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Date: 5/11/2022
OTIS – The town of Otis will have its annual Town Meeting on May 17 at the Otis Town Hall, where voters of Otis will decide on 16 articles on the meeting warrant.
The first major article to be voted on will be Article 2, the general budget. Otis’ proposed fiscal year 2023 budget is $5,978,732.06, an increase from the fiscal year 2022 budget, which was $5,807,974.35. Notable line item increases include the budget for the town administrator, from $122,720 to $133,371.20, the police budget, from $163,563.08 to $197,426.24, and maintenance, from $397,685.60 to $424,762.49.
Article 14 is a vote on what to do with St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, which the town has owned since November 2019. A yes vote would turn the church into a social, cultural and educational center for Otis. In 2021, voters failed to pass two articles on the Town Meeting warrant concerning the St. Paul’s property. The first article was identical to the article that is appearing in the 2022 warrant, and it failed 58-50. The second article was to use $70,000 that was remaining in the Community Center account to restore and repair the building, which failed 62-42.
Article 16 is a resolution for the town to support the Fair Share Amendment, which is a 2022 state ballot question to be voted in the November elections. The ballot question would enact a 4 percent tax on income above $1 million, and dedicate the funds to public education and affordable higher education, and the repair and maintenance of roads and bridges. This tax would be added to the state’s existing 5 percent income tax. The Massachusetts Legislature supported placing this proposal on the 2022 ballot during its June 2021 Constitutional Convention, with a vote of 159-41.