How the Swansea Board of Selectmen voted, from the Board of Selectmen’s official minutes. 3 Selectmen elected townwide. Covers 25 meetings, April 11 to April 4, 2024.
A monthly email on what it voted on, starting in November.
What does the Board of Selectmen 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 Board of Selectmen, votes the town budget and town bylaws.
In Swansea, Town Meeting — not the Board of Selectmen — votes the town budget, bylaws and zoning. Here is what it did with each article, in the Town Clerk’s own words. Any registered voter can take part, and most votes are by voice or show of hands, so there is no list of who voted which way.
Special Town Meeting · October 28, 2024 15 votes: 15 passed
Art. 1Appropriate $25,000 by taxation as grant match for Hailes Hill Road culvert upgrade designPassed“Motion carried by a Majority.”
Art. 5Appropriate $200,000 by taxation for school security assessments, training and studiesPassed“Motion carried by a Majority.”
Art. 6Spend $30,000 of CPA reserves for Seekonk Land Conservation Trust monitoring of 1100 Bark Street restrictionPassed“Motion carried by a Majority.”
Art. 3Confirm Moderator appointments of five members to the Advisory and Finance Committee through 2027Passed“Motion carried by a Majority.”
Art. 4Fix salaries of elected Town officers for FY2025 (e.g., Town Clerk $83,281; Treasurer $98,968)Passed“Motion carried by a Majority.”
Art. 5FY2025 operating budget, line items 1-109: $46,328,124 by taxation plus $25,786 from Beach Receipts ReservedPassed“Motion carried by a Majority.”
Art. 6Authorize Selectmen to accept and contract for state/county funds for roads, bikeways and waterwaysPassed“Motion carried Unanimously.”
Art. 29Appropriate $86,000 by taxation for the firefighters Length of Service Awards ProgramPassed“Motion carried by a Majority.”
Art. 30Home rule petition to allow up to six more all-alcohol on-premises licenses in the Swansea Mall areaPassed“Motion carried Unanimously.”
Art. 31General bylaw: remove appointed board members who miss three straight or 25% of meetingsPassed“Motion carried Unanimously.”
Art. 32General bylaw: let Treasurer, with Selectmen approval, sell tax-title land without further Town Meeting votePassed“Motion carried by a Majority.”
Art. 33General bylaw: rewrite dumping ban and add ban on discharging water onto public ways, with finesPassed“Motion carried by a Majority.”
Art. 34General bylaw: replace rules on construction in public ways (driveway and excavation permits, surety, fines)Passed“Motion passes. · YES-134. NO-95.”
Not here yet: the Special Town Meeting held May 20, 2024 alongside the Annual Town Meeting, the May 19, 2025 Annual and Special Town Meetings, and any 2026 Town Meetings; no results for these were posted online that we could reach.
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).
"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
Not here yet: the town has posted Board of Selectmen minutes online only from January 2020, and some meetings have an agenda but no minutes online. Several minutes from 2020 to 2022 and 2026 are scanned documents, which we read with text recognition. Most votes are recorded as unanimous. When only two Selectmen are present, the minutes often say a motion “passed by a majority” without saying how each voted; those votes are noted and individual votes are not shown. Votes by other boards at joint meetings (such as the Sewer Commission, Planning Board or Water District) are not included. We will ask the town to confirm any noted vote.
Most board votes are unanimous. These are the ones where at least one member voted no or abstained, newest first.
Feb 27Close the Public Hearing to Vote to Approve Above-Ground…Motion: to close the Public Hearing to Vote to Approve Above-Ground Fuel…Passed · see note
February 27, 2024: Close the Public Hearing to Vote to Approve Above-Ground Fuel Tanks at Tombstone LLC d/b/a Columbus Energies, 1492 GAR Highway
ApprovePassed · No count or names in the minutes
To close the Public Hearing to Vote to Approve Above-Ground Fuel Tanks at Tombstone LLC d/b/a Columbus Energies, 1492 GAR Highway
The minutes do not record a vote for this motion.
