision to fire Bill Belichick! Read the full article → from Annual Town Meeting recap
One of the more controversial items at last year’s Town Meeting is back on the Warrant again this year in a different form.
Citizen’s Petitions are asking voters to increase the Town’s recommended budget to bolster the public safety dispatcher staff. Read the full article → from Dispatcher Staffing & Budget up for debate at Town Meeting on Saturday
The Advisory Committee has issued it’s report to Annual Town Meeting, along with detailed information on this year’s budgets. It includes an explanation for their budget recommendations, plus the reasons behind some key Articles they voted to support or not support.
The report also comes with some financial forecasts and warnings. The most notable is a forecast that the Town seems to be headed towards needing a Proposition 2 ½ Override within a few years. Read the full article → from Advisory’s report for Town Meeting and the FY25 Budget
The Town is requesting that residents participate in the annual survey.* Topics cover quality of life, departments and resources, and priorities for what you would like to see officials focus on.
This year, the survey also includes feedback on two issues that Town officials anticipate being topics at the Annual Town Meeting on March 23rd — MBTA Communities Zoning** and Dispatch staffing models. To help them prepare, and to inform other budget discussions, residents are asked to take part in time for them to compile results. Read the full article → from Complete the 2024 Town survey by March 8th
My Southborough accepts signed letters to the editor submitted by Southborough residents. Letters may be emailed to mysouthborough@gmail.com.
The following letter is from John Butler. Read the full article → from Letter: Westborough Abandons Superfund Site as 911 Dispatch Center
It looks like the Town is facing a bigger than usual challenge this year in trying to rein budget increases in. Big drivers for tax increases this year aren’t the same one we have seen in the past couple of years. Read the full article → from Residents may be looking at a big tax increase.
This summer, the Select Board came up with the list of issues/tasks they are looking to tackle or make headway on this year.
I’m combining them in a series of posts by goal categories. This one includes next steps to deal with Fire and Police Dispatch issues, plus six other items. Read the full article → from Select Board FY24 Goals (& Public Safety Dispatch next steps)
Following up on guidance by Town Meeting, the Select Board took a new vote on whether to remain in or withdraw from an agreement with Westborough and Grafton to form a regional public safety dispatch center. Read the full article → from Select Board withdraws from Dispatch IMA