Burlington's next Town Meeting will be held beginning on September 29, 2025, in the BHS Auditorium. There will be no hybrid participation option except for Town Meeting Members with documented medical reasons, but the meeting will be broadcast on BCAT.

This article contains the Buzz's Warrant Article Summary. You can also find more in-depth explainers on each category of Warrant Article in the dedicated Town Meeting section of the Buzz website.

Information contained in this summary is taken from previous Burlington Buzz coverage, public meetings and interviews, and the town's official documentation—the Warrant (the list of items up for a vote) and Backup (supporting documentation and justifications)—which can be found in the Town Meeting section of the Town Clerk’s website. If you want to dive further into any of these issues, those documents are the best place to start.

You can also view the FY26 budget for all town departments and 10-year capital plan and the school budget.

Please reach out to your precinct representatives with questions and input. Not sure what precinct you’re in? Click here for a map. This Warrant Article Summary will be updated continuously to add votes and other pertinent details as Town Meeting Progresses.

September 29, 2025, Town Meeting

General Articles

Article 1 - Reports of Town Officers & Committees

The body will hear from town committees and officers, including the Human Services Committee and the Government Review Committee.
Submitted by the Rules Committee

Article 2 - Annual Town Elections

The Town Clerk requests to set the 2026 annual town election date on the second Saturday in April (April 11, 2026) rather than the first.
Requested by the Town Clerk

Financial Articles

Article 3 - Burlington High School Construction Project ($340,000,000, to be amended to $334,769,880)

Read all about what brought us to this moment in time, where Town Meeting will be asked to approve just under $335,000,000 for an addition-renovation to Burlington High School.
Requested by the School Committee

Article 4 - Fund Election Costs For Debt Exclusion ($30,000)

If Article 3 passes, a town-wide special election will need to be undertaken in order to approve a debt exclusion. A yes vote on this would allow the town to raise taxes to pay for this new debt during the bonding period for the high school project without impacting business as usual when it comes to raising taxes for services the town already enjoys.
Requested by Town Administration

Article 5 - Will Of Marshall Simonds (2nd Reading) (-$73,762.09)

Each year the town receives, after two readings of the Will of Marshall Simonds, a sum for the care and maintenance of Marshall Simonds Park.
Requested by the Recreation Commission

Article 6 - Fund Burlington Police Command Officers’ Contract (TBD)

Article 7 - Fund Burlington Police Patrolmen’s Association Contract (TBD)

Article 8 - Fund Burlington International Firefighters’ Association Contract (TBD)

The final contracts to be settled, the funds for Articles 6, 7, and 8 are already accounted for in the negotiated settlements portion of the town's budget and don't represent new spending.
Requested by Town Administration

General Bylaw Articles

Article 9 - Amend Article XIII Section 10 to Add Non-Emergency Lift Assist Fee

This would institute a fee to the town's long-term health care facilities when the Fire Department is called to lift residents who have taken a fall.
Requested by the Fire Chief

Article 10 - Amend and rename Stormwater and Erosion and Sedimentation Control Bylaw

This article would separate the stormwater bylaw into a bylaw and a set of regulations. The bylaw would give the Conservation Commission the authority to administer the regulations, which contain the details and specifics and are more easily adjusted when needed. Currently, everything is rolled in the bylaw, and even minor changes require a Town Meeting vote. Splitting out the regulations would allow changes to happen by public hearing, giving the Conservation more flexibility. This article failed at May 2025 Town Meeting by one vote, and the Conservation Commission and Department are confident they are prepared to address the body's concerns.
Requested by the Conservation Commission & Department

Article 11 - Capital Plan Report

This article would require a presentation on the full capital plan prior to Town Meeting deciding on large expenditures by adding the following language to the "Report of Town Officials" section of the General Bylaws:

At each Town Meeting in January, the Town Administrator will give Town Meeting a brief presentation about the current 10-year Capital Plan, including any potential changes of five million dollars or more in any item in the document by the time it will be presented in written form to the May Town Meeting. Before the discussion of capital expenditures to be purchased with Free Cash at the May Town Meeting, the Town Administrator will give TM a presentation on the 10-year Capital Plan that is included as part of that Fiscal Year’s Proposed Operating Budget. The presentation shall include: a listing of the boards, committees, and departments involved in creation of the Capital Plan, highlighting all projected expenditures of five million dollars or more, a brief description of the use of those funds, why those funds are allocated to a particular fiscal year, and how the sum will affect the Town’s financial status.

Requested by Precinct 3 Town Meeting Member, Monte Pearson

Zoning Article Bylaws

Article 12 - Amend Article VIII, Section 8.6.0 MBTA Communities Multi-Family Overlay District

This article would adjust the maximum density and height in a portion of the MBTA Communities overlay district so a multifamily development can be built on across from 3rd Ave. Read more background here.
Requested by the Nordblom Development Company

Article 13 - Resolutions Concerning Violations at the ICE Facility

This is a resolution requesting that Town Meeting formally condemn the "violations of local zoning and the inhumane treatment of detainees" that have occurred at the Immigrations & Customs Enforcement Regional Field Office, located at 1000 District Ave. in Burlington. It reads, in part:

Now, therefore, be it resolved, that the Burlington Town Meeting formally condemns these violations of local zoning law and the inhumane treatment of detainees, and calls upon:

1. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to cease overnight and extended detentions at the Burlington facility and to comply fully with the conditions set forth by ICE itself (see above).
2. Federal, state, and local authorities to investigate and take corrective action, including but not limited to, gaining access to the property, to ensure compliance with Burlington’s zoning bylaws, ICE statement of how property was to be used and the humane treatment of all individuals held at the facility.

Be it further resolved, that the Town Clerk shall transmit copies of this resolution to the Burlington Select Board, the Burlington Building Inspector, the Burlington Police Department, Representatives Seth Moulton and Jake Auchincloss, the Governor of Massachusetts, and the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

Requested by Precinct 5 Town Meeting Member, Phyllis Neufeld

Stay tuned to the Buzz for updates to this Warrant Article Summary and for vote updates as Town Meeting goes on.