Town Administrator Michael Mullen and the Dighton Board of Selectmen are pleased to share information about the Town Warrant ahead of this year’s Annual Town Meeting.
This year’s Annual Town Meeting is scheduled for Monday, June 6, beginning at 7 p.m. in the Dighton Rehoboth Regional High School Auditorium, 2700 Regional Road, North Dighton.
A Town Meeting Information Session has been scheduled by the Board of Selectmen for 6 p.m. on Tuesday, May 31, at Old Town Hall, 1111 Somerset Ave. The session will provide an overview and answer any questions on the proposed Warrant Articles, including those shared below.
“The articles included in this year’s Annual Town Meeting warrant reflect the town’s continued commitment to responsible fiscal and community planning,” Town Administrator Mullen said. “We encourage community members to attend our upcoming information session so they can familiarize themselves with different aspects of the Warrant ahead of our Annual Town Meeting.”
Fiscal Year 2023 Budget Proposal
Included in the Town Meeting Warrant is the Town’s proposed $24 million Fiscal Year 2023 Operating Budget. The Town’s operating budget development process is carefully-constructed and shaped by meetings between the Board of Selectmen, the Finance Committee and the Town’s financial team, and developed in partnership with department heads, boards and committees, and input from town residents.
The Town’s efforts to plan for the next fiscal year have been focused on conservative, needs-based budgeting as the town continues to confront and adapt to various fiscal challenges shaped by outside economic factors. The Town of Dighton Fiscal Year 2023 Operating Budget will be a recalibrated, core-services centered budget that continues the town’s commitment to responsibly meet the needs of its residents
A major focus of this year’s budget proposal involves adapting much more modest local receipt revenues as compared to what the town has realized in previous years. The efforts the town proposes taking to recalibrate, stabilize and adapt to current budgetary trends are part of a multi-year plan to prioritize sustainable, financially-sound and forecast-driven budget planning to drive the town’s efforts forward.
The proposed Town of Dighton Operating Budget for Fiscal Year 2023 can be found in Article 5 of the Annual Town Meeting Warrant. All Town Meeting Warrant information can be accessed here.
Proposed Capital Articles
The Town, through its re-established Capital Outlay Committee, began developing a multi-year capital plan this year to rank, plan and prioritize the Town’s capital needs. The proposed capital-related Warrant Articles reflect the needs as prioritized by the Capital Outlay Committee for the next fiscal year.
Community members should note there are a number of capital need priorities that are reflected in the Warrant, but not all are recommended to be funded at this time. Currently, the Town does not have the ability to responsibly fund all the priorities as outlined in the Warrant. As such, respective funding recommendations from the Board of Selectmen and Finance Committee are included in the Warrant.
Proposed articles included in this year’s Warrant include the funding of a Dighton Elementary and Middle School Campus feasibility study, various zoning-related articles, a Pleasant Street roadway acceptance article, a proposed article to increase the Senior Tax Exemption to $1,000, and a Citizen Petition article for review and consideration.
Proposed Acquisition of 207 Main St.
In Article 30, the Town is seeking approval to acquire the building and property located at 207 Main St. for the purposes of operating the Dighton Public Library at this location. This Article seeks approval only for the acquisition of the property, as funding for the acquisition is able to be separately approved through the Town’s American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA) grant allocation.
The acquisition of this historic community property makes future improvements eligible to be funded through Dighton’s Community Preservation funds, thereby limiting the pressures on Dighton’s operational and capital budgetary needs. It would also allow the town to preserve a valuable, historic property located in close proximity to the wild and scenic Taunton River.
Additional details about the proposed acquisition can be found on the Town of Dighton website here and will be further shared by town officials in the coming days.
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