An attempt to get the town to maintain private roads was met with skepticism, but not rejection, by Town Meeting voters on Monday.

If passed, the “citizens petition” would have required the town to grade and maintain private roads that are open to the public, with residents paying for the cost of materials. The matter was turned over to the Road Commissioners to study, with direction that the commissioners return to Town Meeting in the spring with a proposal that addresses questions and concerns expressed on Monday.

For decades, the town's Municipal Maintenance Department maintained and plowed private roads and public roads alike using Chapter 90 funds from the state to cover the costs. When, in 2013, officials realized that they were violating the state law by plowing private roads using state funds, a combination of liability concerns and tight budgets resulted in the decision to halt services on private roads altogether.

In 2014, residents overwhelmingly voted, during a town election, to continue plowing private roads using public funds, bringing the town into compliance with state law. And, even as things were being hashed out, the town plowed private roads.

But, as lead petitioner Ed Pacewicz and other speakers pointed out, the town has done no maintenance on private roads for more than two years.

In those two years, some roads have become “almost impassable,” according to Rene P. Poyant, a resident on Pine Lake Drive who spoke in favor of the bylaw changes.

“I understand that you want to look at it further, but the longer you wait, the worse these roads are getting,” said Poyant.

Officials were sympathetic but concerned about the potential financial impact of Pacewicz's proposal.

Finance Committee Chairman David Heard pointed out that the cash-strapped Municipal Maintenance Department already has a four-year backlog of work on public roads and that the petition had an “undeterminable financial impact on the town.”

Pacewicz noted that his proposal borrowed much of its language from a similar bylaw that's been in effect in Mattapoisett since 2009 and said that, based on that town's experience, adoption of the citizens petition would cost Wareham only about $50,000 a year.

Seeing how smoothly the “Mattapoisett numbers” could translate to Wareham and having solid estimates on the cost for the town were recommended to the committee.