Special Town Meeting Articles 5, 6, 7, and 8 were presented as a bundle aimed at restructuring the town’s legislative and election calendar. The proposal would move the Spring Town Meeting to May and the local election to June. Select Board member Kevin Canty explained that the shift is designed to ensure the town has more accurate financial data before finalizing its budget.

State aid is going to be increasingly important to our funding here in town as new growth slows down, Canty said, noting that the later dates allow the town to see figures from the state legislature's Ways and Means committees. The Advisory and Finance Committee endorsed the change with a vote of 8-1-0. Chair Joseph Lai noted that the committee's support was based on the goal of a more robust budgetary process.

Motion: J. Lai moved that the advisory and finance committee by a vote of eight yes, one no, and zero abstentions recommends town meeting approve articles five, six, seven, and eight.

Vote: 8-1-0