Annual Town Meeting, April 7, 2011
The Board of Selectmen voted on Monday, December 20th, 2010, to open the Warrant for the Annual Town Meeting to be held on Thursday, April 7th, 2011, at 7:30 pm in the Wayland Middle School Gymnasium. Adjourned sessions of town meeting will be held on Sunday, April 10th, at 1:00 pm, Monday, April 11th, at 7:30 pm, and Wednesday, April 13th, at 7:30 pm, as necessary.
The warrant for said Annual Town Meeting was open from Tuesday, December 21st, 2010, at 8:30 am, through Tuesday, January 18th, 2011, at 4:30 pm. In accordance with Chapter 36, Section 36-3 of the Code of the Town of Wayland, all articles for consideration and inclusion in said warrant shall be submitted to the Selectmen’s Office in Wayland Town Building at 41 Cochituate Road, Wayland, Massachusetts by 4:30 pm on Tuesday, January 18th, 2011.
The 2011 Annual Town Meeting Warrant Hearing will be held on Monday, March 28th, beginning at 7:30 pm in the Large Hearing Room in Wayland Town Building. The hearing is an opportunity for residents to review the articles and ask questions of sponsors and advocates in advance of town meeting. Those questions that can’t be answered at the hearing will be researched and information provided as town meeting. It is our hope town meeting discussion is a lively, civil debate on the merits of each article rather than an exercise in information gathering that could be done in advance. The informational nature of the Warrant Hearing, taken together with the option of electronic voting and the provision of additional information in the Warrant and on the Town’s website, should reduce the length of time needed to complete town meeting and result in greater attendance and more representative decisions.
The 2011 Annual Town Meeting Warrant will be delivered to residents on March 22nd or 23rd. In response to feedback from citizens and based on our experience at recent town meetings, we’ve included new information. What’s new this year?
- The Report of the Finance Committee contains additional narrative explaining the role of the Finance Committee, its guidelines and policies that form the basis of developing the annual operating and capital budget, and the connection between the budget recommendations and the Town’s long-range financial strategy, including the use of free cash and other reserve funds.
- Within Article 6, FY2012 Omnibus Budget, the Finance Committee has included 9 pages of detail on each of the 26 capital purchases or projects using a standardized format that addresses key questions about each item.
- Following each of the four petitioners’ articles (Articles 7, 8, 23 & 25), we have added a disclaimer regarding the content of the petitioners’ comments modeled after the note provided by the Secretary of State in the mailing regarding state ballot questions.
While Town officials have worked together to increase the amount of information printed in the Warrant (comments, appendices, maps and the like), it is not possible to anticipate nor practical to print for distribution the background reports that culminate in articles for vote at town meeting. Therefore, the Finance Committee encourages all citizens to visit the Finance Department and Finance Committee pages for supplemental information that might respond to questions you have regarding financial policies and strategy. You’ll find presentations by the Finance Committee at public meetings held to discuss capital improvement process and long-range planning, compilation of peer towns used to benchmark fiscal indicators, FY2012 budget guidelines, and copies of the bond prospectus for the January 2011 issue and the Moody’s Investor Services rating report. You can visit the pages of departments and Town boards and committees for additional information relative to subjects to be discussed at town meeting, such as the field evaluation report or frequently asked questions and answers related to the zoning recodification bylaw.
In addition, residents are encouraged to take note of some other unique features for the 2011 Annual Town Meeting. Due to the construction at Wayland High School, this town meeting will be held in the Middle School Gymnasium. This facility seats about 750 for town meetings, so we will be providing seating in the auditorium with video/audio connection to the main venue in case interest in the articles or curiosity about the trial use of electronic voting technology on the flow and pace of town meeting has a positive impact on attendance. Details on the process and procedure for electronic voting is available on the Town Meeting Electronic Voting Implementation Subcommittee page. And lastly, Selectmen have recommended that the second session of town meeting be held on Sunday, April 10th at 1:00 pm. The Board believes that a Sunday afternoon session, which was first tried in 2009, offers the potential of greater participation by those who are reluctant to drive at night, those parents who find it easier to find babysitters for young children, and those citizens who travel during the week for work or find participation in an evening meeting too strenuous after a full workday. It is our hope that the business of town meeting will be concluded by 6:00 pm of this second session. However, if further business remains, adjourned sessions of town meeting will be held on Monday, April 11th and Wednesday, April 13th at 7:30 pm.
You can view the Town Meeting Information page to access past Town Meeting Warrants and information on the work of the four temporary advisory committees appointed by the Moderator to make recommendations to him on various aspects of town meeting.
Information related to the April 2011 Annual Town Meeting is posted below: