Reading, MA — Reading Recap will host “Yes or No? The Reading Recap Override & CPA Forum” on Wednesday, Oct. 21, at 8 p.m., giving voters the chance to hear supporters and opponents of Reading’s two local ballot questions make their cases side by side before the Nov. 3 election.
Reading Recap invited every officially registered ballot committee to take part. The Yes for Reading Override committee and the Yes for CPA Committee both declined, directing residents to the town’s website instead.
The forum will be streamed on Reading Recap’s YouTube channel and Facebook page as well as on live television via RCTV Xfinity 9 and Fios 31.
How to Watch:
- YouTube: https://youtube.com/live/cww3CuZFI_k
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/19VkRvfwh6/
- RCTV: Xfinity 9 and Fios 31
What’s on the Ballot
Question 10 asks voters to approve a $6.5 million Proposition 2½ operational override, the town’s first override request since 2018. Town officials have put Reading’s structural deficit at $9.8 million and propose closing it with the override, about $3 million in free cash and a small number of town position cuts. If the override fails, officials have said the town would use free cash and cut the equivalent of about 67 positions across town and school departments, along with other service reductions.
Reading Recap’s coverage of the town’s information sessions is available here and here.
Question 11 asks voters whether Reading should adopt the Community Preservation Act, which would add a 1 percent surcharge to local property tax bills. Under state law, CPA money can be spent only on open space and outdoor recreation, historic preservation and community housing, and communities that adopt the act become eligible for annual matching distributions from the state’s Community Preservation Trust Fund.
How the Forum Will Work
Following the format of Reading Recap’s successful previous candidate forums, participating voices will receive equal time for opening and closing statements and responses to questions, with limited opportunities for rebuttals.
Why a Forum
The town has held a series of override information sessions this fall, but state law bars municipal officials from using public resources to advocate for or against a ballot question, so those sessions are limited to factual information.
Wednesday’s forum is designed to fill that gap: a single event where residents can hear the strongest arguments for and against each question, answered on the same stage and under the same rules.
The town’s remaining override session is a virtual-only webinar on Wednesday, Oct. 28. Details, recordings and the town’s tax calculator are on the Override Hub at readingma.gov.
The forum recording will remain available on Reading Recap’s YouTube channel and Facebook page after the live broadcast. RCTV will also be replaying it on television up until election day.
Christopher Haley
Reading Recap
Disclosure: Reading Recap editor Chris Haley serves on the Reading Select Board, which voted to place the override on the ballot. He is not involved in the question process at all beyond delegating it to a 3rd party. Reading Recap is not associated with the Town of Reading or RCTV Studios.
