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2013 Warrant Articles Pro’s and Con’s view

Here is the file  if you want to print it:  2013 Warrant Article Table for Civic News

Reference Short   Description Yes Vote Means No Vote Means
Art. 1 Elections for 8   different positions. Please vote Please vote
Art. 2 Choose School   District officers (separate School Meeting). Please vote Please vote
Art. 3 Amd. 1 Housekeeping   change to conform to election of ZBA (voters adopted in 2012). Updates wording as ZBA is now   elected You do not want the wording to   be updated
Art. 3 Amd. 2 Historic   District regulation re:  solar   collectors. You support a new section to cover solar collectors in the Historic District You do not feel that the   historic district regulations should include solar collectors
Art. 3 Amd. 3 Establish   Overlay district for Groundwater mgmt. Support the town restricting the   use of ground water near the old Rye Landfill on Rt. 1 because of high levels   of manganese You do not want the town to be   able to restrict ground water use in this area, even though there are   elevated levels of manganese
Art. 3 Amd. 4 Decrease bldg.   age for demolition review from 65 to 50 years. You support the Demolition   Review to cover homes only 50 years, instead of the current 65 years and to   be consistent with State Law You would like to see the   Demolition Review stay at the current 65 years
Art. 3 Amd. 5 Amend   definition of “structure” in the Zoning Ordinance to exclude fuel   storage tanks” and make reference to other sections Support the wording changes to   remove fuel tanks as you agree they do not impact the yard space  set back requirements Prefer that the current wording   stays as is
Art. 3 Amd. 6 Define   “storm water” in the Zoning Ordinance in accordance with State   statute. Support adding a definition of   “storm water” consistent with the State Prefer that “Storm   water” not be defined to match the State definition
Art. 4 Town Hall   schematic design and related activities.    $60,000 Approve the town to spend $60K   to develop  designs and to prepare a   Town Facilities Master Plan. Do not want to see the town   address the town hall building problems now
Art. 5 1899 Trolley   Barn (Old Police Station) study.    $9,800 Support the town determining   potential costs of utilizing the old Police Station/Trolley Barn Do not want the town to   understand the costs of utilizing this building
Art. 6 Goss Farm Barn   restoration.  $170,000 Support the town investing in   accelerating the work at Goss Farm barn for community use Do not support the town   investing this amount in helping complete the restoration work at Goss Farm   Barn
Art. 7 Fund Highway   Equipment Capital Reserve Fund.    $100,000 Support the town building up the   capital reserve fund for future Highway Equipment investments.  No new equipment is planned for this year.   Current balance is $176,000 Do not think the town should be   adding funds to this account at this time.
Art. 8 Municipal   Records and Document Management.    $25,000 Support the town paying to get   recommendations on how to better store and manage all of the town   documents.  Does not include the cost   of scanning. Do not support the town getting   outside help to understand the options and costs for a records management   plan.
Art. 9 Streaming of   meetings at Town Hall.  $4,000 Support the town in investing in   starting to stream town meetings. Do not want to see the town   invest in streaming town government meetings.
Art. 10 Operating   budget $8,680,627.  Default budget   $8,380,347. Support the current increased   budget Prefer the town use the lower   default budget
Art. 11 Discontinue old   Elwyn Rd. roadbed near new roundabout. Approve the town to transfer the   unused public property to the private use Do not want the town to complete   the land exchange process started when the Foyes corner roundabout was built
Art. 12 Relocation of   Old Ferry Landing Rd. near Foyes’ Corner. Approve the town’s   discontinuance of  the current section   of road and to relocate this minor section of road Oppose the proposed changes   requested by the property owners
Art. 13 Cut <10   trees for parking lot at Rye Recreation Area. Support creating additional   parking at Rye Recreation fields Do not support creating   additional parking spaces as planned
Art. 14 Amend   Skateboard Ordinance to require single file for bicycles and pedestrians. Support making the restrictions   on pedestrians and bicycles permanent Do not support making the   changes permanent.
Art. 15 Amend Beach   Ordinance to require approval of business and organized events. Studying how the town should   regulate commercial activities at the beach (Ocean) Do not support the town studying   how the town to should regulate commercial activities on the beach (Ocean)
Art. 16 Amend Parking   Ordinance to add no parking areas near Jenness Beach. Support the additional no   parking zone Do not want these streets to be   posted no parking
Art. 17 Tally of votes   on warrant articles and budget items. Support the town showing the   vote (two to one) for Selectmen and Budget Committee Prefer to only see that the   Selectman or Budget Committee approve the spending
Art. 18 Increase Solar   Energy exemption from $15K to $35K Support increasing the Solar   Energy exemption to $35K and clarifying the wording Prefer the smaller exemption   amount from 2012
Art. 19* Study website   posting of all agendas and minutes. Approve having the town study   improving the access to agendas and meetings Do not want the town to study   making it easier for people to view meeting postings online
Art. 20* Approve the   amended warrant article that strengthens the Conflict of Interest policy Approve the process by making   such changes as a list of who has signed the conflict of interest form each   year availble to the public Would like process implemented   this year to stay unchanged
Art. 21* Enhance Capital   Improvements Program (“CIP”) process. Approve the  amended warrant that will require a Public   Hearing, listing of sources of funds and providing a table showing the effect   on the tax rate Would not like to see any   changes to the current CIP process
Art. 22* Require   investigation of 2012 reassessments. Require that the Selectman   review the assessment process, amended to remove the reference to distance to   the ocean. Do not want the town to review   the assessment process used
Art. 23 Permit sale of   surplus Town property Process formality Process Formality
Art. 24 To transact   other business . Process formality Process Formality
Sch. Art. 1 School   budget  $12,938,447.  Default $12,860,463. You support the proposed School   Budget You would prefer the lower   default budget
Sch. Art. 2 Appropriate   $10,670 for new support staff contract You approve the contract and the   associated costs for the next three years You do not support the new   support staff contract and associated cost increased
Sch. Art. 3 Permits special   meeting if Art. 2 is not approved Process formality Process Formality
Sch. Art. 4 Enable   unassigned general funds to be retained. You support using the new State   law that allows surplus funds to be put in a reserve fund for future   uses.  This fund can never be more the   2.5% of the current school taxes. You want all surplus funds   returned to taxpayers
Sch.Art. 5* Video streaming   of School Board meetings, $4,000 Support investing $4,000 to   start to stream School Board meetings. You do not want $4,000 to be   raised and appropriated for online streaming of  school board meetings
Sch. Art. 6* Tally of votes   on warrant articles and budget items. Support the School Board and   Budget Committee recommendation votes to be tallied and shown on the ballot.   (Approved 4 to 1, for example) You do not want to see the vote   tally for budget approval on the ballot