Checks and Balances

Town Meeting is the annual meeting of the Sudbury Legislative Branch (that's you!). We vote every year on operational budgets (money for salaries and expenses), capital spending (money for things like vehicles, big repairs like roofs, and new buildings), and changes to bylaws.

There are typically 50-70 individual articles to vote on. Some are very straightforward and uncontroversial. For example, every year we vote to pay our "Unpaid Bills" from the previous year. Typically there are no unpaid bills. There are typically about 10 or so of these "housekeeping" articles. To save time, these articles are voted as one group - the Consent Calendar. There is no discussion, just a vote. In the past, if anyone at Town Meeting would like to discuss on of these articles or hear more details, then it was taken off the Consent Calendar and discussed like all the other articles.

Things have changed in the last 5 years. Now there are many, many articles on the Consent Calendar. And, if there's an article that someone wants to hear discussion on, then 7 people (not just one) have to agree to take it off the Consent Calendar. The Consent Calendar has morphed into a vehicle for the Select Board / Town Manager to "push through" articles without discussion. Take this year as an example. This year over 30 of the 56 articles for Town Meeting are on the Consent Calendar. And with one vote, that could approve over $5 Million dollars in spending.

Some examples which I think could use some discussion:

This year we are being asked to purchase a new Fire Engine and Ambulance. We are also being asked for a 2 Dump Trucks. The Fire Engine and 2 Dump Trucks are on the Consent Calendar, but the Ambulance is not.

We are being asked for money to preserve Hosmer House and the historical artifacts. The total ask is over $1 Million dollars ($1,145,500). This is on the Consent Calendar. The Select Board has voted that they don't think this deserves discussion at Town Meeting. Do you agree?

The Sudbury Housing Trust is asking for $690,000 this year. This is more than the typical ask. Do you wonder why? As things are now, it's on the Consent Calendar, so there will be no discussion.

Park and Rec and Facilities are asking for $500,000 to study and build a pavilion at the Fairbank Community Center. The same center that has a pool that is leaking 150,000 gallons of water every month. (150,000 gallons is approximately the amount of water in the entire pool). Is there value in discussing how we prioritize our spending? Well, it's on the Consent Calendar, so there won't be any discussion.

As the legislative body in town, we the taxpayers have a responsibility to keep the executive branch of our government (Select Board / Town Manager) in check. The main way that we do this is to have discussions at Town Meeting. Maybe you support some of these projects mentioned here. Maybe you don't. Either way, I hope that you might see how skipping the discussions by putting so much on the Consent Calendar is breaking down our system of checks and balances.

There is still time before Town Meeting, so if you are concerned by the number of articles on the Consent Calendar, you can reach out to the Select Board and ask them to reconsider.

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