By Erika Brown
In less than two hours, 160 Essex voters approved more than $800,000 in public safety capital items, including funding for a new Harbormaster boat, a new Fire Dept. “pumper” truck, and a new police cruiser at the Fall Special Town Meeting (STM) Monday night.
They also approved a large series of zoning-related changes, barred condo ownership for accessory dwelling units (ADUs), and green lit a grand step toward self-funding retiree obligations. They also voted to indefinitely continue a proposal to change how Finance Committee vacancies are filled.
Going into the meeting, one article on the 28-article STM Warrant, Article 12 seeking to establish a Finance Committee Nominating Committee (comprised of the Town Moderator, Board of Selectman (BOS) Chair, and the FinCom Chair) was postponed indefinitely.
Article 12 represented the BOS’ response to a measuree passed six months ago at the Annual Town Meeting giving the Town Moderator appointing authority of FinCom members.
The new bylaw was approved by the states Attorney General this summer.
The idea behind Article 12, said BOS Chair Alva Ingaharro, was to expand consideration of potential new members beyond just one person. Brian Gressler, the sponsor of May’s petition, moved on Monday to pull Article 12, saying its language inaccurately reflected what was approved by the state.
Town Counsel disagreed. Gressler then moved to indefinitely postpone Article 12. Voters approved the postponement
$1 Million to OPEB Trust Fund
One of the most consequential items came late in the evening, with Article 25, a complicated financial planning move to aggressively move $1,000,000 ($884,589.79 from “free cash” and $115,410.21 from previous appropriations) to the town’s Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB) trust fund.
The article was introduced by the FinCom’s Ben Buttick.
Essentially, he said, the transfer is a proactive move for long-term stability in the face of Proposition 2½ spending limits and weathering future school district budget ups and downs. OPEB liabilities represent the cost of retiree health care — a major future expense for towns like Essex. Many communities fund these costs year to year directly from their operating budgets, which adds pressure during tight fiscal cycles, especially when school district assessments or capital needs increase.
Currently, Essex pays OPEB from its operating budget. By moving $1 million to the OPEB trust fund, the balance would be roughly $4.2 million, which puts it in striking distance of the $5 million benchmark that OPEB expenses directly from investment income, said Buttrick.
Theresa Whitman, Essex resident and a member of the Manchester Essex School Committee, said she supported the idea behind Article 25, but wondered if, in the face of next year’s FY27 ME Regional School District budget approvals, $1 million was too much, too soon. She recommended lowering the amount to $500,000.
The FinCom’s Michael Flynn responded, saying the strategy was thought through. It represents an investment in financial independence and predictability that could help avoid painful cuts or overrides down the line is critical to weathering, he said.
It’s “a good financial equation,” Flynn told voters.
Voters agreed, approving Article 25 unanimously.
Time to Replace Large Public Safety Items
On the face of it, Articles 18, 19, and 20, which asked voters to approve $813,500 in public safety-related capital items felt like a lot to some voters on Monday. But as the articles were presented, each—$650,000 (Article 19) to fund a new Fire Dept. “pumper truck,” $90,000 (Article 18) to fund a new Harbormaster boat, and $73,500 (Article 20) to fund a new Police cruiser—felt necessary.
All were easily approved by voters.
Starting with the Harbormaster boat, one resident rose to question whether Essex needs a new boat, especially the recommended estimated $450,000 Metal Shark 25ft Defiant with enclosed twin 250 engines.
It was the opening that allowed Police Chief and Harbormaster Tom Shamshak to present analysis (by way of a handout for all attendees) that the town’s existing harbormaster boat had, truly, reached its end of life.
With no working onboard electronics (radar, search lights, navigation, display screens, etc.), engine trouble, and more, it would cost an estimated $154,145 to refit. The Defiant would be eligible for one-time matching federal funds that would lower the cost of the boat to $112,500.
The requested $90,000 represented the balance required to make the purchase if the grant came through. Article 18 passed.
The rhythm continued as voters were asked to fund a new pumper truck.
Nearly 50 percent of Essex cannot be serviced with access to fire hydrants, so the pumper truck is an asset that’s relied on for fire response, voters were told. The current one had reached its end of life, and will soon be out of regulatory compliance (meaning that repairing or replacing small items on it, such as a light, becomes impractically complex).
Voters agreed, approving Article 19 unanimously. By the time voters engaged $73,500 for a new police cruiser, there was little discussion and easy approval. The article passed quickly.
ADU Regs, Zoning Language Changes
The Planning Board’s (PB) years-long initiative to evolve the Essex Zoning Bylaw to make Essex’s rules guiding what projects can and cannot be built within Essex continued with consideration of Articles 1-10.
Lisa O’Donnell called much of the changes “housekeeping,” and voters agreed by approving every single Planning Board article presented. These included clarifying the Planning Board’s role in the town’s zoning bylaw, updating dimensional and density regulations to correct references and align with existing practices. The articles were mostly about procedural language and corrections, but some changes ensure alignment with the state mandated MBTA “3A” zoning requirements, which went into effect this year.
O’Donnell explained that the 3A zoning was simply about allowing capacity.
Things went beyond editing with Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), which in February 2025 were allowed by right statewide for most homeowners.
O’Donnell said the liberalization of regulations for these additional units were meant to allow rentals in spirit, so Article 5 asked voters to explicitly restrict separate legal ownership of the ADU (a.k.a., condominium conversions) of ADUs. Voters approved Article 5.
Last May, Manchester voters approved a series of limitations on ADUs similar to those in Essex. They included limits both the length of time an ADU may be rented (which was not part of Article 5 in Essex) and restrictions on separate ownership (exactly like Article 5).
This summer, the Massachusetts Attorney General struck down Manchester’s time limits on rentals, and added in its letter to the town that the ownerships formats like condominiums could be legally problematic.
Note: In last week’s Essex STM preview, we mistakenly wrote that Article 12 would create a new FinCom Nominating Committee comprised of the Town Moderator, BOS Chair, the FinCom Chair, “and one FinCom member whose term is expiring.” That is incorrect. The proposed committee would be comprised of the Town Moderator, BOS Chair, the FinCom Chair to fill a vacating seat, and “may include the incumbent whose term is expiring.” We regret the error.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here