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Sudbury’s Annual Town Meeting kicked off on Monday, May 4, and it was an action-packed evening. Select Board Chair Lisa Kouchakdjian delivered the State of the Town speech at the top of the meeting. She opened by celebrating Sudbury’s history and democracy, major projects like Sudbury’s two rail trails, recently-approved school roofs, and strong financial management.
From there Kouchakdjian outlined progress made on major plans, as well advancement of ongoing planning processes, including the Open Space and Recreation Plan. She wrapped it in a Star Wars theme, as Town Meeting started on “May The 4th Be With You” day.
Here’s the running summary of all articles taken up on the first night:
Consent Calendar
This passed 220-17, and it included over one dozen articles:
Article 5 — FY27 Transfer Station Enterprise Fund Budget
Article 6 — FY27 Atkinson Pool Enterprise Fund Budget
Article 7 — FY27 Recreation Field Maintenance Enterprise Fund Budget
Article 8 — Snow and Ice Transfer
Article 10 — Chapter 90 Highway Funding
Article 11 — FY27 Revolving Fund Spending Limits
Article 12 — FY27 Stabilization Fund
Article 14 — FY27 Revolving Fund Spending Limits
Article 15 — Terminate Revolving Funds and Amend General Bylaws
Article 23 — Amend General Bylaw Chapter 117, Animals
Article 25 — Digital Publication of Legal Notices Home Rule Petition
Article 29 — Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus Replacement
Article 30 — LSRHS Wastewater Treatment Facility Control Panel
Article 31 — School Classroom Instructional Equipment Replacement
Article 1 — Hear Reports
The honor of this motion went to Patty Golden, who retired recently after nearly 19 years of service to the Town of Sudbury. It passed.
Article 2 — FY26 Budget Adjustments
This one was indefinitely postponed. No adjustments were needed.
Article 3 — FY27 Budget
The limiting motion (it sets a dollar ceiling for the overall budget) passed 270-32.
The main motion, which is the budget itself, passed 205-102 without any amendments.
Article 4 — FY27 Capital Budget
After some questions from the hall, this one passed 250-47.
Article 9 — Unpaid Bills
This one was indefinitely postponed because the Town had no unpaid bills. The vote was 241-17.
Article 13 — Vocational Education Stabilization Fund
After Town Manager Andy Sheehan presented the article—which had the 4-1 support of the Select Board—Select Board Member Charlie Russo presented a Select Board minority report in opposition to the article. After robust deliberation in the hall, the article failed 137-174.
Article 16 — Resolution: Sudbury 250th
This one passed 231-31 without debate.
Article 17 — Resolution: Full Inclusion and Accessibility
This article passed 218-56.
Article 18 — Funding for Transportation Programs
This one passed 258-24.
Article 19 — Qualified Consultant Services for Liberty Ledge/Sewataro Visioning
This article failed 75-200 after nearly an hour of deliberation in the hall.
To review any of those articles, you can access the digital copy of the warrant here.