Town Meeting 11-9-2026

Reading Town Meeting convened November 9, 2026, and approved amendments to the capital improvement plan under Article 3. The plan was revised—not funded by that vote—to move Matera Cabin improvements from FY2027 to FY2028 and reduce the planned amount from $120,000 to $80,000, and to move $500,000 for Driscoll Field lighting from FY2028 to FY2029, removing a proposed $100,000 cost increase. Other plan changes included advancing a $1.5 million fire engine and two $300,000 sanding trucks to FY2028 as debt, alongside schedule and cost adjustments for other municipal equipment and projects. The town reported about $86 million in authorized but unissued debt and reserves equal to 12.1% of net available revenues. No contract awards or purchases were approved under Article 3.

Under Article 4, Town Meeting approved budget transfers using health-insurance savings to provide $69,000 for the Animal Control Officer position and reimburse the Finance Committee reserve; it also approved use of enterprise-fund certified surplus for a $75,000 water-truck increase and $600,000 in sewer-station contingency funding. Town Meeting also adopted a sidewalk snow-clearing bylaw establishing property-owner responsibilities, waivers, and enforcement procedures. DPW estimated that town-wide sidewalk clearing would require seven additional preferred-model units at $250,000 each, plus staff and other costs; this was an illustrative estimate, not an approved procurement. DPW also described revised snow-plowing protocols, including avoiding snow piles at intersections and cul-de-sacs.