From the Town Administrator's Desk

Town Meeting is Here!
By Gregory T. Federspiel
April 25, 2025

All voters are encouraged to attend the Annual Town Meeting on Monday, April 28th. The meeting starts promptly at 6:30PM at the Memorial Elementary School. The High School a cappella group will be performing prior to the start of the meeting so come early to enjoy the entertainment and avoid the lines to get in.

All households should have received the Finance Committee’s Annual Report by now. The report contains all of the articles (items to be voted on) that will come before the assembled. Please remember to bring this report with you to the meeting as it will be your guide for all votes. The report is also available on the Town’s web site here.

There are 22 articles in this year’s warrant for the Annual Town Meeting. About a third of them are related to budgets for the upcoming fiscal year that begins July 1. This includes the Town’s annual operating and capital budgets, the School District’s operating and capital (debt service) budget, and the Community Preservation Act funded projects. Other budgetary articles include funding for the vocational school district, the annual contribution to the Town’s retiree health insurance trust fund (OPEB – Other Post Employment Benefits) and the revolving funds for the Park and Recreation Department and the Board of Health.

There are 7 articles that propose various amendments to the Town’s zoning regulations. Three are related to Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU’s). A new state law requires that ADU’s up to 900 square feet (or half of the current dwelling whichever is smaller) be allowed by right (without the need for a special permit) in districts that allow single family homes. Towns can require that these “standard” ADUs meet certain requirements, and this is what Article 8 proposes. In Article 9, larger ADUs up to 1200 square feet (or 50% of the existing house size, whichever is smaller) are proposed to be allowed but only after being granted a special permit by the Planning Board. In both cases the ADU is not to be used for short term rentals. If the articles do not pass, Article 10 seeks to prevent ADUs, as currently allowed, from being used for short term rentals.

Other zoning amendments include a rewrite of the floodplain section (Article 7) in order to comply with state and federal guidelines. Without the proposed changes homeowners and businesses within a floodplain may not be able to obtain insurance. Article 11 proposes adding two associate members to the planning board. Article 12 seeks to clarify when site plan reviews are required. Article 13 recommends eliminating the introduction to the zoning regulations which currently has outdated state law references - better to include

this introductory information on the Town’s website so that it can be kept current without the need for zoning amendments.

In Article 14 the Town’s general bylaw related to water bans during a drought gets an update to be consistent with current law and to provide clarity as to what outdoor uses can still take place during an outdoor water use ban. Article 17 asks votes to approve a local option for granting veterans property tax relief that tracks inflation.

Three citizen petition articles round out the warrant. One asks the Board of Health to rescind a recently enacted ordinance that prohibits the sale of tobacco products to anyone born since January 1, 2004. This is an advisory vote only as the BOH has the authority to enact public health ordinances. A second petition article seeks voter approval to pursue special legislation from the state to allow the Town to ban certain rodenticides. This is normally a state level matter but more and more towns are seeking authority to regulate certain chemicals locally. Lastly a petition article seeks to increase the fines for violating the Town’s construction noise ordinance. The state sets the maximum fines for ordinances like these thus this article is likely to be passed over.

This Annual Town Meeting marks the last time Town Moderator Alan Wilson will wield the gavel. After 30 years (!!) Alan is not seeking re-election. No doubt there will be a rousing standing ovation for Alan as there should be.

ATM Budget Approvals
By Gregory T. Federspiel
April 18, 2025

A major focus for the Annual Town Meeting, scheduled for April 28 at the Memorial School gymnasium, is the approval of all the new budgets for the upcoming fiscal year. All registered voters are urged to attend the meeting in order to debate and vote on the proposed expenditures for the new fiscal year which begins on July 1, 2025. (The fiscal year extends to June 30, 2026 thus it is called the FY26 budget.) Resident voters serve as the Town’s legislative body and all expenditures must be approved by those in attendance at the Town Meeting (state law does not allow absentee voting or virtual participation.)

The first budget up for approval is for the North Shore Agricultural and Technical School District. Manchester’s share of the total budget is based on the number of students we send to the regional “voc-tech” school. Manchester’s enrollment has dropped from 13 down to 8 thus we have a smaller number for next year. Article 3 seeks voter approval of $176,418.

Article 4 is for the Town’s general operating budget. Funding for each department is presented with funding broken out between salaries for personnel and all other expenses. With the addition of 1.75 staff positions, a recommendation from the recently completed operations audit and a much higher increase for health insurance premiums total expenditures are 5.6% higher. However, this can be covered by 1.5% tax increase. Both the Finance Committee and the Select Board recommend approval of the proposed budget.

In Article 5 voters are asked to approve a list of capital expenditures. 20 of the 23 requests are recommended for approval by the FinCom and Select Board. Capital items range from road repaving to the design of a new ADA compliant restroom for the library. The cost of the 20 items comes to $4.215 million and paid for mostly by tax dollars and drawing down the Town’s fund balance. As part of the funding mix and as has been the Town’s practice lately, approval of a $660,000 capital exclusion is being requested, this time for the design of a new DPW facility.

The School District budget is contained in Article 6. Due to a spike in health insurance costs and higher salaries, Manchester voters are being asked to approve a 7.3% increase in funding to the District. Changes in enrollment between Essex and Manchester result in Essex facing over an 8% increase which necessitates a Proposition 2 ½ override at their Town Meeting and at the ballot. This request boosts the projected overall tax increase for FY26 to 3.5%

In Article 15, the recommendations of the Community Preservation Committee are presented for approval. A total of $897,100 is proposed for 10 projects with the two largest projects being $500,000 for the renovation of the Tuck’s Point Rotunda and $200,000 for the Affordable Housing Trust. 

The annual contribution, set at $330,000 for FY26, to the Town’s OPEB Trust account (other post employment benefits – retiree health insurance) is the subject of Article 16. The fund will be fully funding in a couple more years. 

While not an actual expenditure article, Article 17 asks voters to accept the Hero Act for Veterans which allows for various property tax exemptions for qualifying veterans to increase at the rate of annual inflation. Exemption costs are covered by the Town’s “overlay” account.

Finally, in Article 18, voters are being asked to approve the revolving funds established for the Parks and Recreation Department and the Board of Health. Revolving funds allow fees to be collected and used to fund the programs for which the fees are collected.

All 22 articles are spelled out in detail in the Finance Committee booklet that each household will receive. The booklet can also be found here.

Citizen Petition Articles at the ATM
By Gregory T. Federspiel
April 11, 2025

Three citizen petition articles were submitted on time to be included in the warrant for this year’s Annual Town Meeting. The three articles will be part of the 22 articles slated for action at the April 28th meeting at Memorial School starting at 6:30PM.

For an Annual Town Meeting a minimum of 10 signatures are required to place a citizen’s petition article on the warrant. Petitions are placed on the warrant as presented by the petitioners regardless of their legality. Explanations are provided during the meeting.

Article 19 asks voters to instruct the Board of Health to rescind their approval from this past November of a “Zero-Nicotine Generation” policy that bans the sale of nicotine products to anyone born after January 1, 2004. The ban means that even as adults those born after 2003 would not be allowed to purchase tobacco products in Town. The Board of Health, after holding a public hearing on the proposal, passed this new policy, which went into effect last week on April 1, based on the negative health impacts of using products with nicotine.

The Board of Health has statutory authority to adopt policies and regulations related to public health. While voters can express their preference through the citizen petition article, the vote is advisory only. The Board of Health retains the decision-making authority on this matter. The ATM vote is non-binding.

A second citizen petition article, Article 20, seeks a local ban on the use of second generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARs.) These chemicals cause problems beyond the rodents they are intended to kill. For example, the chemicals are ingested by the predators that hunt rodents including many birds of prey and can be fatal for these animals as well.

These chemicals are controlled at the state level, and it will require a special act of the legislature to allow Manchester to institute its own ban. A yes vote will set in motion the process by which a special act will be sought. It will be up to the state legislature whether the requested special act is approved.

Article 21 is the third petition article. This article seeks to amend the Town’s construction noise bylaw by increasing the fines issued for violations. The proposal is to have a first offense be subject to a $500 fine and doubling on each infraction going forward. After 5 infractions a cease and desist order is proposed.

The maximum fines for violations of this type are set by the state at $300. Thus, if voters were to approve the proposed amendment to the Town’s construction bylaw, upon the

required review by the AG’s office, it would be disapproved given that it exceeds the statutory limits. This article will likely be passed over due to this conflict with state law.

These three petition articles are only a portion of the warrant. As explained last week, seven articles deal with proposed amendments to the zoning regulations. A more detailed look at the numerous articles dealing with aspects of town expenditures will be the subject of next week’s article. The complete warrant can be found on the Town’s web site. The Finance Committee report, which contains the full warrant, will be mailed to each household next week.