New St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church Hopkinton rector, the Rev. Kevin Nichols, led the Hopkinton Town Meeting with a prayer, encouraging residents and town officials to break down the walls between them.

In his opening comments, Selectman George Langwasser expressed a similar goal.

“Let’s leave here as neighbors and not adversaries,” said Langwasser.

Still, tempers flared, and it took until 1 a.m. for Town Meeting to finish on Wednesday, March 15, but many residents said they feel comfortable that selectmen got the message.

“I think we’ve berated them enough,” said state Rep. Richard Kennedy. “I think we’ve given them plenty of juice, now let’s let them stew in it.”

Langwasser said it was obvious to him and other members of the board that there is a general mistrust between residents and selectmen, adding that more lines of communication must open for reconciliation to occur.

“It behooves each one of us on this board to try to improve this situation,” said Langwasser.

“One of my goals, this year as a selectman, is to do everything in my power to restore the trust, to restore that cooperative spirit and to move this town forward.”

Operating budget
The general municipal operating budget in Hopkinton was broken up into 10 of the 34 articles on this year’s warrant, each detailing an individual department’s expenses.

Budget committee Chairman Karen Irwin said under her committee’s advisement, selectmen cut their original proposed total operating budget from $5.5 million, a 7.28 percent increase, to $5.35 million, a roughly 4 percent increase.

She said based on a level assessment this year, she expects the tax rate to go down 17 cents.

That, said resident Al Bloomquist, wasn’t good enough.

“My view is we really need to examine the budget and pass only the necessities and not the nice to have things,” said Bloomquist. “In years past, I would vote on whatever selectmen recommended, but now I can no longer afford to employ that strategy.”

Bloomquist asked why selectmen didn’t warn residents of the impending tax crisis and wanted to know why selectmen were proposing an increase and not working toward a decrease.

He then suggested a $25,000 decrease to Article 4, which covers general government functions, explaining that selectmen have the ability, once all budget articles are passed, to cut the money from any area of the municipal government it chooses.

After a voice vote failed to provide a clear answer, a ballot vote was called for by moderator Gary Richardson.

The amendment passed by a two-to-one majority.

Article 4 then passed as amended.

Bloomquist submitted a similar $35,000 decrease to Article 6, the public works budget. Again, voice vote failed to reveal a clear answer, but this time Richardson requested a standing vote.

The amendment was rejected, 301-295 votes.

Selectmen Don Lane then explained that selectmen already cut much of the public works budget and were bound into increases in fuel, asphalt and other necessities.

The public works budget passed.

Public safety expenses Article 5, which covers public safety expenses, drew much debate.

Resident and budget committee member Dan Coen proposed a $41,000 decrease to the article because he said he didn’t want to pay for a new EMT/firefighter who was recently hired. He also said he didn’t want a full-time chief, which a detailed narrative in the town report seemed to imply.

Selectman Peter Russell said the town has no immediate plans to hire a full-time fire chief.

He explained that the board, rather than hiring a full-time chief at substantial cost, asked Deputy Chief John Pianka to take over code enforcement duties in town.

To ease the workload on Pianka and allow him to assume more administrative duties, the town hired a full-time EMT/firefighter at a much lower cost.

The motion to amend was rejected.

The public safety budget, however, was voted down after more questions arose about the potential for a new full-time fire chief, while others took issue with the decertification of a fulltime police chief in town with Chief David Wheeler retiring and moving to part-time.

The article was later reconsidered.

After many of those who opposed the article noted that they didn’t oppose the fire and police departments, but wanted to have more of a say and have a better understanding of town government, Carr proposed an amendment to strike the narrative that seemingly supported the town hiring a fire chief.

The town approved the public safety budget.

Senior center
Another article drawing debate was $12,436 to support the Slusser Senior Center’s operating budget.

After several residents questioned how the budgets were figured and where the money will go, others argued support of the senior center.

Residents approved the article and all other operating budget proposals.

Other articles
A petition warrant article, which asked residents to rescind $3,073,250, the remaining debt accrued through a 2003 conservation bond, failed by ballot vote, 286-104.

Other rejected petition articles include a proposal to limit the number of town employees to current staffing numbers and a request for selectmen to retain 5 percent of regular operating expenditures from annual surplus.