Despite recommendations to reject a charter change that gives the town council the power to approve an annual budget during an emergency, Barrington voters approved the measure by a wide margin.

Residents voted in favor of the change by a count of 5,745 to 3,504 — or 62.1 percent in favor, 37.9 percent opposed.

For decades, Barrington residents have held the power to pass or reject the annual budget with a vote during the financial town meeting. This year, facing restrictions and crowd size limitations, officials struggled to find a way to hold an FTM. They eventually moved the meeting outdoors onto the football field, where residents were able to practice social distancing.

But the challenge of conducting an FTM during the pandemic left council members considering alternatives, including a switch to a council-approved budget.

Barrington Town Council President Michael Carroll endorsed the change, but others did not. Longtime Town Moderator Julia Califano, Councilor Jacob Brier, and Republican Town Committee member Geoff Grove made public their concerns and opposition to the change.

• Ms. Califano's comments: "I just think this is very substantive, and feel like it should be reviewed."

• Mr. Brier's comments: "The reason I am voting against this charter change is that I believe it doesn’t best meet the needs of the community. I believe we should first allow for a provision to hold a remote Financial Town Meeting or remote budget referendum, before removing the opportunity for voters to have a say."

• Mr. Grove's comments: "This looks suspiciously like a power grab by the Town Council disguised as a precaution. This proposed charter amendment gives the Town Council the authority to bypass the FTM by declaring an emergency. I do NOT want to give away the power of the people to control our budgets and taxes."

How Barrington voted on the other questions

Following are the proposed charter changes and how residents voted on them:

Shall outdated language regarding the terms of the 1996 Council members be removed from the Charter, as such language is currently unnecessary?

Approved: 8,142 (84.4%)

Rejected: 1,502 (15.6%)

Shall the language in the Charter to either increase or decrease appropriations at a Financial Town Meeting be clarified and simplified without making substantive changes?

Approved: 7,913 (82.7%)

Rejected: 1,653 (17.3%)

Shall the Chief of Police no longer have the authority to appoint constables for occasional service and limited terms; deleting this section of the Charter?

Approved: 6,011 (62.7%)

Rejected: 3,578 (37.3%)

Shall the Town Manager submit to the Town Council and the Committee on Appropriations a summary of the balances of each municipal capital reserve account and include the School Committee budget; however such budget shall not be subjected to the Manager's review?

Approved: 7,041 (75.3%)

Rejected: 2,310 (24.7%)

State question

Barrington voters approved removing "Providence Plantations" from the state's name by a count of 6,341-3,509. The measure passed by a narrower margin on the state level.