By NEIL ZOLOT
WAKEFIELD – It was the first Town Meeting for Denise Casey as the new Town Administrator and the first for former Town Administrator Steve Maio as a participating citizen Saturday morning, November 8 at Galvin Middle School.
“It is an honor to be here,” Casey said before introducing the Fiscal 2025 budget report, which constituted Article 1. “It’s my first Town Meeting as your Town Administrator and I’m excited to be here. I look forward to serving the community for many years to come.”
It was also her first regularly scheduled Fall Town Meeting. At her previous job as Deputy Town Manager in North Andover she had attended Special Town Meetings in the fall.
“I am pleased to report the Town is still in strong financial health due to adherence to and implementation of the financial policies created by the Town Council, Finance Committee and School Committee,” she said, but noted the Town’s bond rating was downgraded from AAA to having an AA+. “While it is not the highest level, it still allows the Town to borrow money at a competitive interest rates,” she continued. “It is important the Town regain the AAA rating, which will positively impact our ability to bond for larger capital and construction projects. The challenge in the coming years will be adhering to financial policies that instruct us to limit the use of non-recurring resources in planning, forecasting and budget models, while maintaining adequate services. This will require the continuation of conservative and prudent budget decisions over the next several years. By working together as a team, I’m confident we can.”
Maio seemed very relaxed attending Town Meeting as a resident instead of Town Administrator. “It was nice to sit with my friends” he said.
Every article on the warrant was passed. Most were simple housekeeping measures to keep things up to date. Everything took about an hour to handle. “I never had one so short,” Maio joked.
Article 2 authorized the Board of Assessors to use $4,050,000 in Free Cash to compute the tax rate Fiscal 2026.
Article 3 appropriated $225,000 from water retained earnings to supplement the Water and/or Sewer budget for Fiscal 2026. It will cover any shortages in revenue, should water consumption not net “average” performance level.
Article 4 was a renewal of the Town’s means-tested senior citizen property tax exemption. “Under state law, we have to renew every three years because it’s a home rule petition,” Town Councilor Jonathan Chines explained.
Article 5 appropriated $250,000 for repairs to private ways Middlesex Court and Middlesex Street with the repairs being required by public necessity and convenience with the work being assessed to the property owners benefitting from the work over twenty years. It was the only Article that required a vote count with the result being 70-1.
Article 6 authorized the Town will vote to accept a grant of drainage easements at 15 Traverse Street and 100 Nahant Street and appropriate $1 to do so. The $1 is necessary to give the action a cash value to make it a sale, not a gift.
Article 8 amended the General Bylaws regarding newsracks and the Town’s ability to remove unused ones. “A newsrack may be deemed abandoned and removed if no printed material is found in the newsrack for a period of more than 15 consecutive days,” it now reads.
Article 9 amended the General Bylaws to delete notification to the Commissioners of Middlesex County to designate scenic roads because the Middlesex County Commissioners office no longer exists, as explained by Bylaw Review Committee member Daniel Lieber.
Articles 7, 10 and 11 also dealt with bylaw changes and were passed.
Article 12 accepted the report of the Bylaw Review Committee and preceded adjournment.