Politics & Government

Foxborough Town Meeting Set For May 9

Selectmen vote to move town meeting back to it's original date of May 9.

Foxborough Board of Selectmen voted tonight, April 12, to reschedule town meeting for May 9, reversing their prior approval of postponing town meeting to May 23. 

Foxborough Town Manager, Kevin Paicos, informed selectmen tonight that the High School auditorium is not available on May 23.

Paicos recommended to the board that the original town meeting date of May 9 be reinstated.

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"Here is the danger...Foxborough has a town by-law that requires the meeting to be open at 7:00 p.m on May 9...the Town Clerk and Moderator would go and open the meeting and then make a motion to adjourn the meeting until May 23," said Paicos. "However, if a 100 people show up, they will do business...you can't prevent that from happening even though the public knows the meeting is postponed."

Selectmen voted on April 5 to postpone town meeting to May 23 over budget concerns. They believed at the time it was in the best interest of the town to postpone town meeting in order to be better prepared to explain the budget in a way the voters will understand.

Find out what's happening in Foxboroughwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“What we don't want is another town meeting with last minute changes and confusion,” said selectmen chairwoman Lynda Walsh on April 5. "Residents do not want to be blindsided when they arrive at the meeting again." 

Pacios along with Randy Scollins, town accountant, had presented a proposed a balanced operating budget to selectmen on April 5 that included revenue of $300,000 from the meals tax.

However, there was uncertainty surrounding the proposed balanced operating budget from selectmen and town residents.

What concerned selectmen and residents about the proposed operating budget was the fact that it is not, in reality, "truly balanced," and instead is based on the assumption of the meals tax passing at town meeting.

If the meals tax does not pass at town meeting, the town would then need to cut an additional $300,000 from the budget. $90,000 would need to be reduced on the town's end and the schools would need to cut an additional $210,000 from their budget.

Paicos presented selectmen tonight, April 12, with the $90,000 in municipal budget cuts that would be made if the meals tax did not pass.

Budget cuts if the meals tax does not pass would be the following:

  • HR Director Salary - $86,000
  • HR Director Benefits -$14,537
  • Town Clerks Records Preservation Capital Outlay - $10,000
  • Library Position &Page Hours - $29,947
  • Library Position related benefits -$434
  • COA Hours reduction -$24,387
  • COA Related Benefits - $16,208

*Please see attached chart to view further calculation costs.

Paicos felt confident that by having these cuts presented to the public now gives ample time for residents to digest their decision before town meeting on May 9. 

"It is simple...now the town can confidently say that if the meals tax does not pass, this will be the budget we are passing...with these exact cuts," said Paicos. 


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