Photo: Belmont Town Meeting
It’s all about the Benjamins as the 2017 Belmont Town Meeting reconvenes tonight, Monday, June 5 at 7 p.m. in the Belmont High School auditorium.
Town Meeting will take up the town and school budgets as well as all things financial including capital expenditures, enterprise funds and fiscal transfers.
You can read all the documentation for Segment B here at the Town Clerk’s web page.
While Town Clerk Ellen Cushman, and Town Moderator Michael Widmer have reserved two weeks of days to finish the “town’s business,” Cushman said she and Widmer have heard from many Town Meeting Members that due to “significant conflicts” in the coming week, that “we make every attempt to conclude the business of the Annual Town Meeting on Wednesday, June 7, negating the need to meet the following week.”
While the pair have stated they will attempt to uphold the request of a two-night budget debate, Cushman is asking Town Meeting Members’ help to facilitate that wish by following these time-saving suggestions:
- Although our custom is to allow five minutes at the microphone per Town Meeting Member, please consider using only two or three minutes instead; this would help us to finish in the two nights. Of course, if you require the five minutes to make your point, by all means take the full five. The Moderator will actively cut off speakers and Town Meeting Members who do not respect the pre-determined time limits.
- The Moderator will describe the scope of each article as we approach the discussion; make your best attempt to remain within the defined scope.
- If you have questions or plan to make a speech about a motion, please consider putting them in writing so they are as concise as possible for your turn to address Town Meeting.
- The result of all of these actions could result in two longer sessions of Town Meeting. We’ll get started on time. If we do not complete our work on all warrant articles on Wednesday, June 7, we will meet again Monday, June 12.
“We all look forward to a productive couple of nights of Town Meeting,” said Cushman.
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