First session of TM ends with split vote on meals tax

By Mike Berger

The first session of Canton’s Annual Town Meeting concluded with a bang Monday night as the last article up for a vote — raising the tax on restaurant meals from 6.25 to 7 percent — ended in an unusual 133-133 tie.

The article, which needed a simple majority to pass, ultimately failed by one vote. Town Moderator Jon Arata said a reconsideration of the vote would require a two-thirds approval of voters Wednesday night.

Arata started a new procedure this year in which voters were each given an orange placard when they registered. Rather than measuring a voice vote, he asked voters to hold up the placard to approve or reject an article. On this particular article, he was unable to determine which side had the most votes, so he asked for an officially recorded count after all discussion had ended at 11 p.m.

The evening started late — around 8 p.m. — when voters lined up in the hallways to register to vote. With two busloads of residents from Orchard Cove, precincts 1-3 had the highest turnout. Arata told the audience that there were 417 voters who came to the first session, but by 11 p.m. the number had dwindled to 266.

It was obvious from voters’ comments that many were awaiting the lottery selection of Article 35, which would authorize the town to acquire the rights to the Reservoir Pond and Dam from the Napleton Company, which also owns the former Plymouth Rubber property. The article was not drawn, however, and was scheduled to be reviewed Wednesday night along with the eight other remaining articles.

Regarding the meals tax, Gary Titus of Lillian Road — whose family owns Big D’s in Canton Center — led the fight against the tax hike, arguing that small businesses and restaurants should not have to bear the brunt of the tax. He was bolstered by selectmen Bob Burr and Avril Elkort, both of whom had voted against the tax in a prior selectmen’s meeting.

Several town officials lobbied for the tax, noting that state aid had fallen drastically in recent years and the meals tax would allow Canton to recoup some of that money. Finance Manager Jim Murgia, who spoke in favor of the tax, said the town would collect an additional $274,000 annually and would also send the message to bond raters that Canton does not rely entirely on state aid for revenues.

Prior to the start of Monday’s session, School Committee members had approached selectmen with the idea of using two thirds of the meals tax to establish a special education stabilization fund. In recent years, skyrocketing special education costs have forced the committee to seek additional funds in order to balance its budget. The proposed stabilization fund was expected to come up for discussion Wednesday night.

In other news from Monday’s first session, Police Chief Ken Berkowitz received overwhelming support for his request to have the deputy police chief position exempted from civil service regulation. The article will now go to the state legislature for approval.

Berkowitz said the selection would allow him to choose one of three current lieutenants for the position. He said the position would be phased in over three years, with the added cost in year 1 estimated at $5,000, or roughly the difference in pay between a lieutenant and a deputy chief.

In FY13, the chief plans to fill the lieutenant’s position with one of the current sergeants, and then fill the sergeant’s position with one of the patrolmen at an additional cost of around $20,000. The chief would then hire a new patrol officer in FY14 at an estimated cost of $47,000. The Finance Committee believes that those costs are sustainable within the police budget.

In other town meeting action:

* Voters paved the way for a gas station to be built in a limited industrial zone on Route 138 between Washington Street and the Stoughton town line.

* Voters authorized a new revolving account that will allow the library to begin processing passports.

* The article proposing adoption of the Stretch Energy Code was withdrawn by the town’s Green Team.

* Kevin Feeney, head of the town’s ADA Committee (Americans with Disabilities Act), informed voters that the remaining $47,835 out of the original $4.2 million appropriation from ATM 1999 would go toward a new ramp at the Senior Center.

* Murgia told the Citizen that Standard & Poor’s, one of the nation’s top credit rating agencies, has reaffirmed Canton’s excellent bond rating of AAA based on the town’s current reserve levels. Voters also helped strengthen Canton’s position by authorizing a $40,000 transfer from free cash to the town’s stabilization fund.

* Friel told selectmen prior to town meeting that the town is nearing an agreement with the firefighters’ union on a new one-year contract.

* If town meeting is not concluded Wednesday, it will resume at 7 p.m. on Monday, May 2.

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