Let’s Talk Budgets: Warrant Briefing On Segment B Of Annual Town Meeting

Photo: Budget discussion this Thursday

The Belmont League of Women Voters is hosting a Warrant Briefing before the start of Segment B – the budget related articles of the annual Town Meeting on Thursday, May 25, at 7 p.m.

At this virtual meeting held over Zoom and broadcast via the Belmont Media Center, the briefing – cosponsored by the Warrant Committee and the League’s Education Fund – will allow Town Meeting members and residents to ask questions on budget articles prior to the first night of Segment B on Wednesday, May 31.

Town officials and department heads will be present to provide information. Moderating the meeting will be Geoffrey Lubien, chair of the Warrant Committee.

Viewing options include:

Participating on Zoom

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87860421130

Zoom meeting ID: 878 6042 1130

Watching on cable television or live stream

Live broadcast: Belmont Ch 8 (Comcast); Ch 28 (Verizon). Livestream or on-demand: belmontmedia.org/watch/govtv

League Of Women Voters Town Meeting Warrant Briefing On Thursday, April 27

Photo: A screenshot of last year’s meeting

The Belmont League of Women Voters will hold its annual Warrant Briefing before the start of the annual Town Meeting on Thursday, April 27, at 7:30 p.m.

At this virtual meeting held over Zoom and broadcast via the Belmont Media Center, the briefing – cosponsored by the Warrant Committee and the League’s Education Fund – will allow Town Meeting members and residents to ask questions about Warrant Articles prior to Town Meeting, Segment A, that begins on Monday, May 1.

Town Officials and Department Heads will be present to provide information. Leading the meeting will be Geoffrey Lubien, chair of the Warrant Committee.

Viewing options include:

Participating on Zoom

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86719886843 

Zoom meeting ID: 867 1988 6843

Watching on cable television or live stream

Live broadcast: Belmont Ch 8 (Comcast); Ch 28 (Verizon). Livestream or on-demand: belmontmedia.org/watch/govtv

League Of Women Voters Candidates’ Night, On-Line This Thursday

Photo: The league’s annual candidates’ night.

The Belmont League of Women Voters is holding a virtual Candidates’ Night on Thursday, March 23, at 7 p.m.

The night will start with a video “parade” of Town Meeting Members.

Short speeches and Questions & Answers with each town-wide candidate will follow it.

The night will conclude with information on the two ballot questions: the debt exclusion for a new rink/recreation center and a change from an elected to an appointed town treasurer.

Viewing Options:

Zoom meeting webinar: 893 7026 9526
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89370269526
Live broadcast: Belmont Ch 8 (Comcast); Ch 28 (Verizon)
Livestream or on-demand: belmontmedia.org/watch/govtv

Remember: Town Election Day is Tuesday, April 4.

League of Women Voters’ Segment B Warrant Briefing Via Zoom This Thursday, 7PM 

Photo: The poster for the Warrant Briefing on May 26, 2022

Town Meeting members and the public are invited on Thursday, May 26 to attend the 2022 ‘Zoom’ Warrant Briefing on all things budget for next week’s resumption of the annual Town Meeting.

The meeting is cosponsored by the town’s Warrant Committee and the Belmont League of Women Voters.

Residents and members will have the opportunity to ask questions of town officials and department heads about the budget articles and amendments prior to the annual legislative gathering on Wednesday, June 1.

Geoffrey Lubien, chair of the Warrant Committee, will preside.

Viewing Options:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89020081969
Zoom meeting ID: 890 2008 1969
Live broadcast: Belmont Ch 8 (Comcast); Ch 28 (Verizon)
Livestream or on-demand: belmontmedia.org/watch/govtv

League Of Women Voters’ Virtual Candidates’ Night 2022 Thursday, March 24 At 7 p.m.

Photo: The good ol’ days: the parade of Town Meeting members candidates in 2019

The League of Women Voters of Belmont is holding its annual Candidates’ Night on Thursday, March 24 at 7 p.m.

