Lincoln residents gathered on March 28 for an Annual Town Meeting that included both a reflection on decades of civic service and a forward-looking debate on how to preserve the town’s character in a changing world. 

Bright Light Award

The highlight of the morning was the presentation of the Bright Light Award to Town Moderator Sarah Cannon Holden, who was presiding over her final Town Meeting after 15 years in the role. Select Board member Jennifer Glass delivered an emotional tribute, noting Holden’s 36 years of elected and appointed service that included stints on the Finance Committee, School Committee, and Select Board. Before the award was presented, a slide show displayed some of Holden’s Lincoln history as well as short video tributes to “Rahrah” from her grandchildren and others.

Holden, who is an attorney and professional mediator, “mentored countless fellow volunteers and taught the next generation to find their voice and positively impact the community,” Glass said. Quoting Holden about a contentious meeting in the past, she added, “It was fun, it was inspiring, it was messy at times, it was democracy.”

In her 36-year career as a Lincoln volunteer, “I learned about different perspectives on issues and human resistance to change,” Holden said. “The greatest gift is the unique opportunity when serving as moderator and on other boards is to learn from people” of all types and from everywhere in town, she said. “It is what we celebrate this year [America’s 250th anniversary], it is what we must protect vigilantly… [our duty is] to be informed, to volunteer, to be at Town Meeting, and to vote.”

Holden’s two former Selectmen, Sara Mattes and Gary Taylor, helped present the award, with Mattes (who recently published an appreciation of Holden in the Lincoln Squirrel and on LincolnTalk) noting that the trio were known then as “Sara, Sarah, and Not-Sarah.”  Holden received a standing ovation and a citation from the President of the Massachusetts Senate for her service.

Article 32 cast a look farther back in Lincoln history in asking for a town vote on the same question that was put before voters in 1776: whether or not to support the forthcoming Declaration of Independence by the Continental Congress. Two Lincoln historians, Rick Wiggin and Don Hafner, read speeches that were given in town on May 20, 1776 for and against declaring independence.

“Imagine the choice the colonists faced: king or no king,” Holden said before Wiggin presented the pro-independence argument with some lines that carried new relevance in 2026.

“America today is at a crossroad” in deciding whether “a king who is greatest enemy of this country shall continue to tell us, ‘there shall be no laws but such as I like’,” Wiggin said. Ironically, Lincoln was one of only two towns in Massachusetts that voted against the measure in 1776.

Modernizing Town Meeting

Kenny Mitchell, chair of the Town Meeting Study Committee, presented the group’s report with recommendations on how to improve the efficiency and accessibility of the centuries-old tradition. Kenny Mitchell noted that while the current process works well for typical meetings, “high-interest items” can double or triple attendance, straining the system.

The committee outlined five key themes for improvement:

• Preserving traditions
• Reducing meeting length
• Ensuring fair and balanced motions
• Improving access and voting technology
• Reducing confusion and discomfort

Several of the recommendations have or will soon implemented, such as clickers for instant vote-counting, scheduling high-interest items first, and a two-minute time limits for comments from the floor with a countdown clock shown on screen. Other ideas that were popular among earlier survey respondents but would require town bylaw amendments are scheduling specific voting times for high-interest issues and remote voting, which would also require approval from the state legislature. Lincoln officials will monitor the progress of a home rule petition by Wayland that asks the legislature to allow this, “but I think this is a ways off,” Mitchell said.

The clickers, which officially debuted a year ago, were a hit. In a brief post-meeting poll (also done by clicker), 85% of participants rated the three-hour meeting length as “just right.”

Budget and capital projects

Finance Committee Chair Paul Blanchfield presented a $52.5 million budget for FY27 (pages 43-48 in the Financial Section & Warrant) representing a 1.3% decrease from this year. The budget includes the use of $2.3 million in excess reserves to provide tax relief, resulting in a flat tax bill for the median household. Lincoln’s average tax bill has grown by about 5% in recent years, which is higher than the inflation rate but somewhat lower than the increases in neighboring towns, he said.

Key capital approvals included:

• $1.28 million for Community Preservation Act projects (pages 3-7 in the list of motions)
• $822,916 in Capital Planning Committee projects plus $1.05 million for a new fire engine to replace a 1999 model (pages 8-12 in the list of motions)
• $457,350 for the Water Department, including the third year of a smart meter rollout, a generator for the Tower Road well, and building repairs.

As expected, votes to fund the library HVAC project were passed over after independent energy advisors found that previous tax credit assumptions were “overly optimistic” by roughly $500,000. An environmentally friendly ground-source heat pump system was expected to cost the town about $2.5 million after rebates and incentives, which will still be available alter this year, Blanchfield said. Meanwhile, the town is getting a second round of estimates for both heat pump and conventional boiler options

“It does not delay the need for replacement, but allows us to make a better-informed decision,” he said. A refined funding plan is expected for a Special Town Meeting in the fall.

Dark Skies

The most robust debate centered on Article 35, an amendment to the town’s “dark skies” zoning bylaw. Sherry Haydock of the Planing Board’s Dark Skies subcommittee argued that the changes are essential to minimize the effects of light pollution on birds, fireflies and other wildlife, particularly harms to circadian rhythms and bird migration, which mostly happens at night, she said. The Planning Board voted last week 3-1 to endorse the amendment.

The new regulations will only apply to properties with new construction, substantial renovations, or change of use, as well as any newly installed fixtures on existing buildings. They require:

• Shielding to direct all light toward the ground
• A maximum light color temperature of 2700K (down from the current 3000K)
• Limits on brightness (900 lumens)
• New rules on hours of operation for lighting not associated with active use

There is a waiver application process, Haydock said in response to a question from resident Karen Seo, who keeps sheep and uses nighttime lighting to keep away coyotes. Resident Andrew Pang also said the new rules were “overly burdensome” because fixtures that comply with Lincoln’s new rules (some of which are more stringent than guidelines from DarkSky) were difficult to find in the course of a recent renovation at his home.

“The amount of time and energy that we spent was extraordinary and onerous,” Pang said, adding that “the market right now does not support” easy identification of Lincoln-compliant fixtures. However, resident Don Halsted, who also did a recent renovation, urged people to use Google Gemini in the search. “Have patience, use AI, and get fixtures with screw-in lightbulbs,” he said.

Another thorny issue is Christmas lights. “There are people who like to celebrate holidays for an extended period of time,” resident Jennifer Morris remarked to knowing laughter from the audience.

“Would one of the committee members like to talk to my neighbor so as not to cause discord? I hope my neighbor isn’t here today,” quipped another resident.

The Planning Board sought legal advice about whether or how to limit holiday lights or specify the length of time they can be displayed, but these issues could be construed as limiting religious expression, “and town counsel said, ‘Don’t touch it, it’s a hot potato’,” board member Susan Hall Mygatt said.

Resident Diana Beaudoin urged passage of the “deeply important” amendment. “I think this bylaw, more than anything I’ve seen in my 