Citizens of Auburn came together Saturday, Feb. 7, for their town’s deliberative session of Town Meeting. The meeting was held in the gymnasium of the Auburn Village School, and featured 10 articles to be finalized for town voting on March 10. Veteran Moderator Don Stritch ran a tight ship as residents of Auburn breezed through the articles in just 40 minutes.

Of the 10 articles, nine were agreed upon as originally written.

The only amendment was to Article 5, which called for money for road and drainage system improvements. The wording of the article was altered slightly, as voters agreed to eliminate improvements at the intersection of Chester Turnpike and Hook Road. If the article is approved, the town will raise and appropriate $187,860 for improvements at the intersection of Wilson Crossing Road and Hunting Road, and on a portion of Rockingham Road.

Article 6 calls for $100,000 for wastewater planning efforts that began in 2008, and for the development of an inter-municipal agreement that would permit the connection between the wastewater systems of Manchester and Auburn on Dartmouth Drive.

The seventh article seeks $7,000 to purchase a new Accuvote machine to be used for Auburn voting beginning in March of next year.

Perhaps the most significant article on the warrant was Article 9 – the town operating budget. The article called for $4,339,440 as the town’s operating budget, which is $23,307 higher than the default budget.

Auburn voters approved the proposed amount in silence, and nearly unanimously.

Over the course of the session, only three citizens chose to address the whole group through the designated microphone.

Though several voters complained that the wording in some of the articles was too convoluted, the meeting went easily and peacefully.