In Halifax, included on the election ballot for the November 8 election, along with the four state-wide referenda (additional slot-machine parlor, charter schools, regulation for raising farm animals, marijuana legalization), is one specific to Halifax. It reads as follows:
Shall the Town of Halifax be allowed to exempt from the provisions of proposition two and one-half, so-called, the amounts required to pay for the bond issued in order to pay for the repairs, renovations and expansion of the Council on Aging Center/Pope’s Tavern including the payment of all costs incidental or related thereto?
The Halifax Board of Selectmen placed this question on the ballot in case a future Town Meeting approves borrowing money for the renovation and addition to the Council on Aging Center/Pope’s Tavern but makes funding for the project contingent upon approval of a debt exclusion (an approved debt exclusion allows the Town to pay a particular debt with an increase in taxes above and beyond the normal levy limit).
If this question was not placed on the November 8 ballot and a future Town Meeting approved borrowing the money contingent upon the debt exclusion, another election, at additional cost, would have had to be held.
The approval or disapproval of this question is not the same as approving or disapproving this project.
That will be a decision made by a future Town Meeting.
That Town Meeting will have several options for funding including other sources of funding along with borrowing and can decide to have the borrowing contingent on a debt exclusion or to have the borrowing paid for within the levy limit.
1) If I vote “yes” on Question 5, does that mean I am approving the project?
“No”
2) If I vote “no” on Question 5, does that mean I am disapproving the project?
“No”
3) If Question 5 is approved, does that mean that the project is approved?
“No”
4) If Question 5 is disapproved, does that mean that the project is disapproved? “No”
The approval or disapproval of Question 5 simply provides or eliminates an option for funding the project. Approval or disapproval of the project will be subject to a vote at a Special Town Meeting late this fall or early this winter.
If you have any questions about Question 5, please contact the Halifax Selectmen’s Office at 781-294-1316.