From the minutes
“MOTION made by Mr. Medeiros, seconded by Mr. Kitchin to close the Public Hearing to Vote to Approve Above-Ground Fuel Tanks at Tombstone LLC d/b/a Columbus Energies, 1492 GAR Highway..” (Motion: Medeiros, second: Kitchin)
Feb 20Open the Public Hearing to approve the Amusement Devices…Motion: to open the Public Hearing to approve the Amusement Devices License…Passed · see note
February 20, 2024: Open the Public Hearing to approve the Amusement Devices License for JRs Seaside Tavern, 378 Ocean Grove Avenue at 6:35 pm. TWO AYES
ApprovePassed · No count or names in the minutes
To open the Public Hearing to approve the Amusement Devices License for JRs Seaside Tavern, 378 Ocean Grove Avenue at 6:35 pm. TWO AYES
The minutes say the motion passed by a majority but do not say how each member voted.
From the minutes
“MOTION made by Mr. Kitchin, seconded by Mr. Medeiros to open the Public Hearing to approve the Amusement Devices License for JRs Seaside Tavern, 378 Ocean Grove Avenue at 6:35 pm. TWO AYES, Motion passed by a majority MOTION made by Mr.” (Motion: Kitchin, second: Medeiros)
Feb 20Vote to approve Trash Abatements as presented. TWO AYESMotion: to Vote to approve Trash Abatements as presented. TWO AYESPassed · see note
February 20, 2024: Vote to approve Trash Abatements as presented. TWO AYES
ApprovePassed · No count or names in the minutes
To Vote to approve Trash Abatements as presented. TWO AYES
The minutes say the motion passed by a majority but do not say how each member voted.
From the minutes
“MOTION made by Mr. Medeiros, seconded by Mr. Carreiro to Vote to approve Trash Abatements as presented. TWO AYES, Motion passed by a majority.” (Motion: Medeiros, second: Carreiro)
Feb 20Vote to approve the Warrant for the Presidential Primary.…Motion: to Vote to approve the Warrant for the Presidential Primary. TWO…Passed · see note
February 20, 2024: Vote to approve the Warrant for the Presidential Primary. TWO AYES
ApprovePassed · No count or names in the minutes
To Vote to approve the Warrant for the Presidential Primary. TWO AYES
The minutes say the motion passed by a majority but do not say how each member voted.
From the minutes
“MOTION made by Mr. Medeiros, seconded by Mr. Carreiro to Vote to approve the Warrant for the Presidential Primary. TWO AYES, Motion passed by a majority.” (Motion: Medeiros, second: Carreiro)
Feb 20Approve the Warrant for the Annual Town Election. TWO…Motion: to approve the Warrant for the Annual Town Election. TWO AYESPassed · see note
February 20, 2024: Approve the Warrant for the Annual Town Election. TWO AYES
ApprovePassed · No count or names in the minutes
To approve the Warrant for the Annual Town Election. TWO AYES
The minutes say the motion passed by a majority but do not say how each member voted.
From the minutes
“MOTION made by Mr. Medeiros, seconded by Mr. Carreiro to approve the Warrant for the Annual Town Election. TWO AYES, Motion passed by a majority.” (Motion: Medeiros, second: Carreiro)
Feb 20Re-affirm the appointments of Ms. Lisa White, Full-time Animal…Motion: to re-affirm the appointments of Ms. Lisa White, Full-time Animal Control…Passed · see note
February 20, 2024: Re-affirm the appointments of Ms. Lisa White, Full-time Animal Control Officer, Ms. Ashley Benevides, On-call Animal Control Officer, Ms. Natasha Andrade-Moniz, On-call Animal Control Officer, and Ms.
AppointPassed · No count or names in the minutes
To re-affirm the appointments of Ms. Lisa White, Full-time Animal Control Officer, Ms. Ashley Benevides, On-call Animal Control Officer, Ms. Natasha Andrade-Moniz, On-call Animal Control Officer, and Ms. Chloe Plummer, On-call Animal Control Officer. TWO AYES
The minutes say the motion passed by a majority but do not say how each member voted.
