Burlington January Town Meeting: Non-Zoning Articles

BURLINGTON, MA — At Monday's meeting, Burlington town meeting voters will decide on fifteen warrant articles. Four revolve around high rise industrial zoning, and the first article is town officer and committee reports. The majority of the remaining articles are money transfers, but they also include a transportation study, reorganization of the town's finance department and one article to undo a mistake made in a previous town meeting.

The full warrant is here and backups for most of the articles are here. Articles two through four make changes to the high rise industrial district's dimensional dimension rules, and add parcels to the district.

Article seven would create an "auction fund" with $50,000 from available funds, to be directed by the Board of Selectmen.

Article eight reorganizes the town's budget and procurement positions, to create a consolidated finance department. It would turn the budget analyst position into a budget director and fold the purchasing department into the town accountant department.

Article nine would spend $1,000 to hire a consultant to conduct a transportation study.

Articles 13 and 14 follow from previous town meetings. Article 13 ends a segment of public way on Mooney Road, on parcels that the town transferred to property owners at the Jan. 2019 town meeting. Article 14 releases a parcel "incorrectly conveyed to the town" in a 2002 town meeting article.

Article 15 amends the bylaws to reflect last year's ballot measure that made the town treasurer an appointed position. References to the treasurer's election are deleted.

The remaining articles are transfers:

Article six would transfer $11,576 from one May 2019 school warrant article to another.

Article 10 would put $355,760 from free cash in the "water stabilization fund" created in May 2018.

And article 11 would transfer $100,00 from free cash to the reserve fund.

Article 12 would transfer $120,000 from available funds, to build an enclosed lift at the back of the Burlington Historical Museum.

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.