TOWN HALL NOTEBOOK

Essex STM Monday: Vacant FinCom Seats, ADUs, and Police Cruisers

Essex BOS member Annie Cameron speaking at last spring’s Annual Town Meeting, with Ruth Pereen, then BOS Chair, in the background.

Photo: Paul Clark

Posted Friday, November 14, 2025 1:51 pm

Essex voters on Monday will address zoning bylaw changes, ADU rules, miscellaneous spending, and they will revisit how appointments are made to fill vacant seats on the FinCom.”

By Erika Brown

Essex voters may have a sense of “déjà vu” at this coming Monday’s 2025 Special Town Meeting Warrant when they consider changes in how Finance Committee (FinCom) vacancies are filled. They’ll also vote on Planning Board initiatives to continue cleaning up the zoning bylaw, firm up accessory dwelling unit regulations, and funding for items like police cruisers.

FinCom Vacancy Appointments, Redux

Two articles in the Monday’s 28-article Warrant are seeking to “update” the FinCom composition and governance. Article 12 asks voters to establishing a Finance Committee Nominating Committee, made up of the Board of Selectman (BOS) Chair, the FinCom Chair, and one FinCom member whose term is expiring. The new committee would recommend candidates to the BOS for approval. Then, Article 13 seeks to clarify FinCom meeting requirements and procedural updates.

Both articles are endorsed by the BOS.

On the face of it, the changes aim to simply formalize the appointment process, ensure continuity as membership turns over, and boost transparency.

The articles, however, brings an ongoing drama to a head between the FinCom and a block of voters Manchester Essex Regional School District (MERSD) supporters who passed a measure six months ago to change how FinCom vacancies are filled.

Each side has been frustrated with the other. For years, the FinCom has squeezed the District to do more with less—demanding that it stay within a 2.5% budget increase each year—and has accused the school district of withholding key details in its annual budgets.

For their part, MERSD supporters accuse the FinCom of operating in an opaque manner, of strategically scheduling its meetings to dampen public attendance, withholding meeting minutes, and of scapegoating the District for Proposition 2 ½ override votes driven by budget woes across many other notable town departments, not just local schools.

So, what does this have to do with filling board vacancies? And what’s so “déjà vu” about these articles set for Monday?

Well, in late June there was a dustup when the FinCom asked the BOS to approve its recommendation that Ruth Pereen fill a vacancy on its board. Pereen, the former chair of the BOS, had lost her seat just six weeks previously to Annie Cameron, a longtime former member of the ME Regional School Committee.

It was quick business to install Pereen up on the FinCom, and it triggered complaints for two reasons. First, another resident, Brian Gressler, had stepped forward six months earlier as a candidate to fill a FinCom vacancy, and the idea that Pereen would “jump the line” was seen as proof of the FinCom’s proverbial “lack of transparency.”

Secondly, and more important, was the fact that, in June, Gressler was on the heels of successfully sponsoring passage of a bylaw by citizen’s petition at May’s Annual Town Meeting to shift authority to appoint FinCom members from the FinCom (with approval of the BOS) to the Town Moderator. That’s the way FinCom vacancies are filled in more than 100 other Massachusetts towns, including Manchester. Gressler’s measure was handily approved by voters.

So, about two months later, when Pereen’s appointment was presented to the BOS, Cameron fought hard to stop consideration of it. With the bylaw not yet approval by the Massachusetts Attorney General (and therefore not yet in effect), Cameron said installing Pereen would override the will of Essex voters. She added that the FinCom was simply trying to pack the committee before its hands were tied. Her pleas fell on deaf ears. The BOS approved Pereen’s appointment, 2-1.

The FinCom said the proposed changes its bringing to voters on Monday will strengthen the appointment process, not weaken it. And that’s good for everyone. In the end, it’s voters at Monday's STM who will decide if that is the case.

“Housekeeping”—a.k.a., Zoning Bylaw edits—and new ADU regs

The Essex Planning Board is continuing its years-long initiative to evolve the Essex Zoning Bylaw to make Essex’s code more consistent, current, and readable.

Because of this, the first half of the Warrant—Articles 1-10—feel like a seemingly endless legal document edited in “Track Changes” mode. These include clarifying the roles and organization of the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals (Articles 1–3). Or updating dimensional and density regulations charts (Article 4) to correct references and align with existing practices. Although mostly procedural, these changes help modernize the bylaw’s organization and ensure alignment with state statutes, like this year’s state mandated MBTA “3A” zoning requirements.

Things go beyond editing with Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), which addresses another state mandate that, earlier this year, were allowed by right statewide for most homeowners. It’s a major part of the state’s effort to increase housing production in the face of town NIMBYism (“Not In My Back Yard”).

Article 5 is the Planning Board’s effort to shape that mandate to fit Essex. It would explicitly limit one ADU per lot and restrict separate ownership (as a condominium). ADUs must also meet the same setback requirements as the main house; they could not be used for short-term rentals; and the ADU or the main house must be owner-occupied.

Other Article highlights for Monday include:

Revising public sign regulations to prohibit lighted signs that cause glare or visibility hazards and to clarify height and placement limits;
Creation of a new revolving fund for the Police Dept. for cruiser-related fees and maintenance;
Updates other revolving funds for the Planning Board, Conservation Commission, and Zoning Board of Appeals to reflect advertising and permit-fee uses;
Adjustment of mooring fees;
Authorize funding for collective bargaining settlements, DPW items, new police vehicles, Community Preservation Act projects, and potential capital improvements; and
Standard year-end budget adjustments for salaries and operating budgets.

Again, Essex Town Meeting is Monday, November 17, at 6:45 p.m. in the Essex Elementary School gymnasium.