Not If, But When: Select Board Ponders Best Date For Town Meeting Vote On Appointed Treasurer

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Photo: The Belmont Select Board

Mark Paolillo, chair of the Belmont Select Board, summed up the prevailing feeling of appointing all future town treasurers at the end of the public forum on Oct. 27.

“It’s not if, but when,” Paolillo said, proclaiming the board’s support of what they have called ”the most important” of the 19 inter-related recommendations on revamping the town’s governmental structure by the Collins Center.

The treasurer’s post is currently held by Floyd Carman who is up for re-election in the coming town election in April 2023. Carman is yet to make an official decision on running for another three-year term, some town and elected officials have said publically that he would not seek another term.

The board will decide at its Nov. 7 meeting the date it will bring the appointed treasurer article before Town Meeting. The earliest would be Nov. 29 during the first night of the Special Town Meeting.

The board has previously supported moving forward toward implementing many of the recommendations, including some that have already been acted upon, such as changes to the budget process and the creation of a Financial Committee.

Presented to the board in June and at the Special Town Meeting in November, the Collins Center report bluntly stated Belmont was one of the most, if not the most, decentralized governments in the Commonwealth with a bevy of independent boards and positions. This structure had a negative impact on how the town managed its finances.

The Select Board and others, from Warrant Committee to interested residents, believed transforming the town’s treasurer from an elected to an appointed post was essential as its role in managing many of the town’s significant financial transactions: issuing bills, managing taxpayers accounts, cash and debt management, investments and running the department.

Moving from an elected to the appointed position is spelled out in Massachusetts General Laws: First, Town Meeting must vote to approve the change at least 60 days before the town’s annual election in April. Second, the measure must pass at the annual election. If someone runs for the three-year post, which is up for election in 2023, the incumbent will serve until a permanent appointment is made.

The new non-elected treasurer will be appointed by the Town Administrator.

The board is wrestling with the question of when to present an amendment before the Town Meeting. For those seeking a quick resolution to the question – such as board vice chair Adam Dash and Warrant Committee Chair Geoffrey Lubien – the change isn’t rocket science, so there is no reason for a delay.

“We should put it on the warrant, and if it fails, it fails. Because if we don’t put it on the warrant, we start kicking this down the road as we did for 11 years,” said Ann Helgen of the Warrant Committee, referring to a 2011 Department of Revenue report that advised the town to appoint the treasurer.

Chair Paolillo and others such as Jack Weiss believe not just Town Meeting but town voters need to ”buy in” on the change, which can best be accomplished with other forums and discussions on the issues, building support through educating the public on the Collins Center report. Bill Andersen suggested that more report recommendations be implemented concurrently with the Treasurer’s position to gain momentum in passing the needed changes.

Some residents continue to push for an elected belief that someone resides in the “Town of Homes” with the expertise and drive to step into Carman’s shoes without much problem.

”I wanted it to remain independent and a Belmont resident,” said Judith Sarno. ”I think our track record shows Belmont residents elect qualified candidates,” pointing to the first-time elected Light Board.

But that belief runs counter not just to the Collins Center’s recommendation but also to best practices that nearly eight of ten communities in the Commonwealth – from ”teenie weenie” 500-person villages to the largest cities – appoint their financial chief.

“This is not about Floyd; it’s not about any one person. It’s about coming into the 21st century,” said Helgen.

While the bulk of the public forum focused on the pros and cons of an appointed treasurer, politics did come into play by some residents. Saying she wanted to call out the ”elephant in the room,” Judith Feinleib said she would oppose an appointed treasurer since the post would be filled by the current town administrator, Patrice Garvin. While she’s willing to accept a designated candidate, ”I want at least the treasurer to report to an elected body.”

Saying she wanted to provide greater nuance to Feinleib’s comments, Warrant Committee Secretary Elizabeth Dionne said a lot of the opposition to the appointed town treasurer is particular to Garvin.

“A number of us have seen egregious and dishonest and abusive emails circulating around her … that very explicitly states opposition to the elected treasurer in connection with her position, that this was a power grab and an effort on her behalf.”

In a bit of fun, Dash said a solution would be to place an appointed treasurer article on every town meeting warrant “until the members had enough and gave up.”

