Maynard, MA - In a few days, Maynard’s town government will hold its annual Town Meeting.  But before we get into the details, let’s have a little fun with the public perception of meetings.

If you are new to town or are unfamiliar with Town Meetings, you might want to read my (unofficial) introduction on the Perspectives page on this web site.  You can download it as a PDF document, or click on the link I have there and read it as regular text on a separate web page.
Also, pages 2, 3, and 4 of the warrant booklet give some additional information along with a list of other terms (aka, a Glossary), and their meanings.
If you didn't receive a Warrant booklet in the mail (tucked into the previous edition of the Action Unlimited ad flyer), you can obtain a copy at the Town Building, at 195 Main Street.
To better understand the concept of "Free Cash," my news story "The Finance Committee, If You Dare” from back in 2023 has a diagram and explanation, if you scroll down a little.  No, it’s not actually free money, it’s money left over from prior years that wasn’t spent, for one reason or another.  The “free” part means that it’s no longer devoted to (or freed up from) the purpose for which it was originally budgeted.

Of the 32 articles to be considered, a number of them are either routine or otherwise likely to be voted on quickly.  Of course some will require time to understand, discuss, and vote, but from what I can tell, everything you need is either in the warrant booklet, will be in the reports from the finance and other committees, or will displayed on the large screen at the front of the room.

Article 7. The Budget
This is where the bulk of the funding for the town for the next fiscal year. The comments say "See Attachment Appendix 'A'" but I believe it should refer to Appendix B instead.
In that Appendix, it details where the money comes from (not all of it is property tax), as well as a detailed breakdown by each account where it is to be spent. Most of this is actually not that earth shaking.  Most increases are small and related to adjustments for inflation from one year to the next.

Article 25. Regulation of Outdoor Lighting
It is important to note that this article regulates only new and replacement outdoor light fixtures.  Residents will not be required to remove or replace any pre existing fixtures on their property or buildings.  However, light pollution is one of those things we seldom think about, even though the impact of light spread sideways (Glare) or upward into the sky (Uplight) can have important consequences, as detailed in the article's description.  Yes, this article covers 9 pages in the warrant booklet, but that's because it includes all the language in the proposed bylaw, along with some background on the sources of light pollution and why it can cause trouble. 

Article 26. Solid Waste and Recycling Enterprise Fund Budget
The vote on this article specifies the income and expenses for the Enterprise fund created back in October of 2024, for the collection and disposal of trash (aka solid waste) and recycling.
It's important to note that this is not a vote on the replacement of the existing trash bag sticker payment system with a new automated truck collection system, funded by direct billing.
Yes, this new system comes with some controversy (See my recent news story "Got Trash?" for details.). However, I hope that voters refrain from taking up too much time at the Town Meeting to debate the merits of the new system!
My point is, the cost of collecting and processing our trash and recycling has increased dramatically in recent years and much of this is not within the town's control.  The price of stickers hasn’t increased for a few years by now, so the increase in costs the town must pay have had to come out of property tax revenue instead.
If we didn't go to a new billing system (which is now being implemented), the price of stickers would have to rise substantially to keep up with these costs. Even worse, the town would risk losing the one contract we have (with E. L. Harvey) and end up with no program at all.  If every household had to contract with a separate trash company, the cost would be substantially higher, there would be more chaos with various trucks coming and going, and the wear and tear on our streets would be worse than it now is.
The overall issue is, we have to pay for these costs somehow.  If we continue to subsidize the fees for trash collection with property taxes, that cuts into other budgets.  If we pay for it in the form of fees instead, we get to keep our property tax revenue for the other purposes that we need.
In a sense, trash and recycling collection is a "utility" just as water, sewer, electric power, or data service are utilities.  As far as I have been able to tell, from my research on this issue, the town has done what it can to keep these costs down to a minimum and keep the budgets balanced.
NOTE:  I plan to publish a separate news commentary piece about why trash and recycling are such an issue these days.  I'll send out links when it is ready.

Article 30.  Zoning Change, 141 Parker Street
One of the most frustrating things I have frequently experienced in town meetings is a Zoning article that gives an address, but I have no idea where that actually is!  Apparently many other people don’t know either, judging by how many questions they frequently ask.
I’m a very visual person.  I want to see and get my bearings.  Although the “slide deck” that will be presented at the meeting includes some photographs and a simple boundary line map of the property (aka the “parcel”) in question, I’m including some additional photographs and maps here. Hopefully, this will save time, since once people understand the situation better, they’ll be more likely be ready to vote.

That's the extent of my comments for this one.  I plan to be at the meeting Monday night, so perhaps I’ll see you there!

