Photo: Free cash isn’t free The holidays came two months early to Belmont Town Hall as the Massachusetts Department of Revenue certified the town’s fiscal year 2020 free cash account – officially known as the Unreserved Fund Balance – at $11,239,464, a record high level for the budget line. “The free cash amount this year […]
Photo: November override rescinded In a dramatic 180 degrees turn, the Belmont Select Board voted Tuesday morning, Aug. 4 to rescind the Nov. 3 Proposition 2 1/2 override vote it approved last week in response to a surprise announcement last week from the state that it will likely provide level-funded local aid in the current […]
Photo: In the midst of a continuing pandemic and an economic recession, the Belmont Select Board approved placing a $12.5 million Proposition 2 1/2 override on the Nov. 3 Presidential Election ballot. “I do believe this is one of the most significant votes that Belmont will certainly take in its history as it relates to […]
Photo: Tom Caputo, chair of the Financial Task Force 2. With town finances at the precipice of a financial black hole coming this time next year, the Belmont Select Board will ask voters to pass the largest Proposition 2 1/2 override in the town’s history of between $12 to $14 million. “It’s a big ask,” […]
Photo: The money is rolling into town’s free cash coffers (Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository) Belmont Treasurer Floyd Carmen is fond of repeating a cautionary catchphrase when speaking about the town’s unrestricted fund account. “Free cash isn’t free,” says Carmen. While it may not be free, by bringing in a robust $8.1 million in […]
Photo: Ellen Schrieber, a co-chair of the Yes for Belmont committee. Endorsing a recommendation to stabilize school funding and help fund road repairs, Belmont voters came out in big numbers to support a $4.5 million Proposition 2 1/2 override during the annual Town Election on Tuesday, April 7. With a little more than half of […]
Photo: Belmont voters passed a $4.5 million Proposition 2 1/2 override that will secure long-term level funding and help with road repair. The measure passed, 4,728 to 3,818, according to the Belmont Town Clerk’s office In the race for Selectman, Andy Rojas lost a chance for a second three-year term as first-time challenger Jim Williams of Glenn Road defeated the […]
Photo: The Yes campaigners. The Belmontonian endorses a “yes” vote on Question 1, the Proposition 2 1/2 override measure on the ballot to be decided on Tuesday, April 7. This question allows residents the opportunity to follow “the better angels of our nature,” when we can set aside manufactured tension and fear and replace it […]
Photo: Elizabeth Allison. Move over, Koch brothers and Tom Steyer; you may think you have a big influence on politics, but you guys have nothing on Elizabeth Allison. According to a campaign finance report filed March 30 with the Belmont Town Clerk, the Chair of the “Vote No on Ballot Question 1” committee has all […]
Photo: Professor Graham Allison. It’s the return of the robo call to the Belmont political scene. But unlike an infamous automated call from an unknown group/individual sent to resident in 2010, this time the sponsor and speaker are out front with their identities and agenda. The group seeking to defeat the Proposition 2 1/2 override on […]