SOUTHAMPTON — Voters approved a $1.9 million Proposition 2½ override by a thin 169-vote margin at the annual town election on Tuesday, the lesser override amount on the ballot compared to a $2.5 million option.
The $1.9 million override option passed by 169 votes, receiving 1,183 “yes” votes and 1,014 “no” votes. Voters, however, rejected the larger amount by 80 votes, with 1,065 in favor and 1,145 against, according to Town Clerk Lucille Dalton.
Meanwhile, a three-way race for two Select Board seats was tightly contested Tuesday, with two newcomers coming out on top. Doug Hamel won a seat with 1,414 votes, while Charlie Kaniecki secured the second seat with 904 votes. Incumbent Stephen Thor Johnson narrowly missed reelection, finishing with 892 votes — just 12 votes behind Kaniecki.
Ahead of the election, town officials said that if the $1.9 million override passed, some cuts would still be necessary, but certain services would also be expanded. Norris School, for example, would regain several positions eliminated last year, including a math interventionist, an art teacher, a kindergarten teacher, a paraprofessional and additional hours for a reading interventionist
For town operations, however, some positions would be cut including emergency medical technicians positions, one of which is filled, certain library services and the town’s capital funding would be decreased. No adjustments are official at this time.
Town Administrator Scott Szczebak said there will be a special Town Meeting on June 20 to tie-off financial matters related to the current fiscal year, and the Select Board will likely discuss impacts from the override in the coming weeks.
Ashley Stone, an organizer for a campaign supporting the overrides, called Choose Southampton, said it was critical for at least one of the overrides to pass. Stone has a kindergartener at Norris School and said she saw a lot of parents showing up to vote after last year’s override failed and led to school cuts.
“The fact that there are potential cuts to all levels of town services is really concerning, and we’re seeing the potential for this at the same time that towns all around us are experiencing the same thing,” Stone said, standing outside Town Hall Tuesday waving to cars and holding signs asking people to vote “yes” on the override.
Residents Beth Russell-Smith and Mark Annis were talking outside the polls at Town Hall after voting on Tuesday. Russell-Smith voted “yes” on both override options, while Annis voted “no” on both.
“I voted ‘yes’ to support the schools and the library because I do think the library is the community center in this town, and the schools are critical because we need our kids to be informed, clear thinking, smart, able,” said Russell-Smith, a 40-plus year resident who was a trustee of Edwards Public Library for 29 years.
Russell-Smith said she cannot recall the last time an override passed in town, but she was more optimistic it would be approved a few hours before the results were in because this year “feels so critical.”
“I don’t want to pay more taxes and the vote was very sensitive to me,” Annis said, a Southampton resident since 1953. “My wife is a former teacher here at the Norris School so the school system is near and dear to our hearts and the library system piggybacks on top of that, but it’s a hard decision.”
Even with services close to Annis’ heart, rising costs meant he did not want to incur the additional taxes. He feels more overrides will come in the future. He feels town finances could have been managed better in past years, including bringing more development to certain pieces of land that were purchased at a high cost.
Russell-Smith and Annis agreed that the override question was difficult to vote on, a sentiment many voters shared Tuesday, like Francine Poplawski.
“I’m a retired person and my monthly income is set and my budget is set,” said Poplawski, who voted against both overrides. “I mean, the economy right now is raging havoc with people’s budgets and to have an added burden of another tax — I’m sorry I had to vote ‘no.'”
Poplawski said she lives on a small ranch in town and is the only person bringing income into the house. She only recalls one override passing in the 60 years she has lived in Southampton but with younger residents moving to town and older ones passing away, Poplawski said she wouldn’t have been surprised if this override passed.
“I have to be careful what I do but what I’m afraid of is that they’re going to keep raising the taxes that’s going to force the elderly out of this town,” she said. “I don’t want to lose my home. I love my home.”
