GILL — Nearly every article was approved unanimously at Monday’s Annual Town Meeting, including an article pushing for a new constitutional amendment that would limit corporate monetary contributions in politics.
The meeting, which began at 7 p.m. and lasted less than an hour and a half, went off largely without a hitch. There was little deliberation among the 52 voters in attendance as they considered 21 warrant articles, with most discussion initiated by clarifying questions from voters.
The unanimously approved Article 7, which proposed a letter of resolution supporting a new constitutional amendment, titled “For Our Freedom,” that would limit corporate monetary contributions in politics, elicited particularly strong approval from voters on the Town Meeting floor.
The 28th Amendment would overturn Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, a Supreme Court case from 2010 that classifies corporations’ independent expenditures in political campaigns as part of free speech. The amendment separates people from “non-human entities” like businesses, and limits super PACs (political action committees) and dark money that proliferate state and federal political campaigns and elections.
“It is my hope that the town of Gill will pass this article and send a clear message to our representatives and our government,” Steve Bathory-Peeler, a resident who drafted a related article for the Town Meeting warrant, read to voters as part of a prepared speech. “That each person’s vote should indeed carry the same weight as another’s, and that democracy is the ruling principle in our country, not money.”
This speech, as well as the unanimous vote that followed, were each met with applause from voters.
All articles were approved unanimously with the exception of two. Article 5, which involved approving a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) agreement between the town of Gill and Kearsarge Gill LLC for a solar facility located at 588 Main Road, was voted to be passed over unanimously.
“The lawyers are still working on something that is mutually acceptable, so we will come back to Special Town Meeting at some point later this year,” Town Administrator Ray Purington explained.
Article 12, which appropriated nearly $2.24 million for the fiscal year 2024 omnibus budget, received a single “nay” vote. The budget is up from nearly $1.92 million this fiscal year.
Other articles on Monday’s warrant involved entering into a contract with Northfield EMS for ambulance service at a $15,000 annual assessment; creating an Opioid Settlement Stabilization Fund; allocating $23,100 to seal cracks in the town’s asphalt roads; and transferring $40,000 from free cash or other available funds to reduce the tax rate.
Reach Julian Mendoza at 413-930-4231 or jmendoza@recorder.com.