Four Roads To Be Dug Up To Add New Water Mains

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Photo: Gorham Road

Approximatly a mile of new 8-inch water mains will be laid starting in “a matter of weeks” after the Belmont Select Board approved the fiscal year ’23 Water Main Replacment project at its Oct. 18 meeting.

Department of Public Works Director Jay Marcotte told the board portions of four roads will be dug up to replace the existing pipe. They include:

  • Sycamore Street
  • Chandler Street
  • Gorham Road
  • Chester Road

Estimated by the town to cost $1 million, the town accepted a low bid of $790,070 from Cedrone Trucking of North Billerica. Marcotte said Cedrone has done “acceptable work for many years” having installed more than 11 miles of new pipeline.

Marcotte said three of the streets will be completed before the building season ends with one – still to be determined – beginning in the spring.

VOTING: In-Person Early Voting Starts Saturday, Oct. 22; 5,300 Vote By Mail Ballots Have Been Sent To Residents

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Photo:

Election Day, Nov. 8, Is three weeks away but way wait until then to vote: Belmont voters have two easy and early ways to case their ballots in the upcoming election.

Early In-Person Voting

Get ready to vote in person as Belmont residents will cast their ballots early beginning Saturday, Oct. 22 through Friday, Nov. 4.

Early in-person voting takes place in only one location in town: Belmont Town Hall, 455 Concord Ave. No advance application is required. If you intend to vote early in-person, please do not file a Vote By Mail application.

The dates for early, in-person voting are:
• Saturdays Oct. 22 and 29, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
• Mondays Oct. 24 and 31, 8 a.m. – 7 p.m.
• Tuesdays October 25 and Nov. 1, 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.
• Wednesdays October 26 and Nov. 2, 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.
• Thursdays October 27 and Nov. 3, 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.
• Fridays October 28 and Nov. 4, 8 a.m. – NOON

Early voting ends at Noon, on Friday, Nov. 4.

Early Vote By Mail

Vote Early By Mail ballots have been sent to approximate 5,300 residents who requested them, according to the Town Clerk’s Office.

The application to receive a ballot can be sent to the Town Clerk by 5 p.m. on Nov. 1. Be sure to sign the application, OR write and sign a note with the following information: Name, Belmont address where you live, your mailing address (if different). Then mail the application to Belmont Town Clerk, 455 Concord Ave., Belmont, MA 02478, or drop into the secure dropbox at Town Hall. A voter should submit only one request/application for a Vote by Mail ballot

Check the status of your application and ballot by visiting: www.VoteInMA.com and use “Track my mail in ballot” “Pending” means we have received your application.

When you receive the ballot, VOTE RIGHT AWAY! Sign the inner envelope and mail to: Town Clerk, 455 Concord Ave. Belmont, MA 02478 or drop it into the secure dropbox at Town Hall.

Once Again, (Special) Town Meeting Will Be A Virtual Affair

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Photo: Mike Widmer, Belmont Town Moderator

While many of the town’s board and committee meetings have returned to in person, the most significant of those will, once again, be held virtually after Belmont Select Board approved a recommendation by Town Moderator Mike Widmer to hold the upcoming Special Town Meeting virtually over the internet.

The three-day meeting is scheduled for Nov. 29, 30 and Dec. 1.

The reason Widmer said for the continuation of meeting “on-line” was two fold, first pointing to rising numbers of Covid-19 infections returning as the weather turns colder.

According to the website Your Local Epidemiologist, the start of a new Covid wave in Western Europe has begun as hospitalizations are uniformly increasing. “As we’ve seen throughout the pandemic, not only are infections increasing, but so is severe disease,” said the website.

Given the U.S. has mirrored European trends throughout the pandemic, a wave in the U.S. is likely coming. And specifically in Boston, “there are concerning signals with sudden increases in viral wastewater levels.”

With the likely return of virial infections, a large indoor setting with 300 people would prove challenging. Town Meeting would take place for four hours over three days either in the new High School auditorium or at the Chenery Middle School, said Widmer. And while a majority of Town Meeting would be comfortable in this setting, “clearly a fraction of Town Meeting members, particularly those who are seniors and immunocompromised would have some risk,” said Widmer.

And while that population would have a choice to attend a movie or eat at a restaurant, “it’s not fair to tell them to choose to not to meet their civic obligation and not attend Town Meeting.”