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When my shift was over, I went upstairs to warm up a little and talk with some of the people who had come up to visit.  By the time I realized what time it was, I had missed the fashion show at Secondhand News; the carpet had been removed and the clothing racks were back in their normal places.

Then, from outside, I heard music.  Someone said there was a flashmob dance going on.  So I went out to see.  Up until this time, I had not planned to step into my role as reporter.  But as soon as I saw what was going on, I took out my video camera (my iPhone) and began recording a bit of it.  When it ended, I hung around chatting with some of the people there before heading home.

Last night, I took a look at what I had recorded and decided to edit it a little bit. I had so much fun watching it when I was done, I lost track of time and didn’t get to sleep until well after midnight.

​So, here it is.  It’s just over 2 minutes long.  It’s nice to reflect on the fact that, with everything going on in life these days, we can still dance!

I hope to see you at next year’s Spring ArtWalk!  Meanwhile, the Business Alliance hosts other events in Maynard throughout the year, along with a whole host of other organizations.  Check out the Discover Maynard web site for more.

Please consider making a modest donation to support my work.  My only financial support for this effort is from you, my readers.  I run no advertising and everything on this site is free to read.

NOTE:  This story has been revised at 9:15 AM on Tuesday morning 5 May 2026.  A link to information on write in candidates has been added in the main news section.

Update:  The crew at The Maynard Voice has just published statements from Write-In candidates for some of the open slots on the ballot.  Their story is available here:
https://maynardvoice.com/maynards-annual-town-election-is-tuesday-heres-whats-on-your-ballot/

Tip for write-in voting:  I’d recommend printing out or copying down the exact spelling of the name of the candidate and their address, along with the name of the office for which they are running, then keep it in your back pocket of purse when you go to vote.
​Election laws specify that you cannot openly display any information about a candidate or ballot question to anyone else in the polling place (or within 150 feet of the polling place), but once you are in the privacy of the voting booth, it is permissible to refer to any notes you have brought with you.  Make sure to use the marker to fill in the oval to the right of the person you are writing in.  Otherwise, your vote will be ignored by the system.  Make sure to take your private notes away with you and keep them hidden until you submit your ballot and leave.

Once the election is over, preliminary results will be published on the town’s web site soon after the polls close, on Tuesday evening.  Those numbers come from the automatic counts provided by each ballot box scanner, but they only list candidates who appeared on the ballot.  Write in votes must be hand counted, so those results won’t be available until the following day.  Official results for all vote totals have to wait until a thorough review of the results is done to insure accuracy.

If the existence of this election escaped you, I’m not surprised.  Even though I try to keep track of these things, missed it myself, until a few days ago.
After all, no one has mailed out campaign cards asking for your vote.  There have been no press releases or other news.  The Warrant booklet for Town Meeting does not mention the election (the town’s charter only requires that election notices be posted in certain public places around town and on the web site, but not mailed out). As a result, turn out is expected to be extremely low.

So, why the lack of publicity?  A look at the sample ballot (see link above) should give you some idea.  Of the five boards and committees shown, not one of the seats is contested!  Beyond that, only one candidate is running for School Committee even though two seats are open.  And there are no candidates at all for Library Trustee, or for either of the two Housing Authority seats (one for a four year term, the other for five). When I contacted the Town Clerk, she told me that there are a few write-in campaigns going on, but I have not had time to research who is running for which seat (However, see Update, above).
Some voters may want to show their approval for the incumbent candidates by voting for them, even if they’re bound to be re-elected anyway.

This kind of situation has become more and more common over the past few decades.
On the state and national level, we often hear the accusation that someone, or some political party is "a threat to democracy."   Most of that centers around redistricting (“Gerrymandering”) and voter suppression (limiting access to the polls).  But here in town, we have a different issue to face: Insufficient candidates to fill the positions open.
Each local election in Maynard costs close to $6,500 to run (state and national ones cost a few thousand dollars more).  So, why not just cancel elections where no candidates face opposition and save the money?  Even if we wanted to, state law and the town charter require that we hold an election for local offices each Spring. And it’s possible that some of those empty seats will be filled with write-in candidates.  Although one might ask, is it still democracy if just a handful of people write in a name that “wins’ the seat, without the rest of the voting public aware of who will be serving until the election is already over?  Interesting question.

