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SPENCER – Town Counsel Janelle Austin advised selectmen at a recent meeting that they must be the body to authorize an override question on an election ballot.
The issue was raised because a group of residents is petitioning selectmen to have a special . election following the failure of a Proposition 2 ½ override this past spring.
Among other things, that ballot question sought $150,000 to fund the Spencer Rescue Squad contract and $368,390 for four firefighters, currently paid for by a grant that expires in February 2027.
Those items are the ones the petition seeks to revisit.
Also on the May Proposition 2 ½ failed override request were funds for the schools’ required local school contribution; and an additional employee each for the highway and police departments.
At a recent meeting, resident Ryan Morton spoke to his efforts to call for a special election via petition and his hopes the town would retain the services of Spencer Rescue Squad and the fire department.
Resident Carol McPherson, who spoke to the Spencer Journal, is among the residents leading the petition effort.
She said they did not want to wait until next May to address the matter. By then, McPherson said, the town may lose firefighters and Spencer Rescue Squad employees going to jobs elsewhere.
McPherson said she and her daughter have been seeking signatures in front of her home and through word of mouth.
The petitions will be available until September 20. On September 24, the group will appear before the Board of Selectmen.
McPherson noted the previous Proposition 2 ½ override questions “went down in flames…because, in my opinion, it was hastily done, very confusing, and people did not understand the implications.”
She added that time is needed to get the word out because “people have busy lives.”
Meanwhile, selectmen have been fine tuning a request for proposals (RFP) regarding emergency medical services for the town.
McPherson said her fear is that a private company will come in at a good price initially—and then raise it after three years. Being without the Spencer Rescue Squad services would be a shame, she believes.
“We have been lucky to have them for a long time—including on a volunteer basis,” McPherson said. “People sing their praises all the time.”
As for the firefighters, McPherson pointed out homeowners should be aware their insurance will increase should the town choose to rely on call firefighters and experience longer response times.
She also praised them for the work they do.
“If people don’t step up, they will have to take the consequences,” McPherson added.
Town Administrator Jeff Bridges noted at a previous meeting that the cost to hold a special election is $8,000.
Town counsel advised that residents could petition Town Meeting to put the matter on the warrant in the fall. However, she said, it would be a “non-binding resolution,” or “sense of Town Meeting advisory.”
The Board of Selectmen alone controls whether to put the question to voters, Austin said.
Non-binding questions can be put on a ballot under certain circumstances, she said.
