Override fails in Georgetown

Supporters of a $1.1 million override in Georgetown were expected to seek a recount after the measure failed by just 17 votes at the annual town election Monday.

Selectman Matt Vincent said Tuesday that a recount request was likely, noting that he had spoken to citizens who planned to begin circulating a petition for one. He said he supports the effort. The town clerk's office confirmed Tuesday afternoon that a resident had picked up a petition.

"I'd like to see a recount because there were 67 ballots for which that question was left blank. I think given the margin, it's important to be able to look at those so no one has any doubts as to the final results," he said.

"We are exploring our options at this point," said School Committee chairman George Moker. "I can't confirm whether there is going to be a recount, but given the margin, I would assume there would be one."

With nearly 50 percent of the town's eligible voters casting ballots, the tax increase lost 1,284 to 1,267.

The annual Town Meeting on May 7 had authorized $1,061,822 in additional funding for the fiscal 2008 operating budget, conditioned on passage of the override. Had the override passed, the $1.1 million would have been added to the $22.5 million budget approved by Town Meeting, with 71 percent of the extra money going to the schools and the rest to other town departments.

Supporters had argued that the override would provide a modest boost to the town's revenues, and was needed to keep pace with rising costs in areas such as health insurance and pensions.

"I'm disappointed," Moker said of the outcome, "but at the same time I'm also encouraged by the record number of supporters for the override . . . . That tells me that things are pointed in the right direction. However, the problems we have are real and . . . this need is not just going to go away. This is not business as usual, where we lose and walk way and wait to live another day."

Selectman Lawrence Brennan, who opposed the override as an excessive request, said he was surprised by the outcome.

"Numerically, they had the advantage and they had little if no opposition," he said of supporters. "And they worked extremely hard and had a large organization. They were relentless in their efforts. But people told them 'No.' "

"They risked everything because they went for every single want," he said of proponents and the Finance Committee members who backed their request. "They ended up with nothing, so now we are all in a little bit of trouble."

Although he opposed the override, Brennan said, "There is no happiness in town over this," noting that Georgetown now "truly is a town divided."

The override would have added $334 to the tax bill of an average single-family home assessed at $412,485, or $84 for every $100,000 of home value.

The defeat of the override follows the rejection by voters last year of a $381,167 override for the school budget and a $250,000 capital exclusion -- a one-year tax increase -- to reconstruct the Bailey Lane Bridge.

Vincent said that barring a reversal of this week's outcome through a recount, the cuts supporters had said would occur if the override failed will go forward. Those include the loss of two to three teachers, a reading tutor, the school facilities manager, and a custodian, at the schools; a reduction in funding for the library, the Fire Department, and veterans services; the turning off of 75 street lights; and the cancellation of hazardous-waste dropoff days, among other cuts.

He said the loss of the override will also mean the loss of funding that would have been used to hire four to five teachers and a Highway Department laborer; purchase safety equipment for the Fire Departments; provide additional hours for the town planner, the town clerk and their assistants; repair storm drains; control beaver activity; and fund raises for nonschool employees.

"I'm tremendously disappointed, for a lot of different reasons," he said.

"I think it's a real tough situation for the town to go into, both with respect to the school system but also with respect to town services. And most importantly, with our town employees," who will go without a raise.

Elisabeth Tollman, chairwoman of Believe in Georgetown, a ballot committee formed to promote passage of the override, was also disappointed in the outcome.

"This was a very modest override and there are going to be pretty strict consequences for the town in terms of Town Hall funding" and further cutbacks in the schools, she said, noting that those reductions could result in the middle-high school's accreditation being placed on probation.

Still, Tollman saw a silver lining in the defeat of the override.

The fact that nearly 1,300 people voted in favor of the override is "a huge win and a step in the right direction for the town," she said.

"When it comes that close, you are not losing the base [of voters] for the future. We are definitely determined to keep working on this."