“I think the prudent thing to do is to continue to meet virtually. We have been successful with the Town Clerk [Ellen Cushman] in doing this well and professionally and with civil debates,” said Widmer.

Rink Committee Cuts Cost To $32.3M; White Field House Stays, Harris Field Lockers Go

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Photo: The location of the projected new skating rink/athletic complex will be built at the site of the current rink

Forty-eight hours after the Municipal Rink Building Committee’s design team presented an eye-opening $41.4 million price tag for the proposed municipal rink/athletic center, the committee on Friday, Sept. 30, voted to bring to the Belmont Select Board what it believes is a far more palatable request for the 48,000 sq.-ft. facility.

After a crash course by Ted Galante Architect Studio and Owner’s Project Manager CHA in cutting costs and rejiggering calculations, the committee will present at the Monday, Oct. 3 meeting a slimmed down $32.3 million – $32,343,487, to be exact – budget to replace the dilapidated Skip Viglirolo Rink adjacent to Harris Field on Concord Avenue.

“The $41 million cost, as we all concluded, is significantly higher than what we feel we can take to the town. And therefore, we need to do some [value engineering] to get that back to where we want to be, which is in the mid-30s, if possible,” said Building Committee Chair Mark Haley.

The significant changes in the revised budget are twofold: a recalculation of the contingency and escalation reserves as well as a list of value engineering reductions totaling $5 million.

The contingency reserve – that is, money set aside to protect against future unexpected costs that arise because of change orders or unanticipated expenses – has been reduced from $10.2 million to $6.5 million by consolidating two contingency line items into one and reducing the percentage

Another cost saving was found in lowering the percentage reserve for expected price escalation for materials and services, a change promoted by Haley that brought a warning from the design team.

“We can try it,” said Galante. “I think it puts us at risk, but we just have to be very careful about how it’s designed and what path we take for construction,”

After the contingency and escalation recalculations, the base bid construction cost – how much it takes to build the structure as well as the reserves for unanticipated expenses and all “soft” costs – for the rink came in at $38.8 million, which was still more than the top of the range of the initial cost estimate presented in July to the Select Board.

To bring down the projected cost to a more palatable cost, the design team proposed five potential options after conducting a value engineering study.

The option is:

  • The removal of the mezzanine deck. ($1.950 million)
  • Eliminating space for DPW-related storage. ($663,000)
  • Striking out the Harris Field Locker Rooms. ($1.547 million)
  • Delete the removal of the White Field House. ($535,000)
  • Reduce the scope of the parking area ($300,000)

Once presented, the committee voted to approve the programming cuts to reach the $32.3 million threshold.

Although the locker rooms were requested by the school district, committee member and Belmont School Committee Chair Meghan Moriarty said Schools Superintendent John Phelan told her the district was in favor of the value engineering reductions if it meant the total project price tag would be seen as more acceptable to the voters.

While five programming components were removed from the projects, they will be an opportunity for these to return later. Committee member Dynelle Long said the project can add a core shell – with foundation walls and supports – where the deleted programming would have been located to preserve the options of future construction.

That future funding could come from an existing pool of money set aside for recreational purposes.

“We should consider whether Community Preservation Act (CPA) funding is a way to pay for the plaza in front of the rink because, in fact, all of those, I believe, are eligible for CPA money,” said Anthony Ferrante, the Recreation Commission’s representative to the Committee.

It’s a question for the town whether that’s how we want to prioritize our CPA funds. But that’s a way of removing costs,” he said.

Select Board OKs $500K In ARPA Funds For DPW’s New Salt Shed

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Photo: The existing salt shed at the DPW yard, currently closed for safety reasons.

Each year – winter, really – Belmont uses 5,100 tons of salt on town roads to keep the streets safe and manageable when ever it snows.

And you gotta store it somewhere. For the past 35 years, the salt –  basically sodium chloride much like table salt – has been stored in a bee-hive shaped shed located at the Department of Public Works yard. At 36 feet tall and 72 feet in diameter, the octagonal structure was constructed with six-foot steel reinforced concrete retaining walls that supported the wood beam dome.

But storing corrosive material such as salt in a location for decades end up doing bad things. For years, workers witnessed the six-foot steel reinforced concrete wall rusting through and showing signs of failure. In addition, the narrowness of the entry into the shed has resulted in the town’s excavator hitting the walls inside a dark interior as it maneuvered inside the structure to retrieve salt.

