2026 Scituate Town Meeting

Voters have four more articles to consider, including more amendments to bylaws and special legislation.

A resident's proposal to define a commercial fisherman as anyone holding necessary fishing permits failed, and immediately afterward, another resident made a motion to table the article revising the definition of commercial fisherman, saying that there was too much disagreement among fishermen to make a decision tonight.

For now, the current definition of commercial fisherman will remain: any individual holding necessary fishing licenses who "principal means of employment" is fishing.

The article also included other amendments to definitions and mooring permits. Those amendments were not discussed on the floor.

With less than 15 minutes left before the town is required to end tonight's session of town meeting, voters have still yet to decide on five articles. Town meeting will resume tomorrow evening.

A resident made a motion to revise an article that would extend the definition of commercial fisherman to anyone who derives greater than 51% of their annual gross income harvesting fish, shellfish or lobsters, and who holds all necessary permits. The current bylaw just stipulates that fishing be a fisherman's "principal means of employment."

The resident's motion would remove the requirement of deriving 51% of one's income from fishing, expanding the definition—and benefits—of a commercial fisherman to anyone holding the necessary permits. He argued that permits were already expensive and prohibitive enough to define a commercial fisherman.

"No other permit in this town that I know of has a financial threshold that you have to meet to get it," he said.

A town official raised concern that removing the 51% requirement would allow for-hire boat operators to qualify as commercial fishermen without truly relying on fishing as a source of income, taking town resources reserved for commercial fishermen.

The potential amendment came about through a petition by State Rep. Patrick Kearney (D), 4th Plymouth District. A previous meeting on the proposal drew dozens of fishermen to speak both in favor and opposition.

A procedural note: town officials passed a motion to indefinitely postpone article 39, a citizen's petition seeking to change the definition of a commercial fisherman in the bylaws, and incorporate it into article 26, which makes several changes to the Waterways bylaws.

Voters approved making several changes to stormwater regulations, bringing Scituate into compliance with Environmental Protection Agency requirements, a town official said. The amendments focus on limiting stormwater runoff, which can erode land and carry waste.

The bylaws now require anyone performing any land alteration, which is activity that changes the ability of the ground to absorb water or changes drainage patterns, to obtain a Stormwater Permit.

The change will add an additional cost to developing property, but a town official said the planning board did not consider the cost to be significant.

"Our requirements are stricter than the state," she said. "However, we feel that that is right for Scituate."

All projects disturbing over 40,000 square feet of land will require a public hearing.

The amendments make several definitional and procedural changes to the bylaws.

One article updates the table of uses to reflect previous amendments relating to accessory dwelling units. The next creates new requirements for preparing construction sites, and another

One article increases the number of water sources protected by buffer zones. The article postponed after a resident motion sought to regulate how residents can build at-grade construction to limit runoff.

The zoning committee characterized other articles as clarifying the meaning of existing bylaws.

A "housekeeping" article directing the town to assume liability for damages incurred by the state Department of Environmental Protection in the development and maintenance of Scituate's waterways, in accordance with Massachusetts law.

The most expensive project is the construction of basketball courts for $1.2 million. The only other project is the renovation of the historic town-owned Mordecai Lincoln property.

The rest of the funds will be reserved for debt payments, acquiring of historic property, supporting the body's Community Housing initiative and paying administrative expenses.

The vote in favor was unanimous.

Voters approved the budget, which represents a 7% increase over fiscal year 2026, with little discussion.

After brief discussion on capital items not passed during the bulk vote on the capital budget, voters passed all items but once to build a new police training facility with a 2/3 majority, making next year's capital budget $14.2 million.

The proposed project to borrow $2.5 million to construct this facility, which required a 2/3 vote in favor, had solid support but proved controversial, with seven residents standing to speak in opposition to the item. Residents worried that the project was too expensive, and three recommended building a facility shared between towns.

"I just have a hard time supporting spending this much money, especially after we have been told that our money is this tight," a resident said.

"We currently have very few places to shoot. Those places are running out," Town Administrator James Boudreau said. "This new facility... will allow for scenario-based training, multiple officers at the same time."

"Do we want to provide the best training for officers, or do we want to say, 'okay, go shoot' and hope the worst doesn't happen?" he asked.

A town official said that the capital planning committee felt it was "appropriate" to propose the project this year because the town has the necessary borrowing capacity.

The facility would have been built near the police station on town property.

Police Chief Mark Thompson said that simpler shooting ranges are not adequate for the department's training, and that firearms training also teaches officers when to use their weapons and when to de-escalate.

"These facilities no longer meet the needs of what modern law enforcement needs to have," he said. "The number of places that police departments can go to are getting smaller and smaller. We need to ensure longer-term that we have a space that we can go to train."

"I understand that Scituate police wants to go above and beyond in terms of training, but I think we can achieve that without the town taking on these costs," one resident said.

"This is about providing the best training that we can to our officers," Boudreau said.

"We've all seen instances of shootings involving police, and the first question asked is always, 'what was the officer's training?'" one resident said. "We need to have the knowledge that the people who are serving our community in law enforcement have the absolute best training possible."

Several more residents were in line to speak on the project when voters chose to move on to the next item.

Voters passed the large majority of line items on the capital improvement plan, approving millions to fund projects to replace public safety equipment, renovate town property, test water safety and more.

A capital budget committee member advocated for voters to approve several of the most expensive articles from the capital project plan.

SHS Large Gym Renovation: The member said that the gym is 65 years old and needs renovation of its floors, bleachers and soundsystem.

Police Firearms Training Range: He said that building a new firearms training range could save the town $35,000 per year in overtime costs, and that renting out the property for other police departments to use could offset operating costs.

The money, which would be appropriated from free cash, retained earnings, revolving funds and borrowing, would be set aside for 37 projects.

The most expensive project is a headworks upgrade in the sewer department, costing $5.9 million in funds that the town would borrow. The next most expensive project, the construction of a $2.5 million firearms training range for the police department, would also be funded by borrowing. The third is a renovation of the floor and bleachers in the Scituate High School large gym for $1 million, though this would be funded through free cash.

Select Board Member Andrew Goodrich acknowledged the financial burden of rising municipal costs on taxpayers but said that Scituate is a "healthy town."

"That money is going to Blue Cross Blue Shield, it is going to the gas companies, it is going to the energy companies," he said, referring to increased tax revenue. Rising insurance and energy costs have strained budgets across the South Shore.

Scituate is not requesting an override, and Goodrich attributed the town's relatively low tax raises as compared to other Massachusetts towns to layoffs, a hiring freeze, and re-negotiating the school department's share of town funds.

Voters passed 18 "routine" articles bundled together in the consent agenda without discussion, but called out four consent agenda articles related to rental fees for further discussion.

The passed articles involved funding town officials' salaries, enterprise funds, South Shore Vocational Technical School and more, and amended town bylaws to conform to state law.

Voters passed an article authorizing the town to borrow up to $27 million to expand Scituate's sewer system north. The town would enter a subsidized loan agreement with the state and pay about 2% interest over the next several decades. In a previous meeting, the select board said that the expansion would generate municipal revenue through new construction.

The select board and advisory committee unanimously recommended the article in previous meetings.

"If we don't do this, that money is going to go away. The state is not swimming in it right now," Select Board Member Andrew Goodrich said.

The town indefinitely postponed an article to purchase land at Sunset Road without a public vote, citing logistical issues preventing the town from moving forward with the purchase at this time.