Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003-07-28-STM-Warrant TOWN WARRANT Town of Lexington Special Town Meeting Commonwealth of Massachusetts Middlesex, ss. To any of the Constables of the Town of Lexington Greetings: In the name of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, you are hereby directed to notify the inhabitants of the Town of Lexington qualified to vote in elections and in Town affairs to meet at the Clarke Middle School, 17 Stedman Rd, in said town on Monday, July 28,2003 at 8:00 p.m., at which time and place the following articles are to be acted upon and determined exclusively by the Town Meeting Members in accordance with Chapter 215 of the Acts of 1929,as amended,and subject to the referendum provided for by Section eight of said Chapter, as amended. ARTICLE 1 REPORTS OF TOWN BOARDS, OFFICERS, COMMITTEES To receive the reports of any Board or Town Officer or of any Committee of the Town. (Inserted by the Board of Selectmen) ARTICLE 2 OPERATING AND CAPITAL BUDGET To see if the Town will make any supplemental appropriations for Fiscal Year 2004 or reduce, rescind,adjust,change the source of funding of,or otherwise amend any operating or capital appropriations made at the 2003 Annual Town Meeting; to determine whether the amounts needed for any such supplemental appropriations shall be provided by the tax levy, by transfer from available funds, or otherwise, or by any combination thereof; and to act in any other manner in relation thereto. (Inserted by the Board of Selectmen) DESCRIPTION. This article permits Town Meeting to make additional appropriations for Fiscal Year 2004 (July 1,2003-June 30,2004)for any purpose and to amend any operating or capital appropriations made for Fiscal Year 2004 that were voted at the 2003 Annual Town Meeting. The purpose of this article is to provide Town Meeting with maximum flexibility to reconsider the Town's Fiscal Year 2004 budget in light of the failure of the"at risk"appropriations made at the 2003 Annual Town Meeting to take effect after the defeat of the Proposition 2 %z override question at the June 2, 2003 election. ARTICLE 3 OPERATING BUDGET To see if the Town will make supplementary appropriations,to be used in conjunction with money appropriated under Article 4 of the warrant for the 2003 Annual Town Meeting, to be used during the current fiscal year,or make any other adjustments to the current fiscal year budget and appropriations that may be necessary; determine whether the money shall be provided by the tax levy, by transfer from available funds, or by any combination of these methods; or act in any other manner in relation thereto. (Inserted by Olga Guttag and 100 or more registered voters) DESCRIPTION: The proponents of this article are concerned that a Special Town Meeting maybe called for the purpose of promoting a"single purpose override," i.e., one that would provide funds for only a small subset of the programs and services previously placed at risk in the FY2004 budget approved at the 2003 Annual Town Meeting. This article would preserve the Town's option to include in any supplemental override that is submitted to the voters any or all of the programs or services that were previously placed at risk. ARTICLE 4 TRANSPORTATION SERVICES To see if the Town will provide for continuation of Lexington's public transportation services for Fiscal Year 2004, and determine whether the money shall be provided by the tax levy or by transfer from registered voters inthe townorLexington. (Inserted by Robert Beckwitt and 200 or more registered voters) DESCRIPTION: The proponents of this article are seeking a supplemental appropriation for Fiscal Year 2004 of approximately $1,000,000 for the police and fire departments in order to replace the "at risk" appropriations for such departments voted at the 2003 Annual Town Meeting that did not take effect due to the failure of the Proposition 2 %z property tax override question at the June 2,2003 election. The proponents of this article are also asking that (i)the Board of Selectmen promptly schedule an election to seek voter approval of a Proposition 2 %z override for such purpose if additional taxes are necessary to fund such supplemental appropriation, and (ii) the Board of Selectmen commit to submitting any Proposition 2 %z override questions that may be necessary to fund the police and fire department budgets in future years separately from any other Proposition 2%z override questions that may be necessary for other purposes. (The Board of Selectmen has exclusive authority under state law to determine whether to submit Proposition 2 '/z override questions to the voters and to determine the form of any such questions;therefore,any vote by Town Meeting under this Article 5 seeking to have the Board of Selectmen submit a Proposition 2 %z override question to the voters or seeking to have the Board of Selectmen submit such a question in any particular form would be merely advisory and would not be legally enforceable.) And you are directed to serve this warrant fourteen days at least before the time of said meeting as provided in the By-Laws of the Town. Hereof fail not and make due return of this warrant, with your doings thereon,to the Town Clerk, on or before the time of said meeting. Given under our hands this 7th day of July 2003 Leo P McSweeney Selectmen Jeanne K. Krieger Dawn E. McKenna of William P Kennedy Peter C.J Kelley Lexington A true copy, Attest: George Anderson Constable of Lexington Town of Lexington Bulk Mailing Lexington, MA 02420 U.S. Postage PAID Boston, MA Permit No. 3011 Warrant- Special Town Meeting—July 28, 2003 WS CAR SORT POSTAL PATRON LEXINGTON, MA