Wayland Select Board defers vote on single polling location until after November

WAYLAND — June 24, 2024 — Wayland Select Board defers polling consolidation, approves $227,155 in year-end transfers. Town Clerk Trudy Reed asked the board Monday to merge the middle school polling location into the town building, citing ballot-security risks, school-safety complaints and a surge in mail-in voting that has already drawn 3,000-plus requests for November. Vice Chair Doug Levine and member Thomas J. Fay pushed back on piloting the change in a presidential year, with Fay calculating peak demand at 500 voters per hour against limited parking. Chair William Whitney tabled the vote. The board unanimously approved six fiscal 2024 transfers totaling $227,155, including $87,000 from a police surplus to cover joint communications center overtime that hit nearly $200,000 against a $100,000 budget, and $20,000 to plug a library payroll shortfall from "miscalculations" by a former director. Management Analyst Jailyn Bratica reported 670 residents have signed up for a new monthly town newsletter launching next week.