SUNDERLAND — Residents will vote on an $800,000 Proposition 2½ override, $357,880 in capital requests and a bylaw amendment for accessory dwelling units at the annual Town Meeting on Friday. The meeting begins at 6 p.m. in the Sunderland Elementary School, 1 Swampfield Drive.
Article 3 calls for an $800,000 override that would allow the town to raise property taxes by 10.7%. According to Select Board Chair Nathaniel Waring’s “rough” calculations, the override would raise the median property tax bill by about $547 per year. By comparison, increasing property taxes by the 2.5% that is allowed without an override would result in $127 more per year for taxpayers.
For the override to go into effect, voters must first pass it at Town Meeting, along with a corresponding ballot question at the May 2 election.
The town initially faced a $1.2 million shortfall for fiscal year 2027, but that number was whittled to $800,000 over several meetings by cutting most town department budgets by 5.5%.
The town budget with the override included calls for Sunderland Elementary School to get a 10% increase next fiscal year, some 8% less than the schools initially requested. That budget involves reducing the physical education teacher’s hours and combining two kindergarten classes into one class and two fourth grade classes into one class, which would lead to one kindergarten teacher, one fourth grade teacher and an instructional assistant being cut.
A failed override would leave the school with a flat budget, or no increase, from the current fiscal year. This budget would mean the elimination of art, music and the library, as well as a school adjustment counselor, an instructional assistant and a math interventionist.
The override budget also includes Sunderland’s share of the South County Senior Center’s FY27 budget request of $125,751, which includes the cost of relocating to the 12,150-square-foot office building at 112 Amherst Road. Given that this cost is folded into the override vote, if the override fails to pass, the town would also be voting against funding the senior center’s relocation.
A failed override would lead to reduced services across town departments, including gaps in police coverage, seasonal help for the Highway Department in the summers and the purchase of per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS)-free equipment for the Sunderland Fire Department.
A failed override would halt all programs paid for by the library, such as summer concerts, music classes, arts and crafts workshops, animal events, outdoor programs and guest lectures.
A failed override would also limit the town’s ability to fund library services, shifting the burden to the Friends of the Sunderland Public Library. According to Sunderland Public Library Director Katherine Umstot, the Friends typically funds at least 25% of the budget for purchasing new loanable materials and the town covers 75%, but a failed override would flip these contributions.
As a result, a failed override would threaten the library’s certification through the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners by weakening the town’s ability to fund its services.
To maintain its certification, the library must meet the Municipal Appropriation Requirement, which requires the town to appropriate a minimum amount of funds to the library, $243,550 in FY27, along with the Materials Expenditure Requirement, which requires the library to dedicate a certain percentage of the municipal appropriation for purchasing new materials.
Umstot said the Friends of the Sunderland Public Library could likely support the library with funds to maintain its certification for a year if the override fails, but maintaining the certification without consistent financial support from the town would be “extremely difficult” in future years.
Regardless of whether the override passes, the library will purchase less new materials with town money, including books, DVDs and digital resources and reduce its hours from 47 to 40 hours each week, starting May 1. Since July, a $10,000 Libraries Transforming Communities Grant has funded the seven hours of staffing for the Sensory Friendly Hours on Thursdays. The grant will end on April 30.
Capital requests, zoning amendments
Residents also will vote on about $357,880 of capital projects, including $80,000 for a new police cruiser, $18,760 for Sunderland’s share of the costs for new furniture at the South County Senior Center, $70,000 for a sidewalk plow and mower, $39,000 for an asphalt roller and small trailer and a total of $124,615 for annual lease payments for a backhoe, truck and loader.
The capital requests also include $15,000 for the remodeling of the Reading Room door in the library, but Umstot noted that she plans on withdrawing the capital request if the override fails.
Voters will also consider several amendments to the town’s zoning bylaw for ADUs aimed to bring the bylaw into compliance with state law and provide leniency in hopes of increasing grant eligibility.
In 2024, Gov. Maura Healey signed the Affordable Homes Act — a move that made the construction of ADUs, also known as “in-law apartments,” up to 900 square feet legal by right in single-family residential zones throughout the state.
At the Jan. 13 public hearing for the proposed bylaw changes, Planning Board Chair Dana Roscoe said the amendment would still require a special permit for ADUs exceeding 900 square feet, but includes one alteration from the state law.
While state law allows ADUs smaller than 900 square feet by right with a building permit, the amendment would raise the town’s cap on ground area for by-right ADUs by 50 square feet, an increase that would make Sunderland eligible for state grant funding under the Housing Choice Grant Program, board members explained.
Citizen’s petition
Residents will vote on a citizen’s petition submitted by resident Will Sillin. If passed, the article would require Select Board members to choose the rate for electricity supply with the lowest price per kilowatt hour under the Sunderland Community Choice Power Supply Program, a municipal aggregation program.
“My thought is, because the whole thing was authorized by the town at the beginning, and it was presented as getting a lower rate and as stable too… that if you wanted to raise the rates, that we should authorize that as a town,” Sillin said at the April 13 Select Board meeting. “Whether it passes or not, it’s helpful to you, because if it passes, then you know what to opt the town into as a default going forward, and if it fails, then that’s essentially a permission slip to go ahead and did what you did this year.”
