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Williamstown voters OK Patriot Act resolution; ask Gov. Romney to recall National Guard from Iraq; approve 10-year tax break for Wild Oats co-op; budget OK'd

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. (May 17, 2005) -- Williamstown voters this evening approved on a voice vote a resolution governing how police and the town library comply with the USA Patriot Act, adding the town's vote to hundreds of communities nationwide expressing concern about civil-liberties aspects of the act. Town Meeting voters also approved 104-38 warrant Article 29, directing Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney "to forthwith initiate legislation in Congress to effect the immediate return of all Massachusetts National Guard units and personnel now serving in Iraq." On the National Guard withdrawal resolution, town-meeting voters applauded after a three-minute speech in which Samuel Smith, a community farmer and former international banker, moved the resolution. Smith said it was time for the president and Congress to bring home from Iraq the National Guard as well as professional soldiers.  CLICK HERE TO LINK TO FULL STORY ON TOWN , including budget and Wild Oats votes.

Warner plans amendment to Patriot Act petition on town-meeting floor re police and library

Sponsor Ray Warner has decided to amend the Patriot Act petition which will be considered by the Williamstown Town Meeting on Tuesday (May 17). In a letter to signers of the petition, Warner said his substitute amendment will “delete the two paragraphs asking the police not to spy on us and the paragraph asking the library to destroy records of what books people borrow.” He said town librarian Pat McLeod is a strong support of the resolution, as it will be amended, and “will speak up for it at town meeting.”  CLICK HERE FOR FULL STORY.

Williamstown's Town Meeting Warrant for May 17 online; no override anticipated

The 15-page document which Williamstown voters will use to consider the town budget on May 17 is available online as of this morning.  The good news -- no one seems to think that a Proposition 2-1/2 override will be sought this year. The town's increasingly net-savvy clerk, Mary Kennedy, with a little help from informal "webmaster" Bill Barkin (day job: town assessor), converted the Town Warrant to a PDF and you can download it by CLICKING HERE.  Besides the usual budget items, the warrant includes Article 28 (U.S.A. Patriot Act) and Article 29, which seeks the return from Iraq of Massachusetts-based National Guard units. For a few more details of what's in the warrant, CLICK HERE.

GreylockNews.COM encourages town officials, Finance Committee members, and proponents of various articles (particular TIF financing for Wild Oats and the zoning changes) to post explanatory notes by clicking on the COMMENTS link below! 

Williamstown resident consider Patriot Act vote for May 17 town meeting

How are you going to vote on May 17? On that night Williamstown Town Meeting voters will have to decide whether to send a message to state and federal governments resisting allegedly resisting aspects of the so-called USA Patriot Act which abridge First Amendment and Fourth Amendment freedoms through surveillance, privacy intrusion.  To help you decide, Williamstown resident Ray Warner (a retired New York Times copyeditor) has provided a text of the Town Warrant Article he authored and has penned an op-ed column in support of its approval. The warrant article calls for the town to join more than 350 U.S. communities in urging caution in the way they observe the act, portions of which will expire automatically, and a remarkable left-right coalition wants it gutted. Warner's resolution is pretty simple . . . it asks selectmen to direct the police department to "refrain from engaging in surveillance of individuals and groups based on their participation in activities protected by the First Amendment, such as political advocacy or the practice of religion." It directs town police not to act alone or help federal or state officials spy on the the political, religious, social views, associations or activities of anyone unless as part of a criminal investigation. It requires the town library to post a notice saying that records of your book- or tape-borrowing activities can be inspected and seized by federal agents -- and the library can be gagged from telling you about it (all this under the act as currently in force).  Here is a link to the text as a regular HTML file: Download willamstown_MA_patriot_act_resolution.htm and also as a PDF file (better for printing): Download willamstown_MA_patriot_act_resolution.pdf . Our selectmen, by the way, have declined to give their support for this resolution. Why? How will you vote at town meeting?