Town Meeting members approved the purchase of the Glen Echo property Monday evening at the ninth session of Town Meeting. Glen Echo has been the Open Space Committee's "top priority for acquisition for a decade."  Learn more about the details of the purchase and about the property itself from this slideshow presentation put together by the Community Preservation Act Committeeand Open Space Committee and presented to Town Meeting members on Monday. Slideshow provided by Town Meeting representative Deborah Sovinee.

The attached PDF (located in the media gallery) contains some information regarding the School Department's six proposed borrowing articles (Articles 64-69) set to come before this year's Annual Town Meeting. The School Department will be asking for: $600,000 to repair the Jones School roof (Article 64) $200,000 for an electrical service upgrade to the Jones School (Article 68) $200,000 for Facilities Master Plan capital projects (Article 65) $100,000 to restore the surface of the SHS Track (Article 67) $250,000 to refurbish the tennis courts and adjoining basketball court at SHS (Article 66…

Article 34 on this year’s Town Meeting Warrant could spark debate (or more accurately provide some shock), with the Stoughton Police Department seeking the purchase of 45 tasers for their department. The estimated cost of this article is $67,500, according to the Warrant. The Finance Committee voted 6-4 against approving this article, and voted 6-4 against another motion to purchase only 25 tasers. The Municipal Operations Committee voted 6-1 against approving this article, but a motion to instead purchase 22 tasers at approximately $35,000 was approved unanimously. The Stoughton Police …

At the last Town Meeting session on Monday, May 9, Town Meeting members did not end up approving two motions that would have added money to a stabilization fund, which in essence is a “rainy day” account. The Finance Committee made a motion to put $1,441,757 into the stabilization fund by taking $482,836 from free cash, $441,757 from the Tax Levy, and taking $500,000 from the retained earnings of the Public Health Department. The vote on this motion lost 60-58, as concerns were raised over taking $500,000 from the retained earnings of the Public Health Department. Lisa Parent, director of the…

After lengthy discussion, Town Meeting approved more than $35.9 million for the FY 2012 school budget Monday night, about a 4.28 percent increase over this year’s budget.   Voters overwhelmingly rejected a motion to cut an additional $1.47 million, which would have level-funded the department. Another proposal to cut less – $923,374 (to put in the town’s rainy day fund or free cash) – was never proposed by Selectmen, even though they recommended the reductions last week at their meeting. The $35.9 million for the Stoughton Public Schools was recommended by the Finance Committee, and it was …

Monday, May 9 is the third session of the 2011 Annual Town Meeting. Discussion and voting on the FY2012 budget is expected to be wrapped up tonight. There could be some debate with the final department listed in the budget, the school department. There is a motion that was printed at the last Town Meeting session to “move that the total School Department Line of $35,935,654 be reduced by the sum of $923,374 to the new dollar amount of $35,012,280; and that the total department budget figure of $37,016,735 be reduced by the sum of $923,374 to the new dollar amount of $36,093,361. The amount of…

After months of crunching numbers, holding public hearings and having debates, as the 2011 Annual Town Meeting convenes at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, the Town Meeting representatives will be asked to vote on the budget for FY2012. Included in the Annual Town Meeting Warrant and Report of the Committee on Finance and Taxation is a proposed budget of $69,877,816. The total gross revenue figure is almost $73 million ($72,959,269) but as Holly Boykin, chair of the Finance Committee explains, “after you take out expenses and money set aside for free cash articles, snow overdraft, subsidies, …

Take a look at the 161 men and women who will represent you at this year’s Annual Town Meeting. They will be the ones voting for the town’s budget and any potential borrowing articles. The full list can be found in the media gallery of this article. There are plenty of familiar names and faces in the crowd, with many of the representatives serving on other elected or volunteer boards or organizations in town, including selectmen, school committee members and finance committee members. There are also town employees or former town employees serving. There are 24 new Town Meeting members this …

Not a Town Meeting representative but still interested in following along during this year’s annual Town Meeting? Stoughton Patch is providing you with the 2011 Warrant and Report of the Committee on Finance & Taxation, as well as essential supplementary materials.* The aforementioned materials can be found in the media gallery. Included: the proposed FY2012 budget; the proposed Town Meeting articles; recommendations from the Finance Committee in regards to the borrowing articles; a budget message from Holly Boykin, Chair of the Finance Committee; and a list of Town Meeting rules and …