From new fines for barking dogs to whether to accept a new branch of the Wareham Free Library to weighing in on historically unpopular Proposition 2½ overrides and debt exclusions, Town Meeting voters will be asked to make some difficult decisions when the annual meeting convenes next week.

The Town Meeting agenda has 51 articles. Voters began discussion on April 23. The meeting will reconvene on April 30 at 7 p.m. in the Wareham High School auditorium.

“This is going to be a long Town Meeting,” Town Moderator Claire Smith warned voters who attended the informational “Pre-Town Meeting,” hosted by Smith and the Onset Protective League on April 11.

“If you're going to get up and speak, please stick to the subjects,” she said, noting that not doing so would prolong the meeting.

Voters will also reconvene at a special Town Meeting in May to address business that was not added to the April agenda before it closed.

The following is a round-up of some of the items voters will be asked to consider. Download the full Town Meeting warrant below!

Fiscal year 2013 budget

Following a particularly difficult budget season that had both the municipal and school departments cutting their budgets to the point of laying off employees, the town administration, Finance Committee, and School Committee are entering Town Meeting with a balanced budget for next year.

“We started out with a deficit … of almost $3 million,” Finance Committee Chair Frank Heath told Pre-Town Meeting attendees. “It was a very hard process. … I don't think there's anyone who has been unaffected.”

The underlying budget problem is the fact that as revenue grows, the town’s increasing “fixed” costs for things such as healthcare and insurance grow too, but faster than revenue. Meanwhile, state aid overall is on the decline.

Municipal departments stand to lose approximately six full-time employees, including one police lieutenant and two patrolmen. Officials are requesting that Town Hall shut down on Fridays. The summer lifeguard program has also been cut.

The School Department faces layoffs of more than 20 teachers, cuts to sports and extracurricular activities, and has proposed eliminating instructional leaders put in place last year to provide support for teachers and considered closing the Wareham Junior/Senior Cooperative High School. Nothing has been set in stone yet, however, as school officials said they would wait until after Town Meeting to determine exactly what would be cut.

Proposition 2½ override, debt exclusion articles

In an effort to ease the pain of budget cuts in the Wareham Public Schools budget, the School Committee has proposed a Proposition 2 ½ override and four debt exclusions.

The School Committee originally approved a $27.1 million budget, which it called "adequate," but not ideal. In late March, it voted to reduce its budget to $26 million, recognizing that the town and the School Department were both faced with making difficult cuts. This month, it reduced its budget to $25.1 million, putting it below last year's budget number, after learning that even less money would be available.

Town Meeting must approve the Proposition 2½ measures – which have been historically unpopular – before any further action can be taken. The Board of Selectmen must then agree to put the proposals on an election ballot, where the larger electorate will be asked whether the town should go forward with the proposals. The measures must be approved at the ballot in order for action to be taken. Even with Town Meeting approval, the Board of Selectmen is not mandated to add the proposals to a ballot.

A Proposition 2½ override would increase property taxes a percentage above the 2½ annual cap on property tax increases indefinitely – or until Town Meeting voters pass an “under-ride” to stop the tax increase.

A debt exclusion would also increases property taxes above the annual 2½ percent cap, but only for a fixed period of time.

If the Proposition 2½ proposals are not approved, the School Department will have to make the various cuts and/or not complete the projects the proposals would otherwise fund.

Article 26: Override to avoid layoffs

School officials say they need $780,000 per year to avoid laying off more than 20 educators. The Proposition 2½ override is proposed to fund that $780,000.

Officials say that the increase in taxes would cost a homeowner with a median-assessed, $230,000 home a total of $53.04 per year indefinitely.

Article 18: School buses

The School Department has struggled to find a way to regularly replace the school buses in its aging fleet for more than two years.

To begin a replacement plan, officials have proposed a debt exclusion totaling $360,000 to purchase new or used buses. The $360,000 would be paid off over five years, which school officials say would cost a median-assessed homeowner with a $230,000 a total of $4.90 for each of the five years.

The town's Transportation Action Committee, which is charged with finding a longterm solution to the busing issue, has not yet weighed in on the matter, and officials are continually concerned about the condition of the buses.

Article 19: Wareham High School roof

The roof above the Wareham High School gymnasium has been leaking for years, causing sporting events to be relocated or canceled and causing students to avoid areas of the gym during classes.

