Wenham Voters To Face One Question Ballot at New Polling Place Thursday

Wenham voters on Thursday will see one question on the ballot at the first election where the polls will be set up at .

The question asks voters to approve a debt exclusion override for the purchase of a $160,000 trackless machine for the .

The machine is used for grass mowing, snowblowing and similar duties.

In a , Department of Public Works Director Bill Tyack showed the worn areas of the existing 11-year-old machine and explains how the new equipment will be able to do more. Plus, it will be American-made and can be repaired faster, rather than waiting for parts to come from overseas, Tyack said.

Thursday’s vote is the second of two votes needed to approve the purchase. At Town Meeting on May 7, . Thursday’s vote requires a majority approval, according to Town Clerk Trudy Reid.

A debt exclusion override is one of two types of overrides that can go before voters under Proposition 2-1/2. A debt exclusion override proposes the payment of a specific project or item be exempt from the tax levy limits of Proposition 2-1/2, the state law that limit’s a community tax levy from increasing any more than 2.5 percent each year.

So, for example, if it passes, the calculations for next year’s tax levy would be completed before factoring in the cost of the bond to pay for the trackless machine.

The election also marks the first time voters will go to Town Hall to vote. The polls will be set up in the meeting room on the first floor. The polling place was moved from to Town Hall at the request of the School Committee, . Reid said this week that a sign will be set up at Buker to remind voters that mistakenly show up there that the polls have been moved.