What To Expect at North Reading Town Meeting

Community members will gather at the Daniel H. Shay Auditorium inside  on Monday, June 4 at 7 p.m. for Town Meeting.

If you haven't registered to vote yet, you won't be able to participate in this year's Town Meeting. The deadline was May 15.

There are 23 articles on the Warrant, and five on the Special Town Meeting Warrant. Warrants were mailed to residents' homes earlier in the year. Here are some items listed on the warrant that you may be interested in:

• Article 7 FY2013 Operating Budget

Residents will be asked to vote for the FY2013 Operating Budget. The budget goes toward the compensation of elected officials, reserve fund and expenses for the town. The proposed budget for FY2013 is $56,499,194. The selectmen recommend a budget of $55,836,914.

Here are the budgets for the last two years, and proposed budget for 2013:

• Article 8 Transfers from Free Cash to Supplement the FY2013 Operating Budget

This article will allow the town to use money from free cash to fund items under the operating budget if they run out of money. The estimated amount of free cash to be applied to the budget is $405,273, according to the Warrant.

• Article 9 FY2013 Capital Expenditures

The town will be asked to vote on whether or not to purchase a digital document management system, replacement vehicles and an update of the Water Master Plan. Here are the costs for each item:

• Article 14 Increase Demand Fees under MGL Chapter 60, Section 15

According to the Warrant, this article will ask residents to "vote to charge for each written demand issued by the Collector, a fee of up to $30 to be added to and collected as part of the tax as authorizes by MGL Chapter 60, Section 15, effective as of July, 1, 2012; or what it will do in relation thereto." This will be put in place to encourage residents to pay their bills on time.