I found a news story from a small town in New Hampshire, just published this April.  Here is the link: https://ledgertranscript.com/2026/04/13/volunteer-crisis-small-towns/
It’s clear from this story that this phenomenon is quite widespread throughout New England.  Maynard is certainly not the only town. The author of the article suggests that once one gets familiar with how the meetings work and what the issues are, serving on a board or committee may not be quite as daunting as it may first appear.  Nice idea, but I suspect that not many people have the time or energy to even give it a try.  Today’s town governments have become increasingly complex and face more and more challenging issues to resolve, given the uncertainty of the economy along with rapidly changing technology.
​A time of shrinking budgets may also deter people from volunteering these days.  When there is an increase in revenues, people are happy to jump in with ideas on how to spend the newly found money.  But when costs keep going up, while revenues are capped, we’re left with difficult decisions to make that no one is really happy about.

If there were any easy answers to all this, we’d have changed things by now.   Meanwhile, the trend seems to be continuing.  A few years ago, I wrote an essay entitled “Low Voter Turnout.”  You can read or download a copy on my Perspectives page.  Most of the factors I mentioned cannot be easily reversed. 
What we may need is some new “way outside the box” thinking.  Perhaps some functions provided by local government will have to be spun off to be handled by community groups instead.  There may be other ideas.  I’m interested in what you think.  Feel free to submit something in the comments, below.

There are a lot of details to this new program, so I plan to cover more of them in subsequent postings.  I’m using a Question & Answer format, below, to try to answer the most pressing questions.

Question 1:  When will all this happen?
​Answer 1:  Theoretically, after July 1st, although there are some last minute details to be worked out.  So residents still have time (about two months) to get familiar with the program.

Question 2:  Why the sudden flood of information from the town?  We’ve received:
• an e-mail message,
• a phone call with a recorded message,
• and a text message,
​… all saying pretty much the same thing, and all in the last few days!

Question 3:  If I want to get better prepared to vote at Town Meeting, what can I do?
Answer 3A:  There are a number of ways.  First, Town officials are holding three “informational sessions in the next few days.  This schedule is from an e-mail message sent out by the Town Administrator.

• Saturday, May 2: 11 a.m. - noon at the Maynard Public Library, Roosevelt Room
• Sunday, May 3: 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. at the Grill and Gather, Maynard Rod & Gun Club, 45 Old Mill Road. This will be a casual chance to ask your individual questions while attending this wonderful free picnic and event sponsored by Maynard’s Public Safety and Health Departments. 
• Tuesday, May 5: 12 - 12:45 p.m. at the Council on Aging (Maynard Golf Course – 50 Brown St.)

Additional sessions will be advertised over the upcoming weeks.
​Note:  Although these sessions are being scheduled before town meeting, they are open to all residents, even those who may not be able to attend town meeting.
Answer 3B:  If you did not receive a copy of the Warrant booklet, or you wish to download a copy in PDF form, in order to read and search it on a device, it’s available on the Town’s Web site: https://www.townofmaynard-ma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/4278/Annual-Town-Meeting-Warrant-May-18-2026

Answer 3C:  Anyone wishing to understand the financial issues pertaining to warrant article 26 more deeply can log into the Finance Committee Meeting on May 11th, starting at 7:05 PM.  The meeting is held virtually, over Zoom.  The page describing how to log in is:  https://www.townofmaynard-ma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_05112026-2091
Note that the Finance Committee is likely to discuss other articles in the Warrant that pertain to finances, so patience may be required as they work their way down to Article 26.  However, this is not to say that the discussions on the other articles are not valuable!  Finance Committee (Fin Comm) meetings can help voters gain some background on the issues to be voted on, before they arrive at Town Meeting.

Question 4:  If no one has to buy stickers anymore, how will we pay for trash pickup in the future?
Answer 4:  The town plans to have each household register for the new program and select options. The web site is already up, at this link:  https://www.townofmaynard-ma.gov/FormCenter/Public-Works-5/Registration-Form-for-Solid-Waste-Recycl-67

Question 5:  What if I live in an apartment or a condominium complex?
Answer 5:  Apartments:  For small buildings, up to 4 units, where residents put their trash out on the curb for collection, they can register just as single family households can.  For apartments in larger buildings, residents will continue to have their trash and recycling handled as specified by their landlord.  ​
Condo Owners:  Since the layout of many condominium communities are not conducive to automated curbside collection, each condominium association or governing board is encouraged to reach out to the Department of Public Works at [email protected] to jointly discuss and agree upon options for their residents.

Question 6:  Why is the town doing this?
Answer 6:  The costs for disposal of trash and recycling are increasing faster than the rate of inflation for most towns in Massachusetts.  There are few landfills and only a handful of trash incinerators left for trash disposal in the entire state! 
Recycling depends on the value of recyclable materials.  That determines how much income can be obtained from selling them on the open market.  By this point in time, markets are such that the money earned from the sale of the materials barely covers (or even fails to cover) the cost of having the trucks come around to pick up the recycling, take it to recycling centers, and have it all sorted out into separate streams (paper, plastic, glass, metal, etc.).

