(5-minute read)
As Reading prepares for its fall Subsequent Town Meeting, residents and Town Meeting members will soon gather to make important decisions about local policies, finances, and community priorities.
The meeting will begin at 7:30 pm on Monday, November 9, 2026, in the Performing Arts Center at Reading Memorial High School (62 Oakland Road), and will continue on Thursday, November 12, Monday, November 16, and Thursday, November 19, at the same time and location if needed.
Vacancies also remain in Precinct 3 (two), Precinct 4 (one), and Precinct 6 (one). Those precinct meetings will take place at 7:00 pm on Monday, November 9, before the town meeting begins.
Whether you attend to vote as an elected Town Meeting member or participate as a resident, this is an opportunity to help shape our community's future. Below you’ll find a summary of the twelve warrant articles up for consideration.
Review the Subsequent Town Meeting Warrant for the full legal text of each article.
Summary of warrant articles
ARTICLE 1 - Reports of Town Officers and Committees
Hears reports from the Select Board, School Committee, Library Trustees, Municipal Light Board, Finance Committee, and other officials. This article appears on every warrant and is informational only; it includes no votes on spending or bylaws.
ARTICLE 2 - Town Officers and Instructions
Elects any other necessary officers and instructs boards, with funding if needed, to carry them out. Like Article 1, this appears on every warrant. Town Meeting members submitted three instructional motions for consideration under this article.
ARTICLE 3 - Amend the FY2027-2037 Capital Improvements Program
Updates the town’s long-term capital plan. Notable changes include adding $120,000 for Mattera Cabin upgrades; moving a $1.5M fire pumper engine purchase up from FY2030 to FY2028; moving two $300,000 highway sanders to FY28; increasing funding for Driscoll Field lighting to $600,000; and $600,000 for sewer pump station work. The Finance Committee recommends the article 7-0. Placing an item in the Capital Improvements Program is a prerequisite step and does not by itself authorize spending.
ARTICLE 4 - Amend the FY2026 Operating Budget
Makes mid-year adjustments to the budget adopted at April’s Annual Town Meeting, reallocating about $189,000 in each direction. Changes include shifting $167,000 within health insurance benefits, a $120,000 capital increase tied to Article 3, and $47,000 from Finance Committee reserves to make the Animal Control Officer a full-time position. Enterprise fund changes include $75,000 for water main improvements and $600,000 for sewer pump station work. The Finance Committee recommends the article 7-0.
ARTICLE 5 - Prior Years’ Bills
Would authorize payment of unpaid bills from prior fiscal years. No such bills are outstanding, and the article is expected to be tabled.
ARTICLE 6 - Clearing of Public Sidewalks
Brought forward by the Commission on Disabilities with the Bylaw Committee, this article would add a new bylaw requiring property owners and managers to clear snow and ice from the sidewalk, driveway crossings, and curb ramps abutting their property, to a width of 42 inches or the full path, whichever is less. Commercial and industrial properties would have 12 hours after a storm to comply, and residential properties 24 hours, with shorter windows for re-clearing after municipal plowing. The DPW director could extend deadlines or waive requirements for good cause. Penalties would start with a warning, followed by $100 and $200 fines for later offenses. If approved, the bylaw would take effect January 1, 2027. The Finance Committee recommends the article 7-0; the Bylaw Committee will deliver a report at Town Meeting.
ARTICLE 7 - Zoning Bylaw Amendments for Accessory
Would update Reading’s zoning bylaw to align local accessory dwelling unit, or ADU, rules with a 2025 state law that already permits ADUs up to 900 square feet, or half the size of the principal dwelling unit, as a protected use. Changes include removing special permit requirements, updating definitions, revising size limits, and matching parking rules to state standards. The article notes these changes aren’t required, since protected-use ADUs remain permitted either way. The Community Planning and Development Commission (CPDC) voted 5-0-0 to recommend the article.
ARTICLE 8 - Debt Authorization for Smart Water Meters
Requests $2M in debt authorization to replace roughly 8,000 residential and commercial water meters and transponders with contracted installation help, a project expected to take about four years. The Finance Committee recommends the article 7-0.
ARTICLE 9 - Debt Authorization for Van Norden Road
Requests an estimated $2.8M to replace about 4,324 linear feet of 6-inch unlined cast iron water main, installed in 1927, between Franklin Street and Forest Street, with 8-inch cement-lined ductile iron pipe. The Finance Committee recommends the article 7-0.
ARTICLE 10 - Personal Property Tax Exemption
Would raise the minimum taxable personal property value from $2,000 to $10,000 starting in FY28, exempting an estimated 403 small businesses from the tax. The article notes an alternative, the Small Commercial Exemption, was rejected because it would help far fewer properties and create a second commercial tax rate. The change is expected to have a negligible effect, about 0.002%, on the overall tax rate. The Finance Committee recommends the article 7-0.
ARTICLE 11 - Rescind Authorization of Debt for the Killam School Project
The general contractor for the Killam School building project was awarded a $76,387,825 contract in June, well under the original $101,521,394 budget, identifying $25,133,569 in savings. The Killam School Building Committee voted to rescind $15M of the excluded debt authorized for the project, with the remaining savings held in contingency until the project is complete, when another rescission article is expected. The Finance Committee recommends the article 7-0.
ARTICLE 12 - Town Forest Management Funding
Requests $50,000 to manage the nearly 300-acre Town Forest, including invasive species control that, in some cases, requires a licensed herbicide applicator, matching the funding level of the past two years. The Finance Committee recommends the article 6-1.
