Weston Finance Committee unanimously backs eight routine town meeting warrant articles

WESTON -- March 2, 2023, Weston Finance Committee unanimously approves eight warrant articles and tables a contested rhododendron garden study. The committee heard Weston Public Schools Superintendent Midge Connolly present a proposed FY24 school budget of approximately $44.9 million, a 2.49 percent increase, or $1,120,168 over FY23, driven by rising utilities and out-of-district special education placements, with an undisclosed labor reserve built in as teachers' contract talks head to mediation March 22. Chair Bharath Venkataraman and members voted unanimously on eight routine articles, including a roughly $2.4 million OPEB trust appropriation and acceptance of approximately $460,000 in Chapter 90 road funds, and split 6 to 3 to recommend approval of a permanent telephone line easement on town-owned Landlake property. A $20,000 Community Preservation Committee feasibility study for a proposed rhododendron garden, with a potential full capital cost of $300,000 to $400,000, was set aside without a vote after member Zachary Sadek argued the committee should develop broader 10-year CPC spending guidelines rather than rule on individual projects, with Jonathan Harris countering that second-guessing every spending request is precisely the Finance Committee's function.