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Municipal votes · 2021–2022 Board

Belmont Select Board

How the Belmont Select Board voted, from the Select Board’s official minutes. 3 Select Board members elected townwide for three-year terms. Mark Paolillo returned to the board after the April 6, 2021 town election, succeeding Tom Caputo. On April 7, 2021 the board endorsed Adam Dash as Chair and Roy Epstein as Vice Chair under its operational rules (3-0). Covers 53 meetings, April 7 to April 4, 2022.

A monthly email on what it voted on, starting in November.

What does the Select Board do? It is the town’s executive board. It prepares the Town Meeting warrant (the list of articles voters decide), appoints members of many town boards, hires the town’s top staff, signs warrants to pay town bills, and grants licenses and permits.

Town Meeting, not the Select Board, votes the town budget and town bylaws.

Sources: Massachusetts Select Board Handbook (MMA) · Mass. Division of Local Services: the town budget
Election Day · Tuesday, Nov 3

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Board years

Coming up

From the agendas Belmont posts on its official site. Agendas can change; the posted agenda is the official one.

What Town Meeting decided

In Belmont, Town Meeting — not the Select Board — votes the town budget, bylaws and zoning. Here is what it did with each article, in the Town Clerk’s own words. Town Meeting members are elected by precinct; counts are from the town’s electronic voting.

Special Town Meeting · October 20, 2025 16 votes: 13 passed, 1 failed, 2 no action

Sessions: October 20 and October 22, 2025

Source: Town of Belmont 2025 Annual Town Report, Appendix A: Special Town Meeting, October 20, 2025 - motions and votes (PDF pp. 396-402).

Special Town Meeting · July 23, 2025 3 votes: 3 passed

Sessions: July 23, 2025 (held by remote access)

Source: Town of Belmont 2025 Annual Town Report, Appendix A: Special Town Meeting, July 23, 2025 - motions and votes (PDF p. 378).

Special Town Meeting · May 21, 2025 4 votes: 2 passed, 1 indefinitely postponed, 1 no action

Source: Town of Belmont 2025 Annual Town Report, Appendix A: Special Town Meeting, May 21, 2025 - motions and votes (PDF pp. 352-353).

Annual Town Meeting · May 5, 2025 43 votes: 39 passed, 3 indefinitely postponed, 1 no action

Sessions: May 5, 7, 12, 19 and 21, 2025 (session dates as stated in the record)

Source: Town of Belmont 2025 Annual Town Report, Appendix A: Annual Town Meeting, May 2025 - motions and votes (PDF pp. 257-269).

Special Town Meeting · March 3, 2025 3 votes: 1 passed, 1 passed as amended, 1 no action

Sessions: March 3, 2025 (held by remote access)

Source: Town of Belmont 2025 Annual Town Report, Appendix A: Special Town Meeting, March 3, 2025 - motions and votes (PDF pp. 196-198).

Special Town Meeting · November 18, 2024 11 votes: 9 passed, 1 passed as amended, 1 indefinitely postponed

Sessions: Opened November 18, 2024; session dates after the first are not listed in the record

Source: Town of Belmont 2024 Annual Town Report, Appendix A: Special Town Meeting, November 18, 2024 - motions and votes (PDF pp. 334-388).

Special Town Meeting · June 26, 2024 2 votes: 1 passed, 1 no action

Sessions: June 26, 2024 (held by remote access)

Source: Town of Belmont 2024 Annual Town Report, Appendix A: Special Town Meeting, June 26, 2024 - motions and votes, attested by the Town Clerk (PDF pp. 275-276).

Special Town Meeting · June 5, 2024 3 votes: 2 passed, 1 no action

Source: Town of Belmont 2024 Annual Town Report, Appendix A: Special Town Meeting, June 5, 2024 - motions and votes (PDF p. 267).

Annual Town Meeting · April 29, 2024 48 votes: 44 passed, 2 passed as amended, 2 no action

Sessions: Opened April 29, 2024 (Segment A) with a later budget segment (Segment B); session dates are not listed in the record

Source: Town of Belmont 2024 Annual Town Report, Appendix A: Annual Town Meeting, April 29, 2024 - motions and votes (PDF pp. 249-262).

Special Town Meeting · January 22, 2024 2 votes: 2 passed

Sessions: January 22, 2024 (held by remote access)

Source: Town of Belmont 2024 Annual Town Report, Appendix A: Special Town Meeting, January 22, 2024 - motions and votes, attested by the Town Clerk (PDF p. 230).

Not here yet: Belmont's 2026 meetings (March 4 Special, May 4 Annual and May 18 Special Town Meetings) are not here because the Town Clerk has posted only electronic roll-call tallies for them, which do not say whether each motion passed; the November 16, 2026 Special Town Meeting has not happened yet.

Titles are short descriptions of each article from the official record; the quoted words are the Town Clerk’s. A vote at Town Meeting is not the final word on everything: some articles also need a ballot vote (such as a tax override) or the Attorney General’s approval (bylaws).

Members

Mark PaolilloMember · At-large · at 53 of 53 meetings

"At X of Y meetings" counts the members the minutes list as present at the start of each meeting in this record. Members who step out are listed on each meeting page.

Meetings

About missing minutes

Loaded: Belmont Select Board minutes from January 8, 2018 through September 21, 2026: 400 meetings and 3,612 votes. The town’s Agenda Center holds the board’s minutes back to 2012; MassVoter has loaded 2018 on. The board was the Board of Selectmen; the minutes switch to the name Select Board in the fall of 2019 (first on September 16, 2019), with both names used until the end of that year. Minutes from 2022 on are typed documents with searchable text; the 2018 to 2021 minutes are copier scans, and 219 of them had little or no text, so MassVoter read them with text recognition and checked where names or counts were unclear. Joint meetings with the School Committee, Warrant Committee, Board of Assessors and other boards are loaded when the Select Board voted as a board; only the Select Board’s votes are shown, and joint meetings where it took no vote of its own are left out. Not here: executive-session minutes; cancelled meetings and meetings without a quorum; site visits; meetings with an agenda but no posted minutes, among them May 11, June 3 and June 8, 2026; dates where the file posted belongs to another meeting or board (several 2018 Belmont High School Building Committee files, the April 30, 2018 evening slot, and repeated 2024 postings, each loaded once under its own date); and meetings after September 21, 2026 other than that one: the July 13, July 20, August 10, August 12 (with the Board of Assessors), August 31, September 9, September 28 and October 5, 2026 minutes are not posted yet. Belmont’s minutes usually say a motion “was seconded and passed unanimously” or “unanimously by roll call vote,” with an attendance list at the top (present, remote, absent); split votes give a count and name the member voting no or abstaining (“passed 2-1 with Ms. Berberian voting in opposition”). On a three-member board, a named no or abstention with the others voting yes names every vote. A count equal to the members present, or unanimous wording, is shown as every member present voting yes. Where the count and the names in the minutes disagree, or a split count names no one, we show the count only (17 votes), and where the minutes give no count or names (mostly 2018’s “The BOS voted in favor”) we show the result only (68 votes). Members who recused themselves or were out of the room are not shown in that vote; members who arrived late or left early are shown only in the votes they were there for. A motion with no recorded outcome is not counted as a vote. We will ask the town to confirm any noted vote.

Monday, April 4, 2022 · Special meeting8 recorded votes, 8 with disagreementAll 3 members presentMonday, March 21, 2022 · Joint meeting9 recorded votes, 10 with disagreementAll 3 members presentMonday, March 14, 2022 · Regular meeting15 recorded votes, 15 with disagreementAll 3 members presentMonday, March 7, 2022 · Joint meeting2 recorded votes, 2 with disagreementAll 3 members presentMonday, February 28, 2022 · Joint meeting6 recorded votes, 7 with disagreementAll 3 members present

Votes where members disagreed

Most board votes are unanimous. These are the ones where at least one member voted no or abstained, newest first.

Apr 4Reopen the annual Town WarrantMotion: Vote to open Annual Town Meeting (ATM) Warrant, possible vote to…Passed Unanimous, 3 present · see note

April 4, 2022 (Special meeting): Reopen the annual Town Warrant

ApprovePassed · Unanimous, 3 present

Vote to open Annual Town Meeting (ATM) Warrant, possible vote to add articles: Motion was made to reopen the annual Town Warrant. Motion was approved by a vote of 3-0.

The minutes do not say who made this motion.

From the minutes

“Vote to open Annual Town Meeting (ATM) Warrant, possible vote to add articles: Motion was made to reopen the annual Town Warrant. Motion was approved by a vote of 3-0..”

Read it in the official minutes, page 1 (PDF)

Apr 4Add the amended Stormwater Management and Erosion Control Bylaw…Motion: 1]Page Motion was made to add the amended Stormwater Management and…Passed Unanimous, 3 present · see note

April 4, 2022 (Special meeting): Add the amended Stormwater Management and Erosion Control Bylaw as an Article to the Town Meeting Warrant

ApprovePassed · Unanimous, 3 present

1]Page Motion was made to add the amended Stormwater Management and Erosion Control Bylaw as an Article to the Town Meeting Warrant. Motion was approved by vote of 3-0.

The minutes do not say who made this motion.

From the minutes

“1]Page Motion was made to add the amended Stormwater Management and Erosion Control Bylaw as an Article to the Town Meeting Warrant. Motion was approved by vote of 3-0..”

Read it in the official minutes, page 1 (PDF)

Apr 4Place the Article relating to retirement classification for certain…Motion: Motion was made to place the Article relating to retirement classification…Passed Unanimous, 3 present · see note

April 4, 2022 (Special meeting): Place the Article relating to retirement classification for certain employees of the Town of Belmont on the Annual Town Warrant

ApprovePassed · Unanimous, 3 present

Motion was made to place the Article relating to retirement classification for certain employees of the Town of Belmont on the Annual Town Warrant. Motion was approved by vote of 3-0.

The minutes do not say who made this motion.

From the minutes

“Motion was made to place the Article relating to retirement classification for certain employees of the Town of Belmont on the Annual Town Warrant. Motion was approved by vote of 3-0..”

Read it in the official minutes, page 2 (PDF)

Apr 4Close the Town WarrantMotion: Motion was made to close the Town Warrant. Motion was approved…Passed Unanimous, 3 present · see note

April 4, 2022 (Special meeting): Close the Town Warrant

ApprovePassed · Unanimous, 3 present

Motion was made to close the Town Warrant. Motion was approved by vote of 3-0.

The minutes do not say who made this motion.

From the minutes

“Motion was made to close the Town Warrant. Motion was approved by vote of 3-0..”

Read it in the official minutes, page 2 (PDF)

Apr 4Approve the Warrant for the Annual Town Meeting as…Motion: Motion was made to approve the Warrant for the Annual Town…Passed Unanimous, 3 present · see note

April 4, 2022 (Special meeting): Approve the Warrant for the Annual Town Meeting as stated

ApprovePassed · Unanimous, 3 present

Motion was made to approve the Warrant for the Annual Town Meeting as stated. Motion was approved by a vote of 3-0.

The minutes do not say who made this motion.

From the minutes

“Motion was made to approve the Warrant for the Annual Town Meeting as stated. Motion was approved by a vote of 3-0..”

Read it in the official minutes, page 3 (PDF)

Apr 4Approve the contract for the Fire Sub-Station Building Envelope…Motion: Motion was made to approve the contract for the Fire Sub-Station…Passed Unanimous, 3 present · see note

April 4, 2022 (Special meeting): Approve the contract for the Fire Sub-Station Building Envelope Repairs with Northern Contracting Corporation from Canton, MA in the amount of $1,274,213.40

ApprovePassed · Unanimous, 3 present

Motion was made to approve the contract for the Fire Sub-Station Building Envelope Repairs with Northern Contracting Corporation from Canton, MA in the amount of $1,274,213.40. Motion was approved by a vote of 3-0.

The minutes do not say who made this motion.

From the minutes

“Motion was made to approve the contract for the Fire Sub-Station Building Envelope Repairs with Northern Contracting Corporation from Canton, MA in the amount of $1,274,213.40. Motion was approved by a vote of 3-0..”

Read it in the official minutes, page 3 (PDF)

Mar 21The 2022 Town Meeting that begins May 2, 2022…Motion: Ellen Cushman, Town Clerk said this decision can be revisited for…Passed Unanimous, 3 present · see note

March 21, 2022 (Joint meeting): The 2022 Town Meeting that begins May 2, 2022 to be held by remote participation

ApprovePassed · Unanimous, 3 present

Ellen Cushman, Town Clerk said this decision can be revisited for Town Meeting Segment B. Motion was made for the 2022 Town Meeting that begins May 2, 2022 to be held by remote participation. Motion was approved by a vote of 3-0.

The minutes do not say who made this motion.

From the minutes

“Ellen Cushman, Town Clerk said this decision can be revisited for Town Meeting Segment B. Motion was made for the 2022 Town Meeting that begins May 2, 2022 to be held by remote participation. Motion was approved by a vote of 3-0..”

Read it in the official minutes, page 2 (PDF)

Mar 21Approve the allocation of the $1M from ARPA funds…Motion: Motion was made to approve the allocation of the $1M from…Passed Unanimous, 3 present · see note

March 21, 2022 (Joint meeting): Approve the allocation of the $1M from ARPA funds to the acquisition/installation of the PV panels on the Middle and High Schoo! building

ApprovePassed · Unanimous, 3 present

Motion was made to approve the allocation of the $1M from ARPA funds to the acquisition/installation of the PV panels on the Middle and High Schoo! building. Motion was approved by a vote of 3-0.

The minutes do not say who made this motion.

From the minutes

“Motion was made to approve the allocation of the $1M from ARPA funds to the acquisition/installation of the PV panels on the Middle and High Schoo! building. Motion was approved by a vote of 3-0..”

Read it in the official minutes, page 3 (PDF)

Mar 21Approve the request from the Belmont LGBTQ Alliance to…Motion: Motion was made to approve the request from the Belmont LGBTQ…Passed Unanimous, 3 present · see note

March 21, 2022 (Joint meeting): Approve the request from the Belmont LGBTQ Alliance to place signs on the delta on Leonard St. from March 25, 2022 to April 3, 2022

ApprovePassed · Unanimous, 3 present

Motion was made to approve the request from the Belmont LGBTQ Alliance to place signs on the delta on Leonard St. from March 25, 2022 to April 3, 2022. Motion was approved by a vote of 3-0.

The minutes do not say who made this motion.

From the minutes

“Motion was made to approve the request from the Belmont LGBTQ Alliance to place signs on the delta on Leonard St. from March 25, 2022 to April 3, 2022. Motion was approved by a vote of 3-0..”

Read it in the official minutes, page 3 (PDF)

Mar 21Approve the request from First Church in Belmont to…Motion: Discussion and possible vote on request from the First Church in…Passed Unanimous, 3 present · see note

March 21, 2022 (Joint meeting): Approve the request from First Church in Belmont to use the Town green for outdoor worship on April 3, April 17, May 15 and June 12 from 8:00 to 12:00…

ApprovePassed · Unanimous, 3 present

Discussion and possible vote on request from the First Church in Belmont to use the Town Green for outdoor worship services on April 3, April 17, May 15 and June 12 from 8:00 - 12:00 PM 3|]Page Motion was made to approve the request from First Church in Belmont to use the Town green for outdoor worship on April 3, April 17, May 15 and June 12 from 8:00 to 12:00 PM including set up and breakdown. Motion was approved by a vote of 3-0.

The minutes do not say who made this motion.

From the minutes

“Discussion and possible vote on request from the First Church in Belmont to use the Town Green for outdoor worship services on April 3, April 17, May 15 and June 12 from 8:00 - 12:00 PM 3|]Page Motion was made to approve the request from First Church in Belmont to use the Town green for outdoor worship on April 3, April 17, May 15 and June 12 from 8:00 to 12:00 PM including set up and breakdown. Motion was approved by a vote of 3-0..”

Read it in the official minutes, page 3 (PDF)

From the Belmont Select Board’s official minutes, posted in the town’s Agenda Center (Select Board). We check every vote against the Select Board members present and quote the exact wording. MassVoter never grades or scores officials. Photos (the town’s website has no Select Board photos): The Belmontonian — Matthew Taylor and Carol Berberian (April 2026); Yates for Belmont campaign website — Taylor Yates. Cropped by MassVoter. Former members show initials.

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