Winchester Town Meeting kicks off with financial articles, Ledges tabled again

The first night of the annual Spring Town Meeting kicked off Monday night, with new Town Moderator Philip Frattaroli at the helm — and a problematic projector that brought on more than one joke from officials delivering committee reports.

“Anyone have this on their Bingo card?” Frattaroli kidded, as the issue continued for the first hour of the meeting, disrupting planned presentations.

Despite the loss of slides, officials managed to bring Town Meeting members up-to-date on projects that have been completed since the body met in November 2024 and what they can expect over the next three sessions.

With 56 articles on the spring warrant, speakers mainly focused comments on the town’s continuing financial issues.

Select Board Chair Michelle Prior, Finance Committee Chair Jeff Calabrese and Town Manager Beth Rudolph each addressed the fiscal year 2026 budgetary deficit and current plans to bridge the gap. The trio stated the challenges facing the town will continue beyond the current budget as officials look for solutions.

“FY26 has been a very challenging budget year,” Rudolph said, adding the town has had to dip into its reserves to solve this year’s deficit.

Rudolph added it’s not the first time the town has used reserve funds to solve fiscal problems. She said the town has been working to cut costs, especially in the areas of health and dental insurance, where a 19% increase earlier this year took officials by surprise.

Rudolph and Prior both said Winchester will probably be looking at an override next year.

“2019 was our last override,” Rudolph said. “We expected to use the funds over two or three years, but we have stretched that over six fiscal years.”

She added that as the structural deficit facing Winchester continues, there will come a time when the current strategies are no longer sustainable.

To that end, Prior said the Select Board is putting together a State of the Town Committee to form a comprehensive fiscal plan. The committee is expected to be made of up of the entire Select Board, two School Committee members, one Planning Board member, two Finance Committee members, one Capital Planning Committee member, Rudolph, Town Comptroller Stacie Ward, Superintendent Dr. Frank Hackett, Director of Finance and Operations Andrew Marron and two or three residents to be appointed by the Select Board.

School Committee Vice Chair Tim Matthews and Educational Facilities Planning and Building Committee (EFPBC) Chair Chris Nixon also addressed financial issues facing the schools, such as the upcoming Article 28, which requests $400,000 to pilot an elementary literacy program, as well as more money for the fixing of concrete issues at Winchester High School and the upgrade of the gymnasium.

Those articles are expected in upcoming Town Meeting sessions.

Financial articles

Nearly $480,000 was transferred from Free Cash to cover various items in the fiscal budget, such as snow and ice removal, health insurance and unemployment compensation. Town Meeting unanimously passed all five motions contained within Article 10.

Additionally, all 10 motions within the Capital Planning Committee (CPC)-sponsored Article 16 were unanimously passed. The article transferred nearly $1.8 million for capital projects, including $50,000 for a Department of Public Works brush cutter, $500,000 for road and sidewalk updates and $102,000 for digitization of Building Department and Zoning Board of Appeals records.

Articles 17 and 18, which asked for $1.5 million to remodel and repair the Woodside Road Pumping Station and $800,000 make improvements to the water system on Cambridge Street and the surrounding area, were also passed.

And Article 20, an annual request since 2015 to add $100,000 to the Strategic Capital Maintenance Fund, was also unanimously passed.

CPC Chair Roger McPeek said the Select Board, CPC and town manager all agreed to raise this year’s request to $200,000 due to the FY26 challenges.

After a question about the accounting of the money, Ward said the total in the account over 10 years has added up to $1.1 million, of which more than $800,000 had been spent on maintenance issues.

Ward added the fund allows Rudolph to take out money without going through Town Meeting for every request.

What also passed…

Article 3 — the Planning Board’s report — was accepted. Chair Brian Vernaglia said both the MBTA 3A Overlay District and Main Street Mixed-use District have been approved by the state, although the Accessory Dwelling Unit bylaw revisions are still pending in the Attorney General’s Office.

Vernaglia said after three big bylaw changes last year, the Planning Board has hit the pause button and would have no big articles at this Spring Town Meeting.

