State law prohibits a nonbinding ballot question special town meeting overwhelmingly wanted voters to consider in March’s local election from going on the ballot, Andover Town Counsel Doug Heim told the select board Monday.
The article called for asking voters if they wanted Andover to move on from its current open town meeting for of government. Resident Kathleen Grant petitioned to get the article on the warrant for Nov. 20’s special town meeting. Despite opposition from Town officials, special town meeting approved the article 1,181-692 with 32 abstentions.
Select board member Chris Huntress said the board should vote to put a similar, nonbinding question on the ballot for the election on March 26.
“The intent was clear, and the message was clear from special town meeting,” Huntress said. “So I’d like to suggest…we put the ballot question on and write it in a way that we think clarifies the question, addresses the issues of the language…[and] makes it compatible with the ballot.”
The board took no action on the issue Monday.
The select board and finance committee both recommended special town meeting reject the article on the basis state law prohibits special town meeting from putting nonbinding public policy questions on the local election ballot, but annual town meeting can.
Heim outlined other ways the question could make it onto a town meeting warrant:
- The select board could vote to add the question to the warrant 30 days before annual town meeting.
- The select board could vote to add an article to the annual town meeting warrant modeled on the article special town meeting passed.
- Grant or another registered voter could petition the select board with ten signatures to add the article to the warrant.
- If the board rejected a petition, the petitioner could collect signatures from 10 percent of registered voters to place the question on the ballot.
“So you guys can put a non-binding question on anytime you want just by your own vote,” said Heim, who also said the ballot question’s wording would need minor edits. “You don’t need to get somebody to petition to do it.”
Select board members stressed throughout Monday’s discussion they did not want to undermine the will of Andover’s legislative body.
Select Board Notebook:
- Assistant Town Manager Michael Lindstrom said MassDOT signed off on lowering the speed limit on Argilla, Woburn, Ballardvale, Beacon, Central Streets and Brundrett Avenue to 25 MPH.
- Seven residents spoke during the public comment portion of last night’s meeting to oppose paving the Haggetts Pond Trail with asphalt, as the Town is currently planning. The asphalt was chosen to avoid having the trail washed out in heavy rains. Opponents want the Town to use crushed stone on the trail, saying the paving will force the removal of trees and vegetation and chemicals from the asphalt could leak into the water.
“I don’t think anyone wants that. It disrespects what happened that evening,” Select Board Chair Melissa Dansich said. “But…I think it’s really important then that we make sure that this is done in a manner that…[it] is in fact enforceable and…in a manner that’s consistent with the requirements of the legislature.”
Danisch pointed to a citizens petition article that passed at the May 2022 special town meeting that would have given COVID-19 stipends to Andover Public Schools support staff. That article was also deemed unenforceable.
“One of the concerns that I’ve heard is consistency with last year’s special town meeting where we also had an article that was not in fact enforceable that had been voted on,” she said.
While Grant’s wording called for the select board would to present a proposal to the following annual town meeting to consider changing Andover’s form of government if the election results show voters want to do away with open town meeting, Heim said the select board is not required to take any action on nonbinding ballot questions. The select board has rejected pushes to do away with open town meeting, saying the issue was studied by the town governance study committee, which recommended keeping open town meeting.
“I just think there would be a lot of confusion” with the way it’s curently worded, Town Clerk Austin Simko said.
It’s not fair or right to accept the findings of the Town governance study committee as the final word. One has to look at the make up of the membership of the committee and the wording of any surveys and such they worked with. It’s easy to reach a predetermined conclusion on town meeting which was done by packing that committee with people who supported that form of town governance.
The SB simply can’t hide behind legalese in the wording of warrant articles. The people spoke. Be democratic and fix what needs to be corrected. Get it right
Slight correction on the 25mph streets– the last one should be Brundrett (Ave), not Brunswick. Thanks!