In July, workers began hearing what sounded like a “door opening and closing,” said DPW Director Jay Marcotte. Looking inside the shed, employees discovered the wooden dome was lifting off from the concrete wall. The DPW had seen enough, chaining a gate to the shed and closed it down.

A subsequent investigation found the wood frame was collapsing and actually being supported by the salt pile. Removing the salt when the first snows event occurs would likely cause the roof to collapse with possible injuries.

The solution: Replace wood with fabric. BETA Engineering, the town’s consultant, recommends an engineered fabric metal structure manufactured and installed by Clear Span Fabric Structures of South Windsor CT. A specialist in creating salt sheds, the firm recommended a 65 foot wide, 80 foot long and 36 feet high fabric covered structure with block footings and interior lighting.

One main advantage using this structure is it can be moved to accommodate future town plans for the DPW site.

A breakdown of the cost:

  • $50,000 to BETA Group,
  • $375,000 to Clear Span for the material and installation;
  • $50,000 to remove the current shed and move and tarp the existing salt; and
  • $25,000 for prep work.

The funds to build the new shed is allocated from the town’s American Rescue Plan Act account, which leaves a balance of approximately $4 million.

The existing dome and the concrete supporting walls will be removed, the salt covered with a tarp and a new structure built at the same location. Construction will take place in the next 8 to 10 weeks with the onsite installation taking 3 to 4 weeks. The new shed should be ready around mid-December, according to Marcotte.

A Clear Span salt shed
The interior of a Clear Span salt shed

Leaf Blowers, Elected Vs Appointed Treasurer To Be Tackled At Late November Special Town Meeting

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Photo: An off-cycle Community Preservation Committee funding request to finish the Town Hall roof will be an article at Belmont’s Special Town Meeting in November 2022.

Town Meeting Members can expect three long, drawn-out nights as the agenda for this year’s Special Town Meeting was revealed to the Select Board at its Monday, Sept. 12 meeting.

Members will vote on 13 articles over three consecutive nights; Nov. 29, 30, and Dec. 1 that includes changing how the town treasurer is chosen, the creation of a bylaw to end the use of gas-powered leaf blowers in town in the next five years, providing additional funds to the Recreation Department and send free cash into rainy day funds. 

“There is concern at the number of articles … that Belmont can take a considerable amount of time in discussing some of the articles,” said Town Administrator Patrice Garvin presenting the agenda to the board and the Warrant Committee at its organizational meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 14.

“I will be meeting with the Town Moderator [Mike Widmer] to look at the list in a realistic way and hopefully try and get through the articles,” she said.

The Special Town Meeting could also be the first in-person meeting since 2019 if Widmer determines the meeting can take place safely in the new Belmont Middle and High School auditorium.

The index of warrant articles include:

  • Article 1: Reports
  • Article 2: Appropriation Belmont Library, Authorization to Borrow
  • Article 3: Belmont Municipal Ice-Skating Rink, Authorization to Borrow
  • Article 4: Establishing a Capital Stabilization Fund
  • Article 5: Transfer from Free Cash to Capitalization Fund
  • Article 6: Transfer from Free Cash to General Stabilization Fund
  • Article 7: Establish a Recreation Enterprise Fund
  • Article 8: Leaf Blower Bylaw
  • Article 9: Elected Treasurer to Appointed/Hire
  • Article 10: Extension of Contract Term for Electric Vehicle Buses
  • Article 11: Off Cycle Community Preservation Project – Town Hall Roof
  • Article 12: Current Year Supplemental Payment for Recreation Department
  • Article 13: Appropriation of Opioid Settlement

Looking down the plan, Garvin noted that articles 2 and 3 would only be taken up if one or both debt exclusion votes on building a new library and municipal skating facility were approved by voters at the Nov. 8 General Election.

The middle articles, 4-7, is the establishment of several funding line items. For example, Garvin said her office is proposing to transfer a portion of fiscal year ’22 “free cash” – the amount certified by the state will be announced on Sept 15 – into a pair of accounts; capital and the general stabilization funds.

The newly created capital fund will be for future capital needs and projects such as roofs on municipal buildings. Article 6 is a straight transfer from free cash into the established general fund that sets aside monies to be available for future spending purposes.

