Nov. 8 Local Ballot Questions Clarified

By Carol Britton Meyer

To avoid confusion, Assistant Town Administrator for Finance Michelle Monsegur recently provided clarification on the local questions related to the proposed new public safety facility and Foster School that will appear on the Nov. 8 state election ballot. Voters will also consider four statewide ballot questions.

The local questions will appear on the back of the ballot, and unlike with the statewide ballot questions, the town is required to follow state-prescribed language and is not allowed to place information beside or beneath the questions about what a "yes" and what a "no" vote means.

Select Board member Liz Klein explained that the dollar amounts are not allowed to be included in the questions either.

As a way of starting to get the word out about these details, Monsegur explained that for both questions, a "yes" vote supports the town borrowing funds and raising taxes to construct the proposed new building, while a "no" vote does not support authorizing the town to borrow funds or raise taxes for that purpose.

The town will share more information in the weeks leading up to the Nov. 1 Special Town Meeting, where voters will decide whether to support the proposals -- and also leading up to the Nov. 8 election.