The problem is that the roof's rubber membrane has many leaks, which are difficult to find and can only be fixed temporarily.

“You've got multiple leaks,” said Wareham High School Principal Scott Palladino. “It's like trying to find a needle in a haystack.”

Athletic Director Marc Loranger was so fed up with the leaking that he and custodians traveled to a local hardware store last winter, purchased a large tarp, and set off to cover the most severely affected part of the roof.

The rubber membrane is covered by rocks, however, so when custodians attempt to patch the roof, they risk making more holes because the rocks must be shoveled out of the way.

“Have you ever heard of a rain delay in a basketball game?” Palladino asked.

But it's happened.

“You keep trying to patch and patch and patch,” he said. “It's frustrating because you're putting good money into something bad.”

The cost of replacing the gymnasium roof is $110,000, which school officials have proposed be paid by a debt exclusion over the course of five years. Officials say this would cost a $230,000 homeowner a total of $1.50 per year for the five years.

Article 20: Textbooks and technology

School officials are asking for $341,000 to fund textbooks and technology that cannot be funded within next year's budget.

Of that figure, $260,000 would be used to pay for textbooks at the elementary and high school levels, which officials say are necessary due to state-mandated changes in instruction.

The remaining $81,000 would be used to purchase technology for teachers throughout the district.

This five-year debt exclusion would cost the owner of a $230,000 home a total of $4.64 per year for those five years, according to school officials.

Article 28: Minot Forest Elementary feasibility study

The Massachusetts School Building Authority has approved Minot Forest Elementary's application for a renovation and expansion project, which if completed would be eligible for state reimbursement for a percentage of the cost.

The town must follow state guidelines in order to qualify for reimbursement, however. The first step of the process is to complete a $575,000 “feasibility study.” Among other things, it will include a traffic study, geological study, a study of existing conditions at the school, a study of the educational needs of the school, and the hiring of an architectural firm. The school district will then have a set of drawings that it can use to price the construction of the project.

The state will reimburse 60% of the cost of the feasibility study. School officials are looking to borrow $230,000, which will be paid off through a five-year debt exclusion at a cost of $3.19 per year for the median-assessed homeowner.

The student population has outgrown the school. In the mid-90s, “portable” classrooms, which were approximately 10 years old at the time, were attached to the school. Now, students are receiving one-on-one instruction in the hallways, the library (which no longer functions as a library), and in an unused shower room, among other non-traditional places. Three special education teachers are sharing one room. Art and study skills teachers wheel materials on a cart to each of the classrooms because there is no available room for those teachers.

Custodial closets are used for musical instrument storage. Televisions are stored in hallways. Gym teachers' offices were taken over by other teaching materials.

“We use every nook and cranny in this building,” said Principal Joan Seamans.

Among the school's other challenges: the windows are original, the nurse's office is too small to accommodate the students' needs, the wheelchair lift does not function properly, and the electrical system is so outdated that if the teachers use two microwaves in the staff room at one time, a fuse will blow. Classroom teachers only have one or two electrical outlets for their needs.

Wareham has 270 days from the time the state approved the project to approve funding for the feasibility study. That puts the deadline sometime in October. If it is not approved, Minot Forest – which has been on a waiting list for three years – loses its spot in line.

“I would worry that if we don't get [approval] the first time, I think that would have an effect if we have to reapply,” Seamans said.

Article 32: Barking and howling nuisance

The dogs are howling (and biting!), and the Wareham Police Department would like to calm them down.

Article 32 of the Town Meeting warrant features several sections aimed at curbing dog nuisance and dog bites, both of which are common in Wareham, says Animal Control Officer Cheryl Gorveatt-Dill.

"We receive barking dog complaints on a daily basis and sometimes we see multiple complaints," said Gorveatt-Dill.

Article 32 is split into four sections, with the first 2 sections dealing with dog barking and the second two dealing with dog bites.

The first two sections would make it a bylaw violation for a dog to bark for 15 minutes continuously between the hours of 7 a.m. and 10 p.m., Gorveatt-Dill explained. Between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., continuous dog barking for any amount of time is not allowed.

Gorveatt-Dill explained that the idea is not to stop dogs from barking.

"A dog has to bark. ... You can't expect dogs not to bark," she said, noting that sometimes dogs bark as a warning to their owners about potential threats.

