Override Budget Passes, Capital Budget Sparks Controversy

NORWELL - The big news from Norwell’s Town Meeting on Monday night was the passage of a proposed override budget to provide additional funding for schools and other town departments. But soon after that vote, another financial controversy emerged—this time over the capital budget—leading to confusion that spilled into coffee shops and online forums Tuesday morning.

The question: How much money did Norwell Town Meeting voters actually approve for the town’s capital budget?

When the article addressing capital budget appropriations came up, Select Board Chair Jason Brown moved to approve $1.4 million in capital projects. Capital Budget Committee Chair Susan Powell followed with a nearly five-minute presentation outlining the committee’s recommended budget of $673,500, along with long-term debt planning.

Under town meeting procedures, voters needed to place a “hold” on individual line items to adopt the Capital Budget Committee’s lower recommendations. But that procedural step was never explained during the discussion, and no one, including Capital Budget Committee members present, moved to hold any items.

When Town Moderator Matthew Greene called the vote, the motion on the floor remained Brown’s original $1.4 million figure.

Confusion erupted immediately after the vote, as several residents stood to question what amount had just been approved.

“We spent a lot of time on this, and I don’t think that the vote here understood that in order to have an opportunity to vote on what we recommended to the Advisory Board needed to be held,” said Don Mauch, Vice Chair of the Capital Budget Committee, after the article passed. “We recommended only $673,500 of [the total] amount. That was the Capital Budget Committee’s recommendation, and I don’t think people understood that they had to hold when you call for the hold, respectively.”

Despite the concerns, Greene stood firm that the vote would stand.

“I explained the process, and this is now the third time we’ve gone through this today in order to hold any items,” Greene said. “No items were held, and it was passed. So, I’m not entertaining a motion for reconsideration.”

The discussion ended at Town Meeting—but it may not be the final word.

“This afternoon the Town Administrator, along with members of the Select Board, Capital Budget Committee, Advisory Board, and the Moderator met to discuss Article 3 and the proceedings of last night,” Select Board Member Peter Smellie posted on Facebook Tuesday. “The first item on the Select Board’s agenda at our meeting next Wednesday, the 14th, will be to make this right.”

“We felt the same confusion as everyone else, and lobbied for reconsideration as well,” Smellie added. “We didn’t have the authority to fix it last night, but will do so next week.”

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