Town Meeting Articles of the Day (Articles 19 through 22)

Thursday, April 21, 2022:  In preparation for the 2022 Annual Town Meeting on April 25, 2022 at 7pm in the Ayer Shirley Regional High School Auditorium, the Town will be publishing the “Articles of the Day” to provide further information on each of the Town Meeting Warrant Articles.  Each day, the Town will feature two or three Town Meeting Warrant Articles with a summary of each Article.  The complete Town Meeting Warrant and additional information regarding the Warrant Articles can be found here. 

For any questions about the Town Meeting  Warrant Articles, please do not hesitate to contact the Town Manager’s Office at 978-772-8220 x100 or at tm@ayer.ma.us 

For questions about Town Meeting Procedures and Rules of Order, please do not hesitate to contact James O’Conor, the Town Moderator at joconor@ayer.ma.us

Article 19:  Matching Funding for Firefighters Grant (Raise & Appropriate):  This Article would raise and appropriate $2,376.19 as matching funds for a Federal Assistance to Firefighters Grant.  These funds will only be required if the grant submission is successful.

Article 20: Funding of the Reserve Fund for Future Payments of Accrued Liabilities for Compensated Absences (Transfer Article):  This Article would transfer $63,837 from Free Cash into the Town’s reserve fund for future payments of accrued liabilities for compensated absences as created and authorized previously by Town Meeting in accordance with MGL Chapter 40, Section 13D.

Article 21:  Forward Funding of the Town’s Pension Assessment (Transfer Article):  This Article would forward fund the Town’s pension assessment from the Middlesex County Retirement System in the amount of $300,000 to be transferred from Free Cash for the purposes of realizing estimated future savings. 

Article 22:  UDAG Fund Replenishment – Depot Square (Transfer Article):  This Article would replenish the Town’s UDAG (Urban Development Action Grant) Fund in the amount of $65,000 to be transferred from Free Cash.  These funds were used from the UDAG’s unrestricted funds for purposes that did not have a repayment mechanism in place.  The $65,000 is for the completion of the final phase of the Depot Square Project.