1996-07-BOS-min - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

60-32 Selectmen's Meeting - July 15, 1996 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the petition of the Boston Edison Company to lay and maintain underground conduits and manholes, with the wires and. cables to be placed therein, u Tnder the surface of Lowell Street in an easterly direction, approximately 170 feet northwest of Haskell Street, a distance of about 20 feet. Petition for Non - Binding; Referendum on March ballot Mr. McSweeney read the proposed wording of a non - binding referendum question for the local election in March, 1997. Shall legislation be requested by the Town of Lexington which would require a town -wide referendum vote for the approval of any fiscal year budget, exclusive of line items funded by enterprise funds, which exceeds the prior fiscal year's budget by more than three percent.? Mr. McSweeney reported that he had received a memo from the Appropriation Committee stating its opposition to the question being placed on the ballot and one letter from Mr. Perry Pollins stating he is in favor of the question being placed on the ballot. Mr. Lapointe reviewed the Appropriation Committee's four main reasons for opposing the question. Committee members felt that such referenda would: usurp the authority and diminish the accountability of elected officials; reduce to yes/no questions a complex, comprehensive resource allocation process; encourage annual budgeting gamesmanship and create an extended, unwieldy, impractical, and costly budget approval process. Mr. Perry Pollins , Mr. Joseph volante, Mr. Neal Boyle, Mr. Geza Szonyi and Ms. Edith Tracey all spoke in favor of Mr. Tripi's proposal. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the request of Mr. Stephen Tripi and nine or more registered voters to place the non - binding referendum question on the March 1997 ballot. Long Ran a Plann* i na Committee Mr. McSweeney acknowledged the hard work of the Selectmen's Long Range Committee members Paul Hamburger, Robert Cohen, Susan Del Greco, Bob Hutchinson, Peter Kreisky, Judy Leader, Kristin O'Sullivan, Eric Michelson and Steve Politi. Mr. McSweeney reviewed the agenda items proposed by the LRPC. The Board does feel the Committee interpreted the values correctly. The Board also hopes that the Committee will continue and has asked citizens who would be interested in serving on the committee to contact the Selectmen's office. � 3