Wayland Select Board condemns antisemitism, sets single tax rate, rejects union article

WAYLAND — November 20, 2023 — Wayland Select Board condemns antisemitic vandalism, holds single tax rate, opposes expanded union article. The board voted 5-0 Monday to publish a statement condemning a swastika painted on Rice Road and rising antisemitism, and separately 5-0 to endorse the HRDIC's Israel-Gaza statement. "Anti-Semitism is anti-American," said Member Thomas J. Fay. The board also voted 5-0 to maintain a single property tax rate; Town Assessor Robert LaRue said the FY24 rate falls to $15.52 from $16.65 per thousand, but the average single-family bill still rises $894 to $16,852 as assessments climb 13 percent to $1,085,000. The board voted 0-5 against supporting an amended special town meeting article that would fund first-year contracts for both the teachers association and the educational secretaries association, with members faulting the process. Shannon Fisher was appointed to the Conservation Commission through June 2026.