The event will take place virtually via Zoom, over the internet and live on Belmont Media Center.

The night will start with the popular Town Meeting Member “parade” to be followed with short speeches and questions and answer with each of the town-wide candidates.

Just a reminder: Town Election takes place on Tuesday, April 5.

Your viewing options include:
• Zoom meeting webinar: 827 7506 4862
https://uso2web.zoom.us/j/82775064862
• Live broadcast: Belmont Ch 8 (Comcast); Ch 28 (Verizon)
• Livestream or on-demand: belmontmedia.org/watch/govtv

League of Women Voters’ Segment B Warrant Briefing This Thursday, 7PM

Photo: The budget will be discussed this Thursday at the Warrant Briefing

Town Meeting members and the public are invited on Thursday, May 20, to attend the 2021 ‘Zoom’ Warrant Briefing on all things budget for next week’s resumption of the annual Town Meeting .

The meeting is cosponsored by the town’s Warrant Committee and the Belmont League of Women Voters.

Residents and members will have the opportunity to ask questions of town officials and department heads about the budget articles and amendments prior to the annual legislative gathering on Wednesday, June 2.

Laurie Slap, chair of the Warrant Committee, will preside.

  • Please click the link below to join the webinar by computer, tablet or smartphone: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86589919600
  • To join by telephone, call: 1 (929) 205 6099. When prompted, enter:865 8991 9600 # When prompted, enter #
  • Follow along live on Belmont Media Center Gov/Ed TV. Watch in Belmont on: Ch 8 – Comcast or Ch 28 – Verizon
  • Watch from anywhere on belmontmedia.org/govtv

Town Meeting Warrant Briefing Set For Thursday, April 15 at 7 p.m.

Photo: Poster for the April 15 Warrant Briefing

The Warrant Committee and Belmont League of Women Voters will co-sponsor a Warrant Briefing for Town Meeting Segment A to introduce Town Meeting Members to the articles in the warrant for the first section of the annual 2021 Town Meeting on Thursday, April 15 at 7 p.m.  

For new Town Meeting Members, the warrant is the legal notice of the Town Meeting, showing the agenda that will be discussed and voted by the Town Meeting assembly beginning Monday, May 3. 

The Warrant Briefing is not an open debate or detailed discussion, nor is it a replacement for the full debate/airing that must take place at Town Meeting. It’s an opportunity for the Warrant Committee Chair Laurie Slap to briefly explain the goal of the article and Town Meeting Members can ask a question to help everyone better understand the intention of the sponsor of the article in putting it on the warrant. It’s a very valuable meeting to attend, this year exclusively by Zoom.

The Zoom viewing options are:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86589919600 Zoom meeting ID: 865 8991 9600

Live broadcast: Belmont Ch 8 (Comcast); Ch 28 (Verizon) Livestream or on-demand: belmontmedia.org/watch/govtv

The warrant and all associated documents will be emailed to Town Meeting Members either Tuesday or Wednesday. If you are newly elected and have not provided a contact sheet with your current email for Town Meeting please do so right away so you don’t miss the mailings.

League Of Women Voters (Virtual) Candidates’ Night On Monday, March 22

Photo: The annual candidates night will take place on Monday, March 22

The Belmont League of Women Voters will be holding its annual Candidates’ Night for all those running for town-wide posts and Town Meeting on Monday, March 22 at 7 p.m.

In addition, representatives of ballot questions on the April 6 ballot will be defending their sides of all issues.

And while the event will be virtual via Zoom and the Belmont Media Center, Town Meeting candidates will have their opportunity to participate in the traditional “parade” but this year it will be done on video.

League Women Voters Hosting Congressional Candidates Forum Tuesday, Oct. 13, 7:30PM

Photo: The forum

Several chapters of the League of Women Voters are joining together to host a candidates forum for the Fifth Massachusetts Congressional District featuring incumbent US Rep. Katherine Clark (Democrat) and her challenger Caroline Colarusso (Republican).

The forum will take place virtually on Tuesday, Oct. 13 at 7:30 p.m.

Viewing Options:

Zoom Webinar Live: TinyURL.com/5thCongForum
Live Broadcast: Belmont Ch 8 (Comcast) or Ch 28 (Verizon) Livestream: BelmontMedia.org/watch/govtv
Shared with Cable Access Stations across the District Recordings available on demand: BelmontMedia.org and LWV websites

The forum will be conducted according to LWV guidelines. After a brief opening statement from the candidates, a League Moderator will ask questions submitted from LWV members and the public, followed by closing statements from the candidates.

League chapters from Arlington, Belmont, Boston (Cambridge Unit), Framingham, Lexington, Melrose, Natick, Sudbury, Waltham, Wayland, Weston and Winchester participated in the forum.

Below is important information on the voting process:

Voting – checkregistration: Vote411.org/check-registration
Ballot application: MailMyBallotMA.com
Track ballot: TrackMyBallotMA.com
Early Voting: Oct. 17–30, Locations and times: MassEarlyVote.com
Deadlines: Registration — Oct. 24; Vote-By-Mail application — Oct. 28.

Ballot: must be postmarked by Nov. 3 and be delivered at local election office by Nov. 6.

Be an informed voter: Visit the LWV Voter Guide for information on all candidates at VOTE411.org.

Penny Schafer, Economist and Civic Leader, Dies at 76

Photo: Penny Schafer (family photo)

Penelope “Penny” Schafer, a well-respected environmental economist who lived most of her life on Lewis Road, was known by her family and friends for being “generous almost to a fault,” willingly providing her time and energy to the service of her church, community and civic groups in her hometown of Belmont.

Schafer – who always went by Penny – died on Aug. 26, 2020 in Portland, Me. She was 76. The cause was a stroke suffered at her vacation home in Jefferson, Me.

“She leaves behind a legacy of making the world a better place at both the national and local level,” remembered one of her clients who she worked with at Cambridge-based Abt Associates.

Schafer’s colleagues at Abt recalled her as an amazing mentor, smart, funny, and, most of all, wise. She had an amazing capacity for kindness, while pushing her colleagues to be better than they knew they could.

Schafer was nationally known for her work on the dangers of lead paint and their abatement, working principally with the US Environmental Protection Agency. She conducted risk assessments of the environmental impacts of lead and other pollutants such as mercury and asbestos on the environment, and performed impact and cost-benefit analyses of proposed environmental regulations. She also developed an early Web-based lead database which provided organizations and families with access to data on childhood lead poisoning and facilitated interdisciplinary collaboration in the effort to prevent childhood lead poisoning.

Although she never sought the spotlight, Schafer was dedicated to her community and invested great time and energy in making it a better place for all. She served as an elected Town Meeting Member for 38 years. In addition, she was on the town’s Warrant Committee, which oversees the town budget, including chairing the committee for a period. She also played a vital role on Belmont’s Senior Center Building Committee and the Council on Aging including being its president. 

Schafer was also a dedicated member and officer of the Belmont League of Women Voters, most recently serving on its board and as its treasurer. She also devoted serious time to the First Church in Belmont, serving in various roles since joining around 1978, including most recently on the Parish Board and a just completed six-year tenure as its treasurer. She was an active long-term member of her Radcliffe College Class Reunion Committee.

Schafer was born on April 10, 1944 and grew up in LaGrange, Ill. She graduated from Radcliffe College in 1966 and earned a doctorate in Urban Planning with a concentration in Economics from Harvard University in 1976. 

While in graduate school she fell in love with Robert Schafer, and they were happily married for 50 years, celebrating their golden wedding anniversary on Aug. 23, three days before she died.

Schafer is survived by her husband, a son, Karl, and two brothers, Gale and Brad, and their families.

The family is establishing a Penny Schafer Memorial Fund at the First Church in Belmont, 404 Concord Ave., Belmont, MA 02478, to which contributions can be made in lieu of flowers or other gifts. A memorial service will be held once the Covid-19 virus subsides and in person gatherings are again possible.