Pepperell Selectmen Call September Town Meeting and Election on Override Question

PEPPERELL — July 1, 2014 — Pepperell selectmen call a special town meeting and election to revive a failed budget override. The Board of Selectmen voted unanimously July 1 to schedule a special town meeting for September 2, 2014, paired with a special election already set for September 9, after voters rejected an earlier Proposition 2½ override. The town administrator described the two votes as legally independent — the town meeting authorizes spending, the ballot authorizes the tax levy — and noted that the town is projecting roughly $50,000 to $60,000 in additional revenue beyond earlier estimates through new growth and state aid. He warned that the police department will have four fewer officers this year than in 2010 and that a nine-year highway department veteran faces potential layoff without bridge funding. The board also unanimously confirmed Anne Libessey as assistant town clerk after a search drawing 48 applicants, appointed Philip Landsteiner of the Hollis Police Department as a special police officer through June 30, 2015, and approved a proclamation honoring Jim Dunn and Kim Spaulding for 40 years of organizing the Pepperell Crank-Up — their final year running the event.