Four Contested Positions, Debt Exclusion on Weston's Election Ballot

Weston's Annual Town Election will take place on Saturday, May 11.

When voters head to the polls that day, they'll be deciding who will fill 18 positions up for election in 2013. Among the 18 seats up for grabs, there is one -- to fill a vacacny on the Board of Assessors -- for which there are no candidates.

Also among those 18 positions are four spots that will be contested.

The races for moderator and Board of Selectmen each feature two candidates looking to fill a single open seat for a full term.

Additionally, the races for Recreation Commission and Planning Board each feature two candidates seeking to fill a single seat left open by a mid-term resignation.

Below is the full candidate ballot.

Moderator (1)

In addition to filling positions on town boards, voters will also be asked to decide on a debt exclusion question.

According to an announcement on the Town of Weston website, Ballot Question 1 is a Proposition 2 1/2 Debt Exclusion question reading:

Shall the Town of Weston be allowed to exempt from the provisions of Proposition two and one-half, so called, the amounts required to pay for the bond(s) issued in order to design, engineer, construct and equip the following, including all costs incidental and related thereto: (1) DPW Drainage Improvement Projects; (2) South Side Drainage Improvement Project; (3) Roundabout at Newton, Wellesley, School Streets; (4) Case Campus Master Plan – Phase 1; and (5) New Police Station – Design Services?

If the ballot question passes by a majority, it would allow the town to exempt from the limits of Prop 2 1/2 the debt service on bonds totalng $3.71 million. Those funds are broken down into the following town projects, which will be addressed individually in separate articles of the Annual Town Meeting Warrant:

1. New Police Station – Design Services (Article 12) - $ 800,000
2. Case Campus Master Plan (Article 13) - $709,000
3. Roundabout at Newton, Wellesley, School Streets (Article 14) - $681,000
4. DPW Drainage Improvement Projects (Article 15) - $300,000
5. South Side Drainage Improvement Project (Article 16) - $1,220,000

According to the town,

The debt service for these projects will be approximately $46,375 in fiscal year 2014, $417,617 in fiscal year 2015, then decreasing each year until the bond reaches maturity.