Brewster says 'yes' to school override; recount expected in close select board race

BREWSTER — Two overrides supporting the schools got voters' approval at Brewster's town election on Tuesday, and together will add up to an annual increase in the average tax bill of $106.

Voters also returned incumbent Selectman Edward Chatelain to the town's top-governing board.

Well, maybe. Chatelain was separated from his closest challenger, Laurel Labdon, by a razor-thin, six-vote margin, according to the unofficial results.

Now a recount is expected. Town Clerk Colette Williams on Wednesday morning said she had not yet received a recount petition. The Labdon campaign has 10 days to file one.

Williams said she's seen an even closer decision made at a past election.

"We have had an override win by one," she said, noting that result remained the same after a recount.

More decisive choices were also made Tuesday in races for the Board of Health and Recreation Commission. In all, 2,512 ballots were cast, representing 29% of the town's registered voters, according to the town clerk's office.

More: Here's how Brewster voted on a plastic ban, nip bottle ban and millions in school budgets

Race for selectman is a close call. Will there be a Brewster election recount?

In his bid for a return to the Select Board, vice chairman Chatelain pulled in 1,147 votes. Close on his heels, Labdon garnered 1,141 votes. Carol Anderson, who also hoped to oust Chatelain, pulled in 123 votes.

Because of how close the results are Labdon on Wednesday morning said she does plan to seek a recount, "not because I think it will change the result, but because I want the Brewster voters to be confident in the process and result and know that their vote was counted in a fair and accurate manner."

Labdon said she is proud of the race she ran.

"If the close results of this race don’t prove to Brewster voters that every vote counts, I don’t know what will!" she said. "I hope that such a close race will result in more voter turnout next time."

Whatever the final outcome, Labdon said she plans to continue her work as chair of the board of commissioners of the Brewster Housing Authority, and hopes the close results of the race "will motivate the Select Board to address some of the issues that were brought to the forefront during the campaign."

"I believe it is incumbent on all Brewster residents to stay involved in the running of this town and encourage them to engage with the Select Board and town manager with any concerns they have," Labdon said.

Chatelain was unavailable for comment on the outcome prior to press time.

School overrides pass with comfortable margins

Totaling $964,598, the two successful overrides grant extra funding for the elementary schools and the regional schools. The first, a $316,878 operating override to support the Stony Brook and Eddy elementary school budgets, was approved with 1,499 ballots in favor and 977 opposed.

The second, a $647,720 override to support the Nauset Regional School District budget, passed with 1,347 votes in favor to 1,126 opposed.

Both of the overrides passed at the town meeting on May 1, and will take effect now that they've received the required secondary approval at the polls.

The measures are necessary because of significant increases in special education expenses and for supporting greater social and emotional needs among students, transportation and utilities, school officials said. For the regional district, school choice and charter school tuitions and coming-due debt serve were also cited.

The regional budget's increased costs total $917,932 and are divvied up among the four member towns — Brewster, Eastham, Orleans and Wellfleet — according to each community's enrollment.

Brewster's elementary school override adds 6 cents per $1,000 of valuation to the tax rate, resulting in a permanent increase of about $35 to the average property tax bill, based on an average home valuation of about $636,000. The Nauset district-related override adds 11 cents per $1,000 to the tax rate, resulting in a permanent increase of about $71 for the average taxpayer.

The required number of member towns have now approved the Nauset budget.

Orleans and Eastham also decided on overrides to cover their increased contributions to the Nauset district. Orleans on Tuesday approved a $211,827 override with a vote of 1,174 in favor and 328 opposed, and Eastham on the same day approved $160,000 within a larger $710,000 override to put toward its Nauset district assessment, voting 698 in favor, 343 opposed.

With the towns' approvals, the Nauset budget is now considered official. If fewer than three towns had approved the extra funding, Nauset would have needed to submit a revised budget within 30 days, and the towns would have needed to call a special town meeting to act on it.

Here are the winners of the health board and recreation commission races.

In the race for two, three-year terms on the health board, Abigail Archer and John Keith prevailed, with 1,344 and 1,312 votes, respectively. Carol Anderson earned 563 votes, and Lorena Lyon earned 458 votes.

The recreation commission, with two, three-year terms up for grabs, drew a robust lineup of five candidates this year. Winning the two seats are 36-year incumbent Roland Bassett Jr., with 1,368 votes, and Christopher Ellis with 895 votes.

Losing their bids were Louise Vivona-Miller with 652 votes, Robert Dugas with 608 votes, and Peter Amadeo with 268 votes.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Brewster voters OK for schools, recount seen in Select Board race