Coronavirus questions have now delayed putting Grafton’s override on the ballot
The COVID-19 pandemic has several members of the Select Board questioning if the town should go forward with the planned $4 million override.
At Tuesday’s meeting — broadcast from a nearly empty Municipal Center meeting room with three members conferencing in — Select Board members Jennifer Thomas, Donna Stock and Doreen DeFazio voted against approving the placement of the Proposition 2 1/2 override on the May 19 ballot.
Their first concern: with most of the state “social distancing” to avoid the spread of coronavirus, there’s a strong possibility that the town election may be postponed.
Their second: Many residents will suffer financially through pandemic-related job losses and it is still unknown how it will affect the town’s own income.
The override, which will roll out over five to seven years, will address the Grafton schools’ looming financial crisis, add funding for additional municipal personnel, and bring in the town’s first full-time fire chief and two fire officials.
Back on March 6 at the end of a joint meeting of the Select Board, School Committee and Finance Committee, the Board voted to take up the wording of the override question — and its placement on the ballot — at its next meeting. Last week’s meeting was canceled for lack of quorum. This week, public gatherings of more than 10 people are prohibited.
Town Administrator Tim McInerney started the discussion by noting that the ballot question does not need to be approved until 35 days before the election.
“There’s a lot going on that has changed in the past few weeks,” he said.
While Thomas and DeFazio agreed, Select Board member Ed Prisby argued that the board needed to lead the community. He said the town is in danger of an even greater economic shortfall: restaurant and bar shutdowns mandated by the state will impact the town’s meal tax income, and retail marijuana licenses remain in limbo.
“I don’t want to wait,” he said. “The emergencies, and the things we thought were emergencies three weeks ago, still remain emergencies.”
Stock said Prisby’s argument demonstrated the reason why the board should delay a vote on the override question. “I’m really hesitant to take action at this specific time.”
“We’re going to be cutting positions next year during what is going to be a very difficult time,” Prisby said.
“The situation is unprecedented,” Stock said. “People are worried about their lives, their health and their lives.”
“Are we feeding into that fear or should we address it?” Prisby interrupted.
Select Board member Peter Carlson noted that the coronavirus uncertainty did not prevent the board from voting earlier on the extra $837,251.87 needed for the Grafton Public Library construction. He and Prisby were the only board members who voted to add the override question to the ballot.
The School Committee will meet next Tuesday (via the Zoom app, according to their website). The override will be discussed further and the question of the question will be revisited at a later Select Board meeting.
Editor’s note: This article was reported off Grafton’s Government Channel due to coronavirus social distancing.
