SAUGUS — Town Meeting made short work of most of the articles on the Annual Town Meeting warrant Monday evening, voting unanimously to approve 11 articles, most of which dealt with annual spending and capital improvements.
During the first session of Annual Town Meeting, after members approved all 13 articles on the Special Town Meeting warrant last week, 39 of 50 Town Meeting members filled the auditorium in Town Hall, where they essentially rubber-stamped a bevy of articles with minimal discussion.
Articles 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16 passed unanimously, as members took favorable recommendations from the Finance Committee to approve supplemental appropriations for the current fiscal year’s budget in the amount of $938,740. They authorized $73,000 in spending for the water and sewer departments, roughly $2,000 in bills from the previous year, nearly $1 million in borrowing from the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, $350,000 for construction and reconstruction of streets and sidewalks in town, $150,000 for guard-rail replacements, and $388,000 for the Saugus Cable TV budget.
Town Meeting opted to delay taking up Articles 2, 6, 7, and 10, which concern the town’s budget, and water and sewer rates, absent recommendations from the Finance Committee. Article 17 was postponed to the next session at the request of Precinct 10 member Darren Ring.
Article 16, sponsored by Precinct 2 member Chris Riley, will formally designate the location of Veterans Park at the intersection of Central and Winter Streets. Riley said a sign would be constructed in the area at no cost to the town by the same person who built the signs in Saugus Center and Cliftondale Square. Riley said the area had never been formally designated and there was “some confusion” about the location of Veterans Park.
Town Meeting appeared on track to adjourn at a record pace before it came to a grinding halt on Article 18, sponsored by Precinct 10 member Peter Manoogian. It would allow any Town Meeting member to submit a non-binding resolution for consideration with 48 hours notice before the next Town Meeting session.
“There are times after warrants are closed that matters occur and you want to express yourself,” Manoogian said.
He cited an instance where Town Meeting passed a resolution opposing the closure of the town’s library amid a turbulent budget season. The article is “a way for you to better represent the citizens who elected you,” Manoogian told members.
Precinct 6 member Bill Brown expressed concern that the 48-hour notice would not be honored, with the potential for resolutions to be submitted after the clerk’s office closes on Thursday evenings without members receiving notice until a Friday morning before a Monday evening Town Meeting.
“Members could get ambushed,” Brown said. “We should just leave things the way they are, I don’t see a reason to make changes at this point.”
But, Manoogian countered, the 48-hour notice is standard operating procedure under the open-meeting law, and the policy that all town boards and committees operate under. Town Counsel John Vasapolli backed Manoogian on that issue, noting that his article essentially mirrored enacted legislation.
Riley motioned to amend the article to broaden its scope and allow any resident to submit a resolution for consideration, but Vasapolli said doing so would likely “run afoul” of Chapter 39.
Board of Selectmen Vice Chair Debra Panetta, a former Town Meeting member, expressed support for Manoogian’s proposal.
“This article empowers Town Meeting,” she said. “It gives you an additional voice you may not have had.”
The article ultimately passed by a 36-1 margin, with only Brown voting in opposition.
The final article members took up on Monday, Article 19, proved to be even more controversial than Article 18. Also sponsored by Manoogian, Article 19 would require a 9/10 vote of Town Meeting to “call the question” and shut off debate on articles if the moderator determines there are Saugus residents in the audience who want to speak on the issue.
Manoogian argued that the article was about democracy, and as a legislative body, Town Meeting had an obligation to allow residents to express their views on issues.
But, Brown, who seemingly sparked Manoogian to put forward the article by moving to call the question during an Oct. 24, 2022 Special Town Meeting when Saugus residents still sought to speak, was again a vocal opponent.
“If we support this article, you gotta plan on spending a lot of time on other motions, other articles that we could be spending better,” he said. “A 2/3 majority was required on that night and I think that’s something we should adhere to”
“I don’t think we need to throw out Robert’s Rules in order to satisfy some dissatisfied representatives here,” Brown added.
Manoogian fired back, asking “Do we really want to gag our citizens for expediency?”
He received support from fellow Precinct 10 member Martin Costello and Precinct 3 member Rick Smith.
“Democracy is a participatory sport, if it wasn’t, it doesn’t exist anymore,” said Costello
“Let’s prevent people’s democracy being stolen and support this article,” Smith added.
Manoogian asked for and was granted a roll call vote on the article, with a final margin of 32-6 approving the measure.
