Duxbury Selectboard Recommends MBTA Communities Overlay District
Town also faces $1 million budget deficit for upcoming fiscal year
DUXBURY - June 9 - The Duxbury Selectboard votes 4-1 to recommend approval of the MBTA Communities Overlay District zoning bylaw at their June 9 meeting, despite significant concerns about state overreach. The board also grapples with a projected $1 million budget deficit for fiscal year 2027.
Fernando Guitart expresses strong objections to the state's approach to increasing housing availability before reluctantly voting to recommend the article.
"I strongly object to the approach taken. The state has pushed responsibilities for creating additional housing onto the communities and not provided the funding required for this increased density," Guitart says. "In other words, we bear the costs. We take the responsibilities for doing this."
Guitart notes that the current administration has shown they will use "considerable power" to ensure compliance, potentially taking towns to court or implementing their own solutions if communities don't comply.
"Bottom line, I don't like it. I don't support it. But I'm faced with a choice," Guitart says. "I know for 100% if we don't support it at the special town meeting, the state will come after us, will take money away that we sorely need."
Amy MacNab casts the lone dissenting vote, stating she cannot recommend town meeting endorse the measure.
"This circumvents all of those efforts," MacNab says, referring to generations of town planning. "I can't risk it... we're the gatekeepers in time and I have to sleep at night."
Michael McGee supports the article, citing the state Supreme Judicial Court's ruling that upheld the MBTA Communities Act. He notes that Selectboard members swear an oath to abide by the laws of the Commonwealth.
Chair Brian Glennon emphasizes that the working group has done "a terrific job in pulling something together in a very difficult situation."
"There is no proponent for this article. It's an obligation that was forced upon us by the state," Glennon says. "I see this as a question, not whether to comply with the law, but how."
The board also votes a new accessory dwelling unit (ADU) bylaw to comply with state law that now permits ADUs as of right. The bylaw attempts to maximize the town's ability to regulate these units while complying with state requirements. Both will be voted at the June 16 Special Town Meeting.
The board faces difficult decisions regarding the fiscal year 2027 budget, with a projected deficit of approximately $1 million. The discussion centers on providing priorities to guide Town Manager René Read and Finance Director Mary MacKinnon in developing a balanced budget.
"We're a million in the hole with the headcount that we have right now," McGee says. "So we cannot do the RIFs (reductions in force), the 13 RIFs on the town side, in a balanced budget, unless we can find a million dollars from the money tree out back."
The board agrees to prioritize public safety, including police, fire, and Department of Public Works, along with level service funding for schools. This approach means other departments will likely face significant cuts.
"After public health and safety, I feel like any department is eligible for efficiencies, cuts, whatever it takes to get to that number," MacNab says. "Because that's where we're at."
School Committee Chair Kellie Bresnehan emphasizes the schools' difficult position after losing 18 employees last year.
"We have cut to the bone. We have looked at absolutely everything," Bresnehan says. "If we can't even get level funded, because now we're out a million dollars, right? We're starting in the hole. It's going to be really detrimental to the students of Duxbury."
Superintendent Klingaman notes that a level-funded budget would require additional cuts due to contractual obligations and rising salaries.
The board directs town officials to prepare both a balanced budget (5A) and a contingency budget (5B) that would require an override vote, similar to last year's approach.
The board also:
- Votes to recommend two citizen petition articles using stabilization funds to restore two police and two fire positions that were cut after a failed override
- Approves recommended fee increases for cemetery, conservation, and fire departments
- Recommends funding for design, engineering, and permitting of PFAS projects
- Approves $25,000 for next year's Fourth of July celebration
- Approves $67,950 in capital budget items, including $7,950 for Harbormaster boat engines and $60,000 for PEG Access improvements
- Declares a temporary bonus shellfish season for commercial harvesting of quahogs in July
The special town meeting is scheduled for Monday, June 16 at 6 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center, with voter check-in beginning at 4:45 p.m.