Meanwhile, the town will have a more predictable stream of income to pay for all this, when compared to the current sticker program. ​

Although this may seem quite sudden, the system now being implemented is the result of work that began over two years ago.  The problems with the sticker system were already well known but what to do instead was still a big question.  As with many aspects of town government, costs were rising faster than revenue, which must come from property taxes, state aid, and fees.  There was a sense of urgency to develop solutions that would keep our budget balanced and still have all the trash and recycling collected.
A number of volunteers, working with town officials as part of the "Solid Waste and Recycling Task Force," put in hundreds of hours to research the problem, survey the public, and come up with proposals on how to go forward. They submitted their final report, including their recommendations, to the Select Board back in February of 2025.
In order to implement the program, the Public Works departmen had to hire a part time staffer to manage the details.  This required posting the position, interviewing candidates, and hiring the employee, all of which took most of 2025. In December of 2025, Linde Ghere was hired for the position.
As soon as she was on board, she had to put out requests for proposals to the various trash and recycling companies that operate in Massachusetts, then wait for bids to come in.  After evaluating the bids, only one company, E. L. Harvey remained willing to fulfill the requirements.
At various times, information on this entire process was posted on the town’s web site, but typically, most residents in town didn’t have the time to delve into the details in various meeting minutes, reports, etc.  Until the Summer of 2025, when The Maynard Voice started up, I was the only consistent reporter of news in town, and I was only able to post information on this process occasionally. For more on why Maynard no longer has a local newspaper, please see my PDF essay “No News? ...” on the Perspectives page, here on this web site.

There are a number of sources of information that you can take advantage of, in addition to what I already mentioned above.
The Maynard Voice ran a story back in mid April, then posted an update on April 30th.  You can read that here:  ​https://maynardvoice.com/maynards-trash-and-recycling-program-is-changing-heres-what-you-need-to-know/

The town’s web site has a page dedicated to Solid Waste and Recycling, here:  https://www.townofmaynard-ma.gov/252/Solid-Waste-Recycling
There are a number of Frequently Asked Questions listed if you scroll down.  I expect that list will expand as more people contact the town with questions.

The best way to save on waste disposal costs is obviously to create less waste.  But that’s not as easy as it might sound.  Many things we buy and use come in containers or packaging that is not reusable.  We are at the mercy of the providers of those goods.  It’s a take it or leave it proposition.
Although the town’s plan is to charge for trash removal by volume (what fits in a cart), the “tipping cost” the town must pay to have that trash incinerated is based on weight.
In general, in most homes, food waste contributes a significant amount to the weight of trash discarded.
So, what about composting?  Composting is superior to incineration, by far.  It returns the nutrients in food waste to the soil, instead of having it burned, where the remaining ash ends up in a landfill.  There are three main ways to proceed with composting.  Using a back yard composter, taking compost to a town drop off facility, or having it picked up curbside (by placing it in a small green cart).
However, there are issues:
• The town has composting bins available for sale on the Composting web page:  https://www.townofmaynard-ma.gov/247/Composting
These bins are intended to be set outdoors, on the ground, in a back or side yard.  That page has extensive information about how to set up and use them.  Of course, they only have a certain capacity, so families that have more than the minimal food waste may end up filling their bin before the material within can complete the decomposition process. Although the town’s composting web page doesn’t specifically mention this, food waste from animal sources, such as meat, bones, dairy products, or eggs cannot be composted in them without drawing local wildlife, which can overturn or damage the composter unit in order to munch on the contents.  Also, such composters require some knowledge to use them, or the contents may not decompose properly.
• The town is planning to implement a compost drop off facility as part of the new system, but some families may be reluctant to deal with using the family car to transport the compost there.  At least animal based food waste (meat, bones, eggs, dairy products) can be accommodated.
• Curbside pickup adds too much to the cost of the program to be implemented by the town right now.  Maynard hopes to be able to provide this service, as some other towns do, but there is no specific schedule set for that to be implemented.  Meanwhile, residents who want their compost picked up curbside, must pay for the service themselves.  At our house, we are fortunate enough to have the financial resources to pay Black Earth for this service, and I recommend it, but it’s been slow to catch on.  We have the weekly plan, which is $180 per year.  You can enter “Maynard” in the box on their web site to see the other options.  Here’s the link to find out more:  ​https://www.blackearthcompost.com/home-pickup

I have a lot more to say in the way of commentary, but as it is already 2:30 AM as I am writing this, I will have to explain more at another time.

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