DENISE (finance committee chair) opened the Jan. 3, 2025, remote meeting of the Town of Nantucket Finance Committee to consider citizen warrant Article D, a petition seeking to "rescind unused borrowing authority" tied to the Affordable Housing Trust. The committee voted unanimously not to adopt a positive recommendation for the article.

The article was presented by Toby (resident), who told the committee he and other taxpayers were concerned about rising taxes, perceived slow progress and what he called a lack of accountability on trust-funded projects, citing the Wiggles Way development as an example. "I just feel like that that would be [for] the affordable trust, to come to town meeting and let everybody know how good progress is going or not going and let the voters decide," Toby said.

John Georgiou (attorney) advised the committee that the petition as written was not in proper legal form and could not change the town's existing levy-limit arrangements. Georgiou said the appropriation Toby described had been implemented as part of an override that created a permanent increase in the town's levy limit (and then is adjusted annually), rather than as borrowing authority that could be rescinded at town meeting. He told the committee the only mechanism under Massachusetts' Proposition 2D's framework to reverse a permanent levy increase is an underride ballot question placed by the Select Board, not by a citizen petition at town meeting.

Georgiou explained: "The only way that can be undone is through what's called an underride, which is a ballot question that essentially would reduce the levy limit by whatever the amount of the increase pursuant to that override...and the only way under Proposition 2D'that you can initiate an underride vote is by a vote of the Select Board and the placement of an underride vote on the election ballot. But that cannot be done by petition." He also noted that the article appeared to refer to rescinding borrowing authority that had not been voted and that any bonds already sold or backed by the town would remain general obligations the town must service.

Toby asked whether the article could still appear on the warrant and be referred to the Attorney General. Denise answered that the article would remain on the warrant and that the Finance Committee must make a recommendation to the town meeting floor; Georgiou added that the Attorney General does not review citizen petition warrant articles in this way and that the Select Board would be the route for an underride petition.

After discussion, Peter (finance committee member) moved that the committee vote not to adopt the citizen article; Joe (finance committee member) seconded. The committee then took a roll-call vote and the motion carried unanimously.

The chair thanked Toby for his civic engagement and encouraged future use of select board citizen-petition meeting hours for legal clarity before circulating an article.

Less-critical meeting items that followed included routine scheduling and the rescheduling of other citizen articles; those items did not change the committee's action on Article D.