Article 4, which amends language to Section 8.1 of the zoning bylaw called the Floodplain Overlay District (FPOD) and Section 10 definitions, also passed.

Town Engineer Matt Shuman said the language ensures continued compliance with FEMA regulations by aligning with the updated Massachusetts Floodplain Model Bylaw. The updated maps go into effect July 8, 2025.

What didn’t…

The two articles — 5 and 6 — dealing with a request by The Ledges Condominiums to rezone a piece of land in order to sell it were once again on the outs.

Frattaroli said Article 5 was being tabled until it could be further studied.

Precinct 8 member Diab Jerius questioned the legislative process.

Frattaroli explained that under Robert’s Rules of Order, the matter can be referred for further study and brought up at another Town Meeting for debate.

Article 6, Frattaroli added, could not be taken up by Town Meeting because it involved zoning. Zoning articles are prohibited from coming back to Town Meeting for two years.

The Planning Board debated whether or not Article 6 could be discussed during a meeting on April 15.

“It’s been suggested because the applicant didn’t seek a motion, there was no unfavorable action. Our opinion is to the contrary,” Town Counsel Jay Talerman said during the meeting. “There’s no such thing as removing something from a warrant. It could be removed beforehand, but once it’s on the warrant, it’s fair game and available for action. Any other person at Town Meeting could submit a motion on it.

“Precedent recognized by courts and common sense indicate if there’s anything other than positive action, it’s negative action,” Talerman added. “No action is treated as unfavorable action. An article not acted on fails. If you don’t move it, it fails. We looked up and down to see if there’s any leeway, but failure to take action is treated as unfavorable action.”

 Also indefinitely postponed was Article 7, a citizen’s petition by Cathy Velone, to “amend the Code of Bylaws by adding Chapter 27, to eliminate the use of Second-Generation Anticoagulant Rodenticides (SGARS)” on town property.

Velone said after submitting her article, the Health Department put forth a budget item to study alternatives to SGARS. Because of this, she said she would hold off on hers.

Article 19, which will ask Town Meeting to vote an more money to “pay costs to install additional culverts behind the Muraco Elementary School for flood mitigation purposes,” has been postponed as the second to last article on the spring agenda.

Town reports

Megan Blackwell, co-chair of the Committee on Government Regulations, said Town Meeting could expect a glut of bylaw changes this session.

The 10-year review of the town’s bylaws has finished and a report was submitted to the town in March.

Blackwell said 24 of the town’s 25 bylaws were reviewed, with the exclusion of the Community Preservation Act (CPA) since it was passed by the town just last November. She added there had been 22 public hearings and 10 boards and committees had seen the proposed changes.

Town counsel, Blackwell said, has also gone over the changes.

And speaking of the CPA, the new Community Preservation Committee’s chair, David Miller, said the work to get the board up and running is going well. He said for FY26, Winchester has $1.6 million in the bank. The town is expected to receive a state match next year because the bylaw has to be in operation for at least a year before state funds arrive.

Right now, Miller said his committee is working through its practical processes of operation and hopes to have a presentation for Fall Town Meeting, as well as a list of possible applications.

Miller also presented the Permanent Street Tree Committee’s report, being that group’s chair as well. He said a Tree Canopy Analysis was done and the findings showed that from 2012 to 2023, Winchester had lost 70% of its trees.

“That’s a lot of trees,” Miller said.

He added the committee is working with the Select Board to add the planting of trees to the town budget, as well as perform a tree inventory every three years.

In his report, McPeek thanked Meg White and Mark Twogood, projects manager and assistant town manager, respectively, for all they do to help the board with its work.

He also spoke about James “Jimmy” Johnson, a long-time CPC member and fixture in Winchester government, who died earlier this month.

“Jimmy was a leader, a mentor and a friend,” McPeek said. “Our projects span this town and Jimmy spanned this town. We are all better off for the effort he put into this town.”

Both Johnson and Charles Nuremburger, a Town Meeting member who also passed away, were remembered with a moment of silence at the beginning of the evening.

Town Meeting is expected to resume on Thursday, May 1 at Winchester High School, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Frattaroli said on the agenda will be bylaws.