Rehoboth Town Meeting Postponed Indefinitely

Rehoboth’s Annual Spring Town Meeting has been postponed indefinitely. In a discussion with Town Moderator William Cute, Finance Committee Chairman Michael Deignan, and Town Clerk Laura Schwall, the Board of Selectmen said the meeting will not be held until there is a vaccine for the deadly coronavirus.

The meeting, which had been slated for May, was delayed when it became clear the state budget would not be determined before June 30. The new fiscal year began on July 1. “There’s no advantage to having a town meeting until something changes,” selectman Jim Muri said Monday.

One of the items to have been voted on is a proposal to dissolve the Dighton-Rehoboth Regional School Agreement. Selectmen estimated the interest in that warrant article would draw well over 1000 residents to the meeting. The threat of COVID-19 requires social distancing and there is no venue able to safely accommodate that number of people. “I wish there was a way to remove that article,” said selectman Michael Costello, noting it wasn’t the right time to be debating the issue of de-regionalization when there were more pressing problems to deal with.

Cute called the idea of an indoor meeting “ludicrous” because of a lack of seating in the auditorium at Dighton-Rehoboth Regional High School and said the school’s athletic field would have to be used instead. However, attendees would still have to be spread far apart outdoors. “Logistically it’s going to be a nightmare,” Cute noted. Cute explained senior citizens would be putting themselves at risk of catching Covid-19. “I don’t want to put one citizen in this town in jeopardy,” Cute added. “I don’t want that on my conscience.”

Deignan warned the board they would be putting the town in “financial jeopardy” by holding the meeting due to the continued uncertainty surrounding the state budget. Selectman Gerry Schwall explained Massachusetts was dealing with a potential $6 Billion shortfall as a result of the economy being shutdown in the spring due to the spread of Covid-19. Schwall said state legislators are counting on acquiring $3 Billion from the federal government to plug the fiscal hole. $2 million would be appropriated from the state “rainy day” fund and the remaining $1 million would be cuts in aid to cities and towns. However, that plan is subject to change. Deignan noted the state has a 17 percent unemployment rate and the revenue from the town’s motor vehicle excise tax was short $60,000. He told selectmen to enact spending controls over town department budgets. Schwall warned those budgets may have to be reevaluated in the near future.

Another reason why selectmen believe a town meeting is not needed is because they have been approving spending on a monthly basis. The board approved $2.6 million for the month of September at their weekly meeting.