2012 Chelmsford Fall Town Meeting Recap: Day 1
Town Meeting will resume on Thursday. Here's a quick recap of what happened on Monday.
If you couldn't make it to Fall Town Meeting on Monday night at the Senior Center, here are a few photos of what you missed, along with the results.
Town Meeting will resume on Thursday night.
| Special Town Meeting | ||
| Article | Intent | Result |
| 1 | Purchase of the Sheehan property | Passes by 2/3rds hand count |
| Amendment to 1 | To ensure the Sheehan Property is specifically used for agricultural purposes | Passes, 86-54, 3 absentions |
| Fall Town Meeting Proper | ||
| Article | Intent | Result |
| 1 | To hear town reports | No vote |
| 2 | Transfer of $438,322 into Sewer Stablization Fund | Passes, 142 to 1 |
| Amendment to 3 | Finance Committee recommendation to amend Other Post Employment Benefit (OPEB) transfer from $1,000,000 to $1,613,568 | Fails, 47 to 95 |
| 3 | OPEB transfer from free cash of $1,000,000 | Passes, 129 to 7 |
| 4 | $480,210 for Compensated Absences Fund for remaining retirees grandfathered into program. | Passes, 136 to 2 |
| 5 | $535,323 for General Stablization Fund | Passes, 136 to 1, 1 abstention |
| 6 | Transfer of $29,000 in E-Rate grant funds to School Department | Passes, 139 to 1 |
| 7 | Transfer of $907,608 from free cash to FY 2013 Operating Budget and $574,975 reduction in town's debt service. | Passes, 124 to 17, 2 abstentions |
| 8 | $25,000 from sale of graves to Cemetery Improvement Fund | Passes, 137 to 0 |
| 9 | Rescinding $8,900 unspent on Community Preservation Fund Reserve and $13,164 for exterior restoration of Garrison House. | Passes, 136 to 0 |
Jim Stratton
6:10 am on Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Were all the reps there for the whole meeting? The "yes plus no" votes for any given article don't all add up to the same number?
Andrew Sylvia
8:06 am on Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Hi Jim,
There were some technical issues with the boxes at certain points, so that may have had an impact. Also, I believe some reps were absent. I'll see if I can get detailed roll calls later this week.
Tom Christiano
7:30 am on Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Thanks Andrew. This is a very clear and concise summary of the first night of our Town Meeting. Good idea to post some photos of the Reps as well.
Andrew Sylvia
8:08 am on Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Thanks Carmen! And thanks for the picture of me as well! I might not be as photogenic as you, but at Town Meeting, everybody's fair game!
Tanner
10:24 am on Tuesday, October 16, 2012
I am sure you noticed Paul Cohen getting testy/loud last evening when a gentleman asked a question that Paul Cohen had previously answered as his pretown meeting. I would like the BOS to address with Mr. Cohen that pretown meeting is not a requirement nor is it televised for viewers at home. It is important that TMR's not be criticized or ridiculed for asking questions that were asked at pretown meeting otherwise what is the point of having Q&A at all, if all questions could have been answered at an earlier point in time.
Maria Karafelis
12:38 pm on Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Tanner;
Where do you get ridiculed? That did not happen, Mr. Cohen made the statement that this question was asked and addressed at the pre-town meeting and proceeded to tell the entire TM audience of his response.
Paul E. Cohen
11:43 am on Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Tanner, it was the same person who asked the identical question the previous Wednesday evening's pre-Town Meeting. He knew the answer to the question. He was misusing the question and answer period for the purpose of debate.
Maria Karafelis
12:38 pm on Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Agreed.
Tanner
2:21 pm on Tuesday, October 16, 2012
So now the town manager is also the moderator. Since the pre-town meeting now plays such a large role in Town Meeting maybe the moderator has to be required to attend that meeting and determine if someone is using the Q&A session incorrectly.
Jon Kurland
3:05 pm on Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Tanner - Actually, the Moderator does attend all of the pre-town meetings and he was there when that question was asked and answered. Paul Cohen and everyone who attended knew that this individual had asked that question and received an answer at pre-town meeting. Moreover, he had ample time to ask follow-up questions at pre-town meeting if he was not satisfied with Paul's answer or if he wanted additional clarification. He did neither. This was a clear situation where someone was asking a question in which he already knew the answer which is in contravention of the rules. He certainly could have gotten up during the debate session and made his points based upon the information that had been previously provided but he chose not to. The purpose of the rule is is to prevent someone from unnecessarily extending the length of town meeting by asking 1) questions that you know the answer to, or 2) using the Q & A session for argument. The reason that Paul raised his voice is because the questioner started to interrupt his answer when Paul started providing information that the questioner did not want people to hear and Paul wanted to be heard over the questioner's interruption.
Tanner
4:01 pm on Tuesday, October 16, 2012
So let the moderator enforce it, not Paul. It is not his job. You are essentially making pre-town meeting a requirement for all TMR's, by not allowing previously asked questions. Also, whether re-asking a question you know the answer to may appear to be crossing the line into debate is very subjective. It could also be considered productive and prompt questions from other TMR's. I think pre-town meeting is a hindrance to regular town meeting as it appears many will be ridiculed if they re-ask the same questions. I wonder if Paul would have had the same reaction if someone else had asked the question. I think it is fair to assume the same quote would have come out of his mouth. The TMR sat down after Paul shunned him publicly. No wonder he didn’t resurface.
Mr. Kurland, Why do we have to package budget revisions together? For instance, lumping in two unneeded police officers with essential school expenses to get them to pass.
Jon Kurland
6:58 am on Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Tanner - Any town meeting representative could have filed a motion to amend to delete that line item. In fact Mary Frantz and Brian Latina filed amendments on Monday. One passed and one didn't. Regarding your comment that Paul shunned the rep, I have spoken to many who agree that Paul did not shun anyone. But perhaps if the rep did not try to rudely interrupt Paul's answer, the exchange might have been different.
Jon Kurland
11:22 pm on Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Tanner - Just to make certain that my initial impressions of the exchange that you refer to was accurate I watched the video of town meeting. I invite everyone to watch the exchange for themselves and see if the Town Manager was disrespectful, ridiculed or shunned the questioner. You will find the exchange at minute 49 of the video. I suggest that you will find that the Town Manager's conduct was not any of those things as alleged in Tanner's comment above.
Peggy Dunn
8:35 am on Thursday, October 18, 2012
In reply to Mr. Stratton re number of reps voting at the Monday session of Town Meeting, there are 18 reps per precinct and 9 precincts = 162. That is the number of votes plus abstentions that SHOULD register with each vote. The largest total I saw for total votes was 144. Reps were either absent or not voting the 'abstention' button, or were not in the room when the vote was taken. Also, you will note quite often, that the votes taken on articles later in the evening will have fewer votes recorded because reps have left the meeting early. The Town Clerk has the attendance record.