Lincoln Select Board pulls electronic voting clickers out of capital budget for a standalone town meeting vote

LINCOLN -- January 22, 2024, Lincoln Select Board carves clickers out of the capital budget for a standalone town meeting vote. The board voted unanimously Monday to approve a 28-article warrant for the March 23 annual town meeting that places a proposed electronic voting clicker purchase as its own Article 6, after the Housing Choice Act bylaw, community center and Bright Light Award. Chair Jim Hutchinson said he objected to "hiding the clicker amount in the FY25 budget and passively getting approval." Member Kim Bodnar called the shift "a cultural change" and pressed for newsletter and Lincoln Talk outreach on voter anonymity questions. Town Administrator Tim Higgins reported the operating budget was pared from 7.1 percent to 4.9 percent across three revisions, including eliminating a $32,000 part-time planning position and deferring fireworks one year; the Finance Committee resumes deliberations January 30. The warrant includes 13 consent-calendar items and two citizen petitions, one from Alice Waugh allowing online media to carry official town notices.