But, Gorveatt-Dill said, if a dog is barking for 15 minutes or more, it is most likely a sign of a problem.

The penalties for breaking the bylaw are scaled. The first offense results in a warning, the second offense results in a $25 fine, the third offense is a $30 fine, and the fourth offense is a $50 fine.

Dog bites are also a problem in town, Gorveatt-Dill said.

"We are constantly getting complaints about dog bites and we'd like to try to do something immediately to improve the general safety of the public," Gorveatt-Dill said.

There is a state law similar to the bylaw being proposed, Gorveatt-Dill explained, but there is a long process in the law which creates delays for officials to address serious dog biting problems.

This bylaw would allow officials to immediately address the problem.

If approved, dogs found to be potentially dangerous -- that is, they approach people or other domestic animals in a menacing fashion when unprovoked -- will have to be muzzled and on a three-foot or shorter leash when off the owner's property. When on the owner's property, dogs will have to be securely confined indoors or securely enclosed in a locked pen or structure.

There will be a $50 fine for violations.

Article 35: Spinney Memorial Library

Town Meeting voters will decide whether to accept the Spinney Memorial Library, located at 259 Onset Ave., as a branch of the Wareham Free Library.

Town leaders are wary – they argue that now is not the time for another financial burden on the town.

If accepted, the proponents of the article – the nonprofit Friends of the Wareham Free Library – will fund the operating costs of the Spinney for the first two years, according to the warrant article. The Friends have also agreed to fundraise so the town will not have to fully fund the Spinney for a third year.

The original Spinney Library was built in the late 1800s. It functioned as a library until the 1940s, and was subsequently used as a meeting place for the Wareham Girl Scouts. The Friends fundraised for the renovation and expansion of the library, which reopened last summer.

Why is this on the Town Meeting docket now?

In the early 2000s, the group taking care of the building – Spinney Memorial Inc. – approached the Friends and asked them to take over the Spinney, said Priscilla Porter, treasurer of the Friends of the Wareham Free Library and chair of the operating committee in charge of currently running Spinney.

The proposal was accepted in a contract between the Town of Wareham, Spinney Memorial Inc., and the Wareham Free Library, Inc.

The parties agreed that the Friends would renovate and reopen the building, with the stipulation that the Town of Wareham would bring the idea of taking ownership of the library to Town Meeting, Porter said. The contract stipulated 2012 as the year the idea would be brought to Town Meeting.

"I get the question, 'Why now?' We have no choice, we signed the contract," Porter said.

Porter argues that now is the right time to accept the Spinney. Difficult economic times bring people in-need to the library to use its internet and multimedia facilities, she noted.

The library also serves a need for books. None of the elementary schools in Wareham have staffed, operational libraries, Porter said, and the Spinney is ideally situated to serve East Wareham.

Right now, Spinney is open 12 hours a week, and costs just under $40,000 to run per year, Porter said.

The Wareham Free Library is open 40 hours a week. If Spinney is accepted as a branch, Porter explained, the state would recognize the Wareham Free Library as open 50 hours a week or more, and would increase its funding to the town $4,608 per year.

If accepted, the Spinney Library would employ one staffer, but the rest of the operation would be aided with the help of volunteers, Porter said.

Elsewhere on the Town Meeting agenda:

Article 41: The Community Preservation Committee is seeking to use $430,000 of Community Preservation funding to purchase land on the Weweantic River. The town approved $375,000 for a similar land-purchase nearby last year, but after state grant funding fell through, the Community Preservation Committee did not purchase the land. The town will be asked to rescind last year's vote and the committee will use the $375,000 toward this year's purchase.

Article 43: A Clean Water Committee proposal to update the town's earth removal bylaw was defeated at Town Meeting in October. The committee is back with an update to that bylaw.

Article 44: The Clean Water Committee is proposing a new bylaw aimed at reducing the nitrogen generated from wastewater. For more on this, click here

Article 51: Town Meeting last spring approved a citizen's petition to remove a bylaw that allows the construction of wind turbines in Wareham. A committee was formed to study the matter and write a new bylaw. However, all neighboring towns were not notified of the bylaw change as required, and the state Attorney General's office rejected the change. The article is back for approval again. The committee still formed, however, and will present its current findings to Town Meeting.