Garvin said the impetus for this approach was that each year a significant amount of free cash is carried forward to the next fiscal year. “[The town’s finance team] felt that it might be good to start storing [free cash] into stabilization funds for future appropriation and try and figure out a way to use that in a more productive way rather than keeping it aside for the operating budget,” said Garvin.

Garvin reminded the board on Monday that Article 7, establishing a Recreation Department enterprise fund, “has been talked about for a few years now.” And even now, “we’re still running down whether or not this is something that town should be doing.” An alternative is a potential revolving fund, “so we are running that down with Recreation Department.” The article is a placeholder until a firm decision is decided after discussions with Recreaction Department Director Brendan Fitts.

Article 8 is the leaf blower bylaw which the board talked about extensively since the beginning of the Covid-19 shutdown “when we first started getting complaints from residents about the noise level for leaf blowers.” Negotiations between small landscaping businesses and environmentalists have created a blueprint for ending gas-driven machines in the next few years.

“The Select Board discussed at the last couple of meetings … the possibility of making the elected treasurer an appointed/hired treasurer,” said Garvin, which will be before Special Town Meeting as Article 9.

Article 10 is an extension of a contract term for electric vehicle buses. Garvin said while there has been a great deal of discussion at the School Department, and when they put out their bid for buses, it will likely include electric – or EV – powered versions, there has been no formal “ask” by the district.

“The article is just a placeholder because, under Massachusetts’ procurement law, you can only have a three-year contract with a vendor … and some require a 10-year contract,” said Garvin. Under the law, such a contract has to be approved by a Town Meeting vote, she said. This article will be used to set up the district when it wants to go to these buses, said Garvin.

Article 11 is an off-cycle Community Preservation Project request to finish the repairs to the slate tiles on the Town Hall roof which received CPC funding. On Wednesday, Sept. 14, the CPC approved the extra funding.

Article 12 is a current year supplemental for the Recreation Department which is seeking additional funds to allow “Rec” to provide the programing that is town residents are demanding.

“Covid-19 has been tough to estimate receipts for Recreation. Garvin told the board that any surge in demand could decimate a program. “So we are looking to potentially change what those estimates are because our concern is Recreation is going to run out of money for FY ’23.”

The final article, 13, is Belmont’s appropriation of the state Attorney General’s Statewide Opioid Settlements. “I don’t know if people watch the news, but the town added itself to the settlements. So we have an opportunity to receive money, and this is something that we’re looking at to see if it would benefit the town,” Garvin said. The town would have to create a separate account to accept the settlement funds, which, Financial Director Jennifer Hewitt noted, would be $200,000 in the first year. “But the payments would fall significantly” over the next 16 years,” she added.

With the warrant open for only two days – Sept. 13 and Sept. 14 – it’s unlikely the Town Clerk’s office will have accepted any citizen petitions for certification, which was just fine with board member Adam Dash.

“I’ve always perferred to keep Special Town Meetings to the [agenda] because we have a special need for these meetings. Citizen petitions and all that are more [suited] to an annual Town Meeting,” he said.

Garvin Gets High Performance Marks From Belmont Select Board, 2.5 Percent Merit Increase Approved

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Photo: Patrice Garvin at Monday’s Select Board meeting

As the town prepares to move forward with historic changes to its budget process and governmental structure, Belmont’s Chief Administrative Officer received top marks from the elected executive arm of the town during her annual performance review.

Each board member praised Town Administrator Patrice Garvin for her professionalism inside Town Hall and among residents and her fiscal leadership, for which the board gave her its highest marks.

“Her opinion is always valued, her financial insight is always detailed, and her view is always on what is best for Belmont,” wrote Select Board member Adam Dash. “She is a great Town Administrator, and Belmont would be worse off without her.”

Responding to the review, Garvin told the board that she sees it “as a privilege to come and work for the town of Belmont every day.” Noting that she could not do her job with her “amazing” staff and department heads, Garvin said there is “mutual trust and respect for each other, and it goes a long way” when some departments are “really bare bones” in staffing.

“As you know, that can be challenging … but I always keep in the back of my head that what I’m doing is for the residents. It’s not for myself. So I leave my ego at the door, and I keep working.”

