Daniel Schemer
MIDDLEBORO The Spring Annual Town Meeting will be happening on Monday, April 26, beginning at 7PM, at the Nichols Middle School Auditorium.
A list of 32 articles will be decided. Articles 2-5 will focus on the FY22 operating budget, the Enterprise Funds, and related funds and accounts for the Town.
Before the Annual Meeting will be small Special Town Meeting with an additional eight articles focused on mainly fund transfers, previous year expenses, and one big borrow.
One of the articles for Special Town Meeting is related to the new DPW Building nearing completion. The first is to borrow an additional $250,000 to cover all contingency costs that couldn’t be covered in the original bid.
Members of the Charter Study Committee gave an update to the Select Board at the Jan. 25 meeting, reviewing recommendations and revisions being discussed for the modernized Town Charter.
Committee Chair Brian Giovanoni spoke about some of the debates being had among committee members at recent meetings.
Updating the Charter to reflect the use of gender-neutral pronouns was the biggest topic, and its an issue that still divides officials.
“We looked at our communities. The majority have changed to gender-neutral. We reached out to LGBTQ reps in order to discuss their opinions. They indicated this is the standard approach. We did our research,” said Paula Fay, Committee member.