SWAMPSCOTT — Town Meeting members voted to approve the town’s $79.34 million fiscal year 2024 operational budget, along with the town’s climate action plan, at the 122nd Annual Town Meeting Monday night.
Roughly 300 Town Meeting Members made their way into the High School’s auditorium Monday night. After Town Moderator Michael McClung asked members to keep their speeches brief and remain respectful of one another, state Rep. Jenny Armini (D-Marblehead) approached the podium to greet the crowd.
“The democratic process is not supposed to be easy or neat. If it was, we’d be doing it wrong,” Armini said. “Swampscott has a unique, forward-looking spirit. You’re playing the long game with some impressive generational investments.”
The town’s operational budget represents, approximately, a 2 percent increase from last year’s $77,609,245 budget. While presenting the new budget, Finance Committee Chair Eric Hartmann said the town will stick to its rule of levying a 2 percent tax increase, followed by an additional $425,000 limit on new growth.
Although the budget follows the town’s rule, Hartmann said rising inflation made growth in certain municipal departments necessary.
“We’re concerned about whether or not we can continue to provide the services that the town expects and needs within the limitations of this rule,” Hartmann said.
The FY24 budget increases funding to Swampscott Public Schools by 2.6 percent, with $310,000 funneled into the creation of a special-education stabilization fund.
Additionally, Hartmann said the proportion of funding appropriated toward the town’s municipal departments will increase by 3.4 percent.
Members also voted to approve Article 2, which allows the Select Board to approve the town’s Climate Action Resiliency Plan.
The plan, developed by the Climate Action Committee, aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles and buildings, reduce litter, and research hazard mitigation for rising sea levels along Swampscott’s coast.
Town Meeting members also approved creating and funding a diversity, equity, and inclusion director for the public school system.
Select Board Member Peter Spellios spoke in favor of the board’s approval of the last-minute $80,000 budget amendment, arguing that the creation of a new budgeted position would ensure the city’s “continued support toward diversity.”
When a Town Meeting member asked if the town was “just throwing money around” with the hiring of the officer, Town Administrator Sean Fitzgerald said the town plans to hire a consultant.
When asked if the town had any plans on how to fund the new position, Fitzgerald said he could envision the town putting out a request for proposals to fund the role.
Town Meeting members debated raising the budgeted salary for a town planner from $70,000 to $100,000 through an additional $30,000 in salary after Town Meeting Member Gerry Perry motioned to raise taxes and increase funding for the hiring of a new town planner.
“You might increase it by 30 percent, but the unintended consequence of that would put pressure on a number of other positions,” Fitzgerald said.
Perry’s motion ultimately failed.
Town Meeting will continue at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Swampscott High School’s auditorium.
