Swampscott’s annual Spring Town Meeting will be held on Monday, May 18 at 7 p.m. at the Swampscott High School. 

The caucus meetings for all Swampscott precincts are scheduled for the same day, starting at 6:45 p.m. The precincts will meet at the high school in rooms:

• Precinct 1 – Room C101
• Precinct 2 – Room C103
• Precinct 3 – Room C104
• Precinct 4 – Room C105
• Precinct 5 – Room C107
• Precinct 6 – Room B128

The Recreation Department is offering a limited number of free childcare slots as a pilot program. Childcare is available for children 3 years old and up, who are potty trained. It will run from 6:30 to 10 p.m. Registration is required and can be completed at Program: Spring Town Meeting Childcare. 

The initial childcare session will take place on Monday, May 18, with the possibility of additional sessions on Tuesday, May 19 and Wednesday, May 20 if Town Meeting continues. 

There are 14 articles up for vote. Here’s a deeper look into each one.

Article No. 1

Town Meeting starts with reports from town officials, boards and committees.

Article No. 2

The Town Meeting then goes on to its first vote, to approve bills from the prior fiscal years. The town is looking to authorize the payment of $41,963.75. The bills are as follows:

• Parking Ticket Processing: invoiced on June 30, 2025 for $196.50 
• Injured on duty Medical Claims: multiple invoices for $36,429.42
• Unemployment Claims: multiple invoices for $5,337.83

The article requires a ⅘ vote, according to Massachusetts General Law.

Article No. 3

Town Meeting Members are asked to vote to amend various line items in the 2026 fiscal year budget, as recommended by the Finance Committee. The transfers are within the operating budget and are based on previously voted on employment contracts, obligated costs and other adjustments. 

No additional money is being spent, according to the appropriation chart. Instead, line items within the salary reserve, town accountant, community development, treasury and collections, and town clerk budgets would be reduced to help fund snow and ice removal, the Swampscott Police Department, Department of Public Works street lighting, and veterans services.

Article No. 4

This is the big budget item. Article No. 4 is the report and vote on the 2027 fiscal year operating budget.

The Finance Committee recommends a passing vote to this article. The Select Board voted three in favor, with one member abstaining and one opposing the budget.

The Finance Committee, however, noted in its report that the 2027 fiscal year budget “relies on onetime resources and our expense growth is not sustainable.” Current projects show excess levy capacity depleted by the 2029 fiscal year, according to Town Administrator Nick Connors’ presentations.

“The 2027 fiscal year budget is balanced through the use of approximately $1.5 million in excess levy capacity, a finite resource expected to be depleted within several years. Without it, the town would already face significant service reductions or a voter-approved override. This approach should be understood as a short-term bridge, not a long-term solution,” the report reads.

The Select Board had directed Connors to develop a budget that provides level service while limiting the use of excess levy. The town’s expected excess levy use is $1.5 million, including $901,000 added to the town budget and an additional $244,000 in reductions on the school side.

The recommended budget increases the general fund spending by $3 million, which is 3.9% over the 2026 fiscal year budget.

Line items, such as jobs that were filled in the previous year as well as poll workers and recruitment and entrance exams, have increased from the 2026 fiscal year budget. Other items, like customer service clerical, town wide office supplies, IT contract services, library computer maintenance, HR interns, an assistant electric inspector, public health nurse, public work part-time staff and a fire department administrative assistant have been significantly reduced.

The overall general fund appropriation represents a recommended 4.5% increase, to $77,728,942. The total sewer fund appropriations is a recommended 6.2% increase, to $2,946,838. The total water fund appropriation is recommended to increase by 5%, to $4,119,136, and the total public, education and government TV fund appropriation is suggested to be reduced by 29.1%, to $149,759. The solid waste and recycling fund appropriations is suggested to increase 15%, to $1,853,939. 

The tax impact of the proposed 2027 fiscal year budget will not be known until the tax rate is set in the fall. The Finance Committee, however, warned that the tax increase “is certain” to be “above-average” due to the use of excess levy money. 

The Finance Committee projects that the estimated total impact of the 2027 fiscal year proposed operating budget will be $0.64 per $1,000 of home value, or $617 to the average single family home based on 2026 fiscal year assessed values.

“A narrow path forward exists: continued focus on fiscal discipline and a stronger focus on revenue growth may help avoid an override,” the Finance Committee wrote.