According to Human Resources Director Shawna Healey, Garvin’s performance review consisted of self-evaluation and a number-based performance evaluation on all aspects of her role as the town’s chief administrative officer. After calculating the board’s ratings on several categories, including personal characteristics, professionalism, her relationship with the board, and organizational leadership, Garvin received an overall rating of 4.67 out of 5.

Last year, amid Covid-19-related restrictions and budget constraints, Garvin received a 4.16 rating.

If there was one area, the board noted her expertise was in financial management, which each member rated her as a ‘5’ in the category’s six subsets.

“Patrice is an expert financial manager,” wrote Roy Epstein. “The [fiscal year] ’24 budget process will be a critical test of her abilities. Simple and clear communication with the public on these topics is also very important.”

Galvin’s lowest ratings came in the Public Relations/Communications category, with a need to be more effective in transmitting the goals and aims of the town to the public.

Saying that Garvin should remember to emphasize her own professional development, Dash noted while he “appreciates her frank and direct approach, sometimes a softer response would work better.”

The board approved a 2.5 percent merit increase at Monday’s meeting, in line with what the police and fire chiefs recently received as part of their reviews, said Healey. The merit increase is retroactive to July 1, the same date as a 2 percent cost of living adjustment. Garvin’s current annual salary after the two adjustments is $202,156.

Three Cardboard Drop-Off Days Are Coming To Belmont’s DPW Yard

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Photo: Belmont will hold three cardboard drop off events starting in October

Where do you stack the cardboard boxes that brought your online purchases? In the garage? How about the corner of your office? Or the basement where it has taken the form of a corrugated fiberboard Mt. Everest.

Well, you’ll soon have the opportunity to rid all those cartons out of your abode as Belmont will provide residents three days to drop-off those piles of cardboard, according to Jay Marcotte, director of the Department of Public Works.

“It’s that time of year,” Marcotte told the Belmont Select Board at its Monday, Sept. 12 meeting, when the town creates the schedule for paid drop off events.

Unlike past years when the town held a pair of events on either side of the Christmas holiday, demand for the service – which is revenue neutral – necessitates a extra day.

“We are slammed with phone calls right now,” said Marcotte, noting at a recent event, 400 cars lined up to toss their boxes.

The events will take place on:

  • Saturday, Oct. 22
  • Saturday, Dec. 3
  • Saturday, Jan. 14, 2023

Location: the DPW Yard off of C Street.

Cost: $5. “The fee seems to work best at $5; that seems like the magic number for participation,” said Marcotte. Residents can use an on-line registration form on the Recreation Department‘s web page or come to cash or a check written out to the “Town of Belmont.”

Belmont Votes: 2022 In-Person State Primary Election

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Photo: The state primary election will be held in Belmont from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 6

Voting in the Massachusetts State Primary will take place on Tuesday, Sept. 6. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

All voters wishing to cast their ballot on Election Day must go to their assigned voting precinct.

This election will determine who will be the Democratic and Republican candidate in the general election. On Ballot: Representative in Congress, Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, State Treasurer, State Auditor, Governor’s Council, State Senator, State Representative, District Attorney, Sheriff.

Belmont’s voting precincts:

  • Precinct One: Belmont Memorial Library, Assembly Room, 336 Concord Ave.
  • Precinct Two: Belmont Town Hall, Select Board Room 455 Concord Ave.
  • Precinct Three: Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St.
  • Precinct Four: Daniel Butler School Gym, 90 White St.
  • Precinct Five: Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St.
  • Precinct Six: Belmont Fire Headquarters, 299 Trapelo Rd.
  • Precinct Seven: Burbank School Gym, 266 School St.
  • Precinct Eight: Winn Brook School Gym, 97 Waterhouse Road, Enter From Cross St.

Inactivated Voters

Voters who have been informed that their voting status has been changed to Inactive should be prepared to present identification before being permitted to vote.

If You Requested a Vote By Mail Ballot But Prefer to Vote In Person

Voters who have requested an absentee or an early vote by mail ballot should expect that the precinct will check with the Town Clerk to determine if a ballot has already been received for that voter.

Voters who Need to Return their Mailed Ballot for Counting

Any voter who would like to return a absentee or vote by mail ballot  to be counted, must return the ballot  to the Town Clerk by the close of polls on election night, 8 pm.  It cannot be delivered to a voting precinct. There is a dedicated drop box for the Town Clerk at the base of the steps to Town Hall along the driveway at parking lot level.