The new trash and recycling collection system. The financial town referendum. Taxes. The proposed Belton Court Village housing development. 

The four candidates vying for two Barrington Town Council seats offered their opinions on these issues and more during a special forum at the public library on Monday night, Sept. 28. The candidates — Democrats Braxton Cloutier and Jessica Martin, and Independents Anthony Arico and Neile Hartman — agreed on a few issues, but also showed clear separation while discussing other topics. 

Top priorities

Cloutier, the current council president, said there are plenty of important issues facing Barrington, including climate change and resiliency. At the top of his priorities, he said, is property taxes. He reminded the audience members that he is also a resident and he also pays taxes. Cloutier said he has seen his tax bills go up, along with the cost of most other things. He said he will work to keep local tax bills lower and wants to make Barrington more business-friendly in an effort to yield more tax revenue from the businesses.

Arico, sitting next to Cloutier, wasted no time telling voters how he felt about the current Barrington Town Council. Arico, a longtime member of the Democratic Town Committee who is running as an Independent, told people at Monday night’s forum that change was needed on the council. 

Arico referenced the current council’s recent decision to ignore the voter-approved budget changes and instead reduce other parts of the municipal budget. He said the council needs to listen to the people.

“We serve the people,” Arico said. “The bottom line is we have to listen to our residents.”

Arico said the current council is not listening to residents. He also said one of his top priorities will be to support local businesses. 

Hartman said it was apparent that the current Barrington Town Council has stopped engaging with voters … stopped listening to the voters. Hartman vowed to listen to residents — not to prove them wrong, but to hear what they are saying. She spoke about finding compromise with others. Hartman, who said she was a longtime Democrat who was running as an unaffiliated Barrington candidate, also spoke about changing how the town approaches problem-solving. 

Martin spoke about the town’s comprehensive plan, and the importance of following that plan when it comes to decision-making. She said she would want to look to the town’s long-term plan rather than making short-term decisions for each crisis that surfaces. 

FTR

Council candidates shared some barbs while answering a question focused on Barrington’s financial town referendum, or FTR.

Arico quickly condemned the four charter changes current town council members have proposed — the four questions will appear on the Nov. 3 ballot. Arico said they are all bad, and specifically referenced the question calling for a change to the signature requirement for anyone wishing to propose a budget amendment. He said 300 signatures is too many. It needs to be less, he said. He also criticized the push to make the municipal budget a bottom line budget, thus taking away residents’ ability to propose amendments to individual line items. 

Arico also said the town is getting bad legal advice. He said Barrington is a great community, but has bad leadership. 

Hartman said she attended all the financial town meetings before Barrington switched to the FTR. She said she loved the real-time debate and the transparency, but recognized the lower voter turnout. Hartman said the FTR corrected that issue. She said that 1,700 people showed up to vote at the first FTR, echoing recent comments by Jim Hummel that they voted surgically, thoughtfully. 

The will of the voter was not honored, Hartman said, adding that the current council disregarded that vote. She said the council treated the FTR like a bottom line budget vote. She also condemned all four FTR ballot questions. 

Hartman spoke about efforts to suppress the will of the people.

“I am against them,” she said. 

Martin disagreed with Hartman and Arico. She said the will of the people who voted was followed. She said they voted to cut the budget and the budget was cut. Martin said the cuts were changed to cover the obligations of the town. Martin said she agreed with the FTR process.

Cloutier said the current signature requirement for budget amendments over the $50,000 — it was 2,856 votes — was set because councilors did not know what they did not know, and they were concerned that too many amendments would be proposed. He spoke about the question to lower the signature requirement, adding that the current council feels that people should have to work if they plan to file an amendment for the budget. Cloutier said there were some problems with the first-year FTR, and that officials are trying to rectify those issues. 

Trash change

There was clear separation among council candidates when the moderator, East Bay Media Group Publisher Scott Pickering, asked about the new trash and recycling collection system in town. 

Hartman referenced “Trash-gate” and said she supported the decision made by the current council but differed on how they made the decision. She said a level of due diligence is required, adding that officials need to go out in the community and ask questions. 

Martin defended the council’s decision. She said Mega was going to eventually move to automated collection, whether the town signed up or not. 

Cloutier also defended the decision. He added that his fellow councilors asked numerous questions of Mega during an April council meeting. Cloutier said the council has also took Mega to task for needed changes to the program. Later on, Cloutier pushed back on a comment made by Hartman where she spoke about the town’s self-inflicted wounds. She said problems could have been avoided. Cloutier said the council had worked to be proactive. He said Mega was moving to automated… so it was either make the change or residents would need to bring their own trash to the landfill. 

Arico did not hold back when discussing the trash and recycling rollout. He called it “a total disaster.” He said the council needed to know what it was getting into before it signed the contract with Mega. He said residents were outraged. He said residents pay high taxes and they deserve better. 

Taxes

Pickering then asked the council candidates what they would do to minimize the impact of rising taxes in town. Martin said she did not know if she could give a specific answer. She spoke about identifying efficiencies, and outside funding options. Martin spoke about transparency and working with other town committees.

Cloutier said the town should be looking at getting grants for some services, and less reliance on outside contractors. He also spoke about making Barrington more business-friendly, and increasing the commercial tax base in town. 

Arico said taxes are a huge issue. He said residents wanted to cut the budget when they voted at the recent FTR and the council needs to follow the will of the people. He also said the town needs to find ways to help local veterans and seniors stay in town. Arico said working closing with the Committee on Appropriations is key, but emphasized again the need to listen to the people. 

Hartman said she supported the need to update local schools and the $250 million school construction bond. She spoke about how the district will be reimbursed 55 percent of the cost of the project. Hartman also said Barrington holds too much money in its capital reserve account, and officials should use some of that money to offset the tax increases on residents. Hartman said Barrington’s budget should be based on actual financial figures and not on proposed figures — “that’s Finance 101,” she said. 

More issues

The council candidates were also asked about a handful of other issues — the relationship between the town council and members of the school committee, and what could be done to create better collaboration between the boards; what role the council should play in the proposed development of the Belton Court property; what the key issues were in the town’s comprehensive plan; and what other issues were important to them.

Martin spoke about the recent discussion on whether the town should hire a second School Resource Officer. Martin said the council and school committee need to work together — she said it should be a bigger topic of conversation. 

Cloutier spoke about e-bikes and e-scooters. He thanked Rep. Jennifer Boylan for her work on the issue and spoke about the safety concerns surrounding the vehicles. He also praised Barrington Police Chief Michael Correia.

Arico echoed Martin’s and Cloutier’s points. He said the district needs a second SRO at the middle school, and if they need more counselors the schools should get those also. He said the e-bikes can be dangerous, as kids are going too fast. 

Hartman spoke about voter engagement and leaning into the expertise of people living in the community. She encouraged people to get involved, adding that the best of Barrington is yet to come.