The Select Board voted unanimously to set a Special Town Meeting date for Nov. 18, with the intended focus being a vote on the MBTA Communities zoning bylaw.

Kyla LaPierre, the town’s chief financial officer,  said the two proposed dates were Nov. 18 and Dec. 2. She explained that a November STM “would allow for financial articles,” while a December date would not.

She added that department heads were given their financial worksheets over the past couple of days and were eager to know the finalized date. Also of note is that financial debt from 2003 and 2016 “could be taken off the books.” There is about $1.5 million in rescinded debt that can be used to pay off town debts.

Select Board chair Brian Herr cautioned that no budget articles should be proposed at the STM because of the town’s financial state.

“I’m a little surprised that we’re all still worrying about financial articles coming at us that we don’t really want to spend money on right now,” he said. “Are we not communicating effectively that taxes are going from $12,500 to $18,500 [by 2030]? And that has nothing to do with anything else we add on.”

Herr has drilled down on this point at the past few meetings as budget discussions have begun.

Added member Mary Jo LaFreniere: “I want this board to stress constantly as we go along that everybody’s going to have to tighten their belts.”

Town Clerk Connor Degan explained that 100 signatures are needed for the submission for a citizen’s petition. While this is a “high bar,” he explained that “it has been achieved before.”

“I think we are all on the same page that we don’t want any further financial burden on the taxpayers,” said member Shahidul Mannan. He added that a financial request should be able to be proposed “if there is an urgent need.”

Senior tax exemption approved

The Select Board unanimously approved a 200% means-tested senior tax exemption rate decrease.

Deputy Assessor Renee Chen explained that 30 applications have been received for this exemption. She asked the board to consider implementing a tax credit within 50% to 200% of the state circuit breaker tax credit. In her review, she anticipated that 26 applications would be approved by the Board of Assessors next week.

Last year’s circuit breaker tax credit was $1,200, she said. The Select Board voted for a 200% tax credit, which benefited 16 applicants. The decision had a tax rate impact of a penny for taxpayers.

This year, the 200% tax reduction amount would be $5,180. The impact would range between 2-4 cents on the residential class rate.

The members voiced strong support for the 200% rate because it would benefit seniors heavily impacted by the economic climate. Herr and Mannan stressed the need for more outreach.

Concern raised over senior tax credit hours

Linda Kimball of the Friends of the Hopkinton Seniors during the public comment period questioned why the volunteer hours seniors perform for fundraising for this group and the thrift shop would no longer be accepted as senior tax credit hours.

In an email forwarded to her by Amy Beck, the director of the Senior Center, earlier in September, this decision went into effect “immediately.” The decision affected about 15 senior volunteers.

“That was very disturbing to us,” she said, noting the lack of direct communication to the Friends of the Hopkinton Seniors. “We had no idea whatsoever.”

She added: “It really affected people mentally and financially.”

Kimball said she has met with Chen and Principal Assessor John Neas and contacted state Sen. Karen Spilka’s office to explain the efforts that the friends group expends to help the Senior Center run efficiently and the extent of its fundraising efforts. Another meeting will follow on Wednesday.

Health Department presents strategic plan overview

Health Department Director Shaun McAuliffe and public health nurse Simone Carter appeared before the board to discuss its strategic plan, noting that unfunded state mandates and the lack of per diem nurses has severely strained the department.

Much of what was presented has discussed at the Board of Health meeting the previous night. Several key points were raising the number of board members to five, creating a revolving fund for the Health Department so that it could collect reimbursements, and the need to expand the public health nursing team.

The Health Department was forced to cut back services back in March after a “five-figure” budget deficit caused two per diem nurses to be furloughed. The positions were funded through pandemic funding but were not budgeted for this year.

Carter noted that the lack of nursing staff has impacted Hopkinton’s most vulnerable residents. She has a current vaccination capacity of only 50 doses as the flu season approaches.

McAuliffe explained that “a negative balance occurred” because monies that were supposed to be transferred among two COVID-related funding accounts were not executed properly.

While he said the 2026 budget could cover two per diem nurses, “we are losing money right now” because the department cannot collect vaccination reimbursements.

Carter added that the department does not need infrastructure and functions on less than a half of 1% of the town’s budget. It needs nurses who are familiar with the patients and understand their needs.

“We’re the only state in the country that doesn’t have regionalized health care,” she said. “And that’s where we’re going.”

Water-sewer advisory board approved

The board voted 4-1 to approve a new five-member water and sewer advisory board. Member Amy Ritterbusch voted against the measure, saying that it could slow down the efforts of the Department of Public Works. The board is meant to be advisory in nature and perform research on topics such as PFAS and the proposed connection to the MWRA system.