Article No. 5

Article No. 5 concerns the appropriation and reserve of Community Preservation Fund estimated annual revenues.The vote is for:

Appropriation:

• $44,375 from the 2027 fiscal year estimated revenues for committee administrative expenses

Reserve:

• $88,750 from the 2027 fiscal year estimated revenues for Historic Resources Reserve
• $88,750 from the 2027 fiscal year estimated revenues for Community Housing Reserve
• $88,750 from the 2027 fiscal year estimated revenues for Open Space Reserve
• $575,000 from the 2027 fiscal year estimated revenues for Budgeted Reserve

Article No. 6

This article looks to amend the spending limits for various revolving funds. The vote would allow funds received from town activities to be expended solely for additional activities directly related to the source. The amendment would update expenditure limits. 

The proposed amendment would increase the recreation’s fiscal year spending limit to $650,000.

Article No. 7

The town needs to vote to accept $300,000 – or such other amount as made available by state legislation to repair and construct streets. State Rep. Jennifer Armini (D-Essex) announced in her newsletter that through this year’s Chapter 90 program, which provides direct funding to municipalities for road and bridge repairs, Swampscott can receive $435,737.33.

“These are flexible funds that communities can use for paving, sidewalk improvements and other local transportation needs that residents see every day,” Armini wrote.

Article No. 8

Article No. 8 would amend the authorization of capital projects. The purpose is to consider rescinding certain authorizations for projects that have been completed under budget or abandoned.

There were no items ahead of Town Meeting, so this article will be postponed, according to Town Administrator Nick Connors.

Article No. 9

Article No. 9 are the recommended capital improvement projects. The Capital Improvement Committee wrote in its report that the program and its projects allow for a year-to-year stabilization in capital outlays while also making preemptive acquisitions — such as land for water supply, public works, and recreation — “more feasible and defensible.” The committee laid out recommendations through fiscal year 2031.

The vote is to borrow funds from the general, sewer and water funds to pay costs of various capital projects for the Department of Public Works, government facilities, school facilities, water, library and both the police and fire departments.

The projected total recommended by the Town Administrator is $15,314,535. The Finance Committee does not recommend a sewer main rehabilitation, replacing the fire chief’s car, improving middle school classroom space, or technology upgrade for the middle school and high school gym, creating a total recommended $11,709,310 in borrowing. 

This article will require a ⅔ vote.

Article No. 10

Town Meeting Members will vote to add a new bylaw, called the “Inspection of Sewer Lateral at Time of Sale or Transfer,” to ensure that no real property is conveyed with an illegal connection or sewer lateral pipe defect.

The inspection would include a visual review of all exposed piping and drainage systems inside and outside the building, along with smoke and dye testing and CCTV inspection of non-exposed piping and drainage systems.

Any resident that is selling their property will be required to apply for a certificate of compliance from the town prior to the sale.

Article No. 11

The vote is to prohibit the use of rodenticides on town property. 

The Swampscott Fire Department began using SenesTech’s EVOLVE rodent birth control devices in late September, supported by Speak Up for Animals and Director of Facilities Max Kasper. EVOLVE  is non-toxic and made from food-grade ingredients, unlike second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARs) and other poisons. 

EVOLVE devices are safer than poisons like SGARs, which, while effective at killing rats, also pose risks to pets, children, and wildlife. Even more so, as rats are prolific breeders, the poison doesn’t stop them from coming back. 

Other animals, such as squirrels and chipmunks, tend to ignore the EVOLVE boxes, according to Speak Up for Animals’ Deb Newman.

Article No. 12

Article No. 12 is the citizens’ petition version of Article No. 11. If Article. No. 11 is passed, the Town Meeting Members would not need to hold a second vote for this article, according to Town Administrator Nick Connors.

Article No. 13

Article No. 13 is also a citizens’ petition. It is to prohibit the sale of foie gras. 

Foie gras is made from the fattened liver of a duck or goose, produced through a force-feeding process that enlarges the liver.

While some consider foie gras a “luxury” or a “French delicacy,” others argue the production method is inhumane.

Article No. 14

The final proposal, submitted by six families, would restrict open wood fires. The proposal would ban open wood fires in chimineas, fire pits, and on beaches. The Board of Health would fine:

• First Offense: $100
• Second Offense: $200
• Third Offense: $300

The state allows for a penalty of up to $500, according to the petition.

The issue has been the subject of ongoing debate at Board of Health meetings.

“They put it forward as a citizen petition because there was potentially disagreement during discussions,” Town Administrator Nick Connors previously said.

Director of Public Health Jeff Vaughan previously said the proposal aligns with the fire department’s mission to reduce fire risks and protect public health. He added that the board aims to provide residents with clearer guidance on campfire rules once its draft review is complete.

The petition suggests banning wood burning fires would “encourage the use of less harmful alternatives including charcoal grills, propane or natural gas grills, and propane or natural gas stoves, heaters and fire pits.”

A similar petition failed a few years ago.