Town Meeting Approves Depot Building Restorations, Community Preservation Budget

During the second night of annual Town Meeting in Bedford, voters approved the twelve remaining articles left over from opening night, including all of the items listed in the Community Preservation Budget. 

The night began with a vote on Article 21, which asked Town Meeting voters to amend the FY13 Community Preservation budget to allow an appropriation of $25,000 for the final landscaping to the recent reconstruction of Wilson Mill Dam. 

The funding includes the design and installation of plantings specifically selected to prevent non-native and invasive species from overtaking the site. 

The article was adopted by voters. 

Article 22 asked voters to approve the FY14 Community Preservation budget, which included 12 separate items totalling $1,716,862. While all 12 items were approved by Town Meeting voters, one item asking voters to approve $100,000 for restorations to the Depot Building. 

The funding would allow for necessary renovations making the building handicap accessible, code-compliant and also enhance public access.

Several voters, including two tenants of the Depot Building, voiced concern that the renovations would have an adverse effect on the businesses in the building due to ongoing construction, removal of display windows and repositioning of doors. 

A voice vote on the Depot Building renovations was too close for Town Moderator Betsy Anderson to call so it went to a hand count, with the final vote coming in at 63 in favor of the renovations and 49 opposed. Thus every item included as part of Article 22 was passed by voters.

Article 23, asking voters to provide additional funds to be added to the FY13 operating budget and other articles voted on at the 2012 annual Town Meeting, was passed quickly and unanimously.

Article 24 was also adopted with a unanimous vote. The article established the compensation ranges for all non-School Department employees. 

Voters were asked to approve the FY14 operating budget with Article 25, including the budgets for the various town departments such as Selectmen, Finance, Schools, Public Works, Facilities and more.

While the budgets for Planning Board and Vocational Education were held by voters for futher discussion, each budget included under Article 24 as part of the FY14 operating budget was eventually adopted unanimously.

Article 26 sought to appropriate $950,284 for the FY14 Ambulance Enterprise Budget, and in order to meet the appropriation, allow the town to raise $634,321 from the Ambulance Enterprise revenues as well as $44,720 from the tax levy. Article 26 was adopted unanimously. 

Article 27, which asked voters to raise and appropriate $147,030 in order to allow certain town employees to be eligible for increases in wage based on merit, was also adopted unanimously. 

Voters unanimously approved Article 28, which appropriates $538,125 toward the town's unfunded liability for health and life insurance benefits of both current and future retired employees. 

Article 29 asked voters to authorize the transfer of the town's funds presently invested in the Other Post-Retirement Employment Benefits (OPEB) trust fund to the Massachusetts Health Care Security Trust (MHCST).

The MHCST contains the funds that have been set aside by the state government  to pay for health insurance for current and future state government retirees. Recent legislation has allowed municipalities to transfer their own OPEB trust funds to the state trust for investment. Article 29 was adopted unanimously.

Voters unanimously passed Article 30 which sought to supplement an existing fund to offset the anticipated annual and future costs of town employee accumulated sick leave payments with an appropriation of $25,000. Before Article 30 passed, there was $356,891 remaining in the existing fund. 

Article 31 asked voters to appropriate $50,000 to the town stabilization fund, which may be used for any purpose in the future, but requires a Town Meeting vote in order to transfer and spend these funds. Article 31 passed unanimously. 

The final article, Article 32, asked voters to approve a transfer of $2,471,075 in surplus revenue to reduce the tax levy for FY14. Needless to say, Article 32 passed unanimously.