Override, debt exclusion questions head to Wendell voters in special election

WENDELL — The town has scheduled a special election on Monday so residents can vote on two override questions and two debt exclusion questions.

Polls will be open from noon to 8 p.m. at the Town Offices at 9 Morse Village Road, where voters will have their say on a pair of questions pertaining to real estate and personal property taxes and two regarding Proposition 2½.

The Finance Committee has prepared a website at wendellmass.us/special-election-august-4-2025 to help residents better understand the override and debt exclusion questions. The first question asks residents if they wish to allow the town to assess an additional $133,999 in taxes to operate the municipal government and public schools for fiscal year 2026. The second question asks if the town can assess another $40,250 in taxes that will be put in the General Stabilization Fund.

Residents voted at a Town Meeting to approve a budget that made an override necessary and the Selectboard was required to place override questions on an election ballot. State law requires voter approval before a municipality can increase its property tax levy by more than 2.5%. An override results in a permanent tax increase that funds ongoing operational expenses. According to the webpage for the special election, the average inflation rate over the past six years has been 3.8%, and the average increase in school assessments — the largest portion of Wendell’s budget — was 7.8% annually.

“This leaves a gap between rising costs and what the town can collect in taxes to cover expenses,” the website states.

A debt exclusion, on the other hand, is a temporary tax increase that is used to pay for the debt service of a specific capital project and does not affect future levy limit calculations. The ballot’s third question asks voters if Wendell should be exempt from the provisions of Proposition 2½ so the Fire Department can buy a new tanker truck, and the fourth question pertains to the bond issued to pay for windows and doors at Swift River School in New Salem, where Wendell sends its students in preschool through sixth grade.

Wendell Fire Chief Matt O’Donnell has penned a statement regarding his department’s need for the new tanker truck. He said the current tanker is a 1986 R-model Mack that was purchased, used and modified to be a fire department tanker.

“This model of Mack is large, slow, notoriously difficult to drive, and does not meet [the National Fire Protection Association] standard for fire apparatus design, function and safety. The tanker carries 3,300 gallons of water, where the center of the water tank is approximately 7 feet off the ground, meaning it has a really high center of gravity and is therefore inherently unstable. Due to its age, the tanker is not equipped with modern safety features designed to protect the firefighters tasked with driving the truck, and if driven at all, should really only be driven by someone with a Commercial Driver’s License who drives this model of truck regularly.”

O’Donnell states many of the differences in modern fire trucks are the result of safety upgrades, similar to modern cars, as well as regulatory changes, environmental regulations and evolving technology.

“There have been vast changes in how we fight fires due to the many changes in building codes and materials used to make our houses and all the things in our houses,” O’Donnell wrote. “Fires burn much faster and reach hotter temperatures quicker than they did 40 years ago, necessitating the need to rapidly apply a large amount of water quickly.”

O’Donnell said he wants to purchase a 2025 E-ONE purpose-built 2,000-gallon tanker/pumper that is smaller and lighter than the current tanker and has a shorter wheelbase, resulting in a more nimble apparatus that is safer to operate. He also mentioned the multipurpose apparatus would have enough discharge capacity to operate multiple fire hose lines.

“The purchase of this new apparatus would complement, and add depth to, the Fire Department’s existing apparatus … and ensure fire suppression coverage well into the future,” O’Donnell wrote.

The ballot’s fourth question pertains to a Proposition 2½ exclusion for an existing loan the town took out to pay for Swift River School windows and doors. Residents opted at Annual Town Meeting in June to raise and appropriate $16,615 for debt service.