Saugus moderator Long expecting Town Meeting to wrap up Monday

SAUGUS – Town Meeting will resume Monday evening at 7:30 p.m. in Town Hall auditorium.Town Moderator Robert Long said he is optimistic the town would be able to conclude its business that night.”We didn’t wrap it up like I was hoping we would,” he said of this week’s meeting. “We got the major pieces out of the way and should be able to finish up on Monday.”The budget was passed unanimously on Monday evening with $25 million for the school department and $37.3 million for non-school departments.A request to find $60,000 to offset user fees at the high school was tabled on Monday. The Finance Committee recommended referring the article to a special Town Meeting, which is scheduled for this fall because a source of funding was not identified. Town Meeting voted 25-14 to put it on the warrant in the fall but Long said he expects it be reconsidered on Monday.Town Meeting members still have to tackle a request to bond $80,000 to replace a fence at the high school that serves as a barrier between the high school and Route 1. The wooden stockade fence is riddled with rot, large gaps and areas where complete sections are falling down.Long said other articles that would be addressed include a home rule petition asking the legislature to approve a charter change that would allow the selectmen to serve as water commissioners.”Right now Town Meeting is the water commissioner,” he said.