Town Meeting

The Select Board voted unanimously on Feb. 7 to sponsor a warrant article for the upcoming Town Meeting that would transition the Board of Assessors to an appointed (rather than elected) body under the Finance Department.   Town Administrator Thatcher Kezer, seen here at a recent Select Board meeting, discussed the proposal to restructure the Board of Assessors. “The assessor's department is responsible for $81 million of a projected $107 million that we have in revenue, yet they operate as a totally independent island,” said…

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story was updated at 9:57 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 31. Marblehead can't seem to quit leaf blowers. The perennial issue will again come before Town Meeting this May via three citizen petitions. Town Meeting will decide whether to extend the gas-powered leaf blower ban throughout the year. Lead sponsor Sabrina Velandry of Prospect Street has proposed citizen petitions expanding the existing summertime ban on the use of gas-powered leaf blowers. Velandry's petitions would specifically:   — Institute a year-round prohibition on gas-powered…