From the minutes
“MOTION made by Mr. Medeiros, seconded by Mr. Carreiro to re-affirm the appointments of Ms. Lisa White, Full-time Animal Control Officer, Ms. Ashley Benevides, On-call Animal Control Officer, Ms. Natasha Andrade-Moniz, On-call Animal Control Officer, and Ms. Chloe Plummer, On-call Animal Control Officer. TWO AYES, Motion passed by a majority.” (Motion: Medeiros, second: Carreiro)
Feb 20Appoint Ms. Melissa C. Heilborn as Parking Clerk. TWO…Motion: to appoint Ms. Melissa C. Heilborn as Parking Clerk. TWO AYESPassed · see note
February 20, 2024: Appoint Ms. Melissa C. Heilborn as Parking Clerk. TWO AYES
AppointPassed · No count or names in the minutes
To appoint Ms. Melissa C. Heilborn as Parking Clerk. TWO AYES
The minutes say the motion passed by a majority but do not say how each member voted.
From the minutes
“MOTION made by Mr. Medeiros, seconded by Mr. Carreiro to appoint Ms. Melissa C. Heilborn as Parking Clerk. TWO AYES, Motion passed by a majority.” (Motion: Medeiros, second: Carreiro)
Feb 20Resume the Public Hearing to approve the Amusement Devices…Motion: to resume the Public Hearing to approve the Amusement Devices jukebox,…Passed · see note
February 20, 2024: Resume the Public Hearing to approve the Amusement Devices jukebox, pool table, and arcade game License for JRs Seaside Tavern. TWO AYES
ApprovePassed · No count or names in the minutes
To resume the Public Hearing to approve the Amusement Devices jukebox, pool table, and arcade game License for JRs Seaside Tavern. TWO AYES
The minutes say the motion passed by a majority but do not say how each member voted.
From the minutes
“MOTION made by Mr. Kitchin, seconded by Mr. Medeiros to resume the Public Hearing to approve the Amusement Devices jukebox, pool table, and arcade game License for JRs Seaside Tavern. TWO AYES, Motion passed by a majority.” (Motion: Kitchin, second: Medeiros)
Feb 20Close the Public Hearing to approve the Amusement Devices…Motion: to close the Public Hearing to approve the Amusement Devices jukebox,…Passed · see note
February 20, 2024: Close the Public Hearing to approve the Amusement Devices jukebox, pool table, and arcade game License for JRs Seaside Tavern at 7:19 pm. TWO AYES
ApprovePassed · No count or names in the minutes
To close the Public Hearing to approve the Amusement Devices jukebox, pool table, and arcade game License for JRs Seaside Tavern at 7:19 pm. TWO AYES
The minutes say the motion passed by a majority but do not say how each member voted.
From the minutes
“MOTION made by Mr. Kitchin, seconded by Mr. Medeiros to close the Public Hearing to approve the Amusement Devices jukebox, pool table, and arcade game License for JRs Seaside Tavern at 7:19 pm. TWO AYES, Motion passed by a majority.” (Motion: Kitchin, second: Medeiros)
Feb 20Approve the Amusement Devices jukebox, pool table, and arcade…Motion: to approve the Amusement Devices jukebox, pool table, and arcade game…Passed · see note
February 20, 2024: Approve the Amusement Devices jukebox, pool table, and arcade game License for JRs Seaside Tavern. TWO AYES
ApprovePassed · No count or names in the minutes
To approve the Amusement Devices jukebox, pool table, and arcade game License for JRs Seaside Tavern. TWO AYES
The minutes say the motion passed by a majority but do not say how each member voted.
From the minutes
“MOTION made by Mr. Kitchin, seconded by Mr. Medeiros to approve the Amusement Devices jukebox, pool table, and arcade game License for JRs Seaside Tavern. TWO AYES, Motion passed by a majority.” (Motion: Kitchin, second: Medeiros)
From the Swansea Board of Selectmen’s official minutes, posted on the town’s website. We check every vote against the Selectmen present and quote the exact wording. MassVoter never grades officials; votes and attendance are shown exactly as the minutes record them. Photos: Alanna Solitro, a still from her Swansea Cable Access Television candidate video (2026); Robert Medeiros, from his campaign Facebook page (Robert Medeiros Swansea Selectman).