Town Meeting to tackle $108.5 million budget, camping bylaw and more

Beyond a few Community Preservation Act Fund projects and contention over the town administrator’s pay, the Spring Town Meeting is shaping up to have a full agenda for Tuesday, June 3.

Town Meeting members will be gathered at the Dartmouth High School Auditorium at 9 a.m. The meeting will be available to watch live through Dartmouth Community Media. The final draft of the Town Meeting warrant will be available by May 27.

$108.5 million budget. Meeting members will be voting on a $108.5 million budget for fiscal year 2026, which is a 3.77% increase over the current year.

In a message for Town Meeting, the Finance Committee emphasized the challenges they continue to face with the budget. Though department heads kept requests minimal, many still exceeded available resources.

With limited growth in revenue, the town’s operating expenses also present a “significant” challenge for meeting long-term capital needs. Increases in health insurance, transportation and inflationary costs continue to impact many budget areas.

Although departments requested $30.7 million in capital projects, the committee could only recommend $680,867 due to limited surplus funds. The committee highlighted this as an underinvestment in the town’s facilities and equipment, noting the need for significant work on the town’s water and sewer infrastructure.

Additionally, the school budget continues to face challenges with rising health insurance, transportation and special education costs along with the end of federal Covid pandemic funds.

The Finance Committee highlighted its work this year reviewing its budgeting process, meeting with individual departments and planning ways to address these budget challenges.

For example, although School Choice funds are currently used by the district to supplement the budget, a plan is included in the fiscal year 2026 budget proposal for a five-year process to reduce reliance.

Camping bylaw. The town is looking to establish a camping bylaw that would restrict any person without permission of the owner from camping on public or private property.

The bylaw would not allow the setting up of a camp, tent or camp material and would restrict individuals from sleeping in the open, in a vehicle or on any public property within the town limits between the hours of 8 p.m. and 8 a.m.

Select Board member Heidi Silva Brooks said now that the Dartmouth Community Outreach Team has successfully got shelter for all of the town’s unhoused residents, there are some camp sites that will need “substantial” clean up due to the presence of hazardous, medical and human wastes.

Silva Brooks added the clean up will be costly and the hazardous waste threatens the town’s aquifer. 

She said the goal is to mitigate the liability and risk to the town in addition to standardizing the process for something previously managed inconsistently across departments.

Though there would be fines for violators, Gary Carreiro, interim town administrator and treasurer and director of budget and finance, noted the town would not have to impose them. In the case of an unhoused person, the police department would be asked to stand down while the outreach team works with the individual to find shelter and move their belongings.

License to carry in municipal administrative buildings. A state law, named An Act to Modernize Firearms Laws, took effect on Aug. 2 and prohibits firearms on all government properties with the exemption of state-owned public land used for hunting.

Municipalities have the option to also exempt municipal administrative buildings, such as libraries, police stations and Town Hall for licensed owners, which is what Town Meeting members will decide in June.

Select Board member Christopher O’Neil said he felt the state law went “too far” in exempting trained license holders. He said those who would threaten the safety of municipal employees will do so regardless of any law and the exemption may instead leave them “vulnerable.”

He added this is a practice that has been in place for the last 361 years.

Police Chief Brian Levesque has provided a letter of support for the exemption. However, the Select Board voted 3-2, not recommending the exemption.

Voting no to the recommendation, Silva Brooks suggested the town conduct a survey of employees to gauge how they feel about the decision as it would be affecting them.

Lease extension at 404 Elm Street. Currently leased on a yearly basis, the Cultural Center is seeking to extend its lease at 404 Elm Street “not more than 30 years” in an effort to complete its renovations.

The renovation project for the building, which is over 100 years old, officially began in June 2023 after the center received a $160,000 grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council. At the 2023 Fall Town Meeting, voters approved the Community Preservation Committee’s proposal to award the center an additional $160,000 to fund the first phase of renovations, but construction hasn’t begun.

Under its current one-year lease, the center would be required to establish a state procurement schedule to get the project underway, which Pauline Santos, the Dartmouth Cultural Center’s president, said would be “much more difficult” without a lease extension.

If the center had a longer lease, it wouldn’t have to “go through the state’s red tape” and could get things, such as contractors, on its own, she said.

Additionally, a longer lease will open the center up for more grant opportunities.

Other. There will additionally be a citizens petition for a special All Alcohol Beverage License for Farm & Coast Market.

The business currently has one of the town’s Beer and Wine Licenses. Because the town has reached its capacity for All Liquor Licenses, Farm & Coast must gain approval for an extra at Town Meeting and subsequently the approval of the state legislature.

Town Meeting will also consider two requests dealing with property tax relief for veterans following the passing of the state’s HERO Act. 

A total of $435,000 will be requested from the Opioid Legal Settlements Stabilization Fund for fiscal year 2026 for work planned by the Dartmouth Advocates for Addiction, Recovery and Treatment Committee to strengthen resources for prevention, harm reduction, treatment and recovery. 

DCTV will be requesting $45,000 from its stabilization fund for capital expenses, specifically for the construction of a temporary garage, set to last five to seven years, to house both of its vehicles. DCTV has rented out a garage in New Bedford for the last two decades and sees this as a solution to cut costs and make van access more convenient. 

The capital plan along with the solid waste, water department, sewer and waterways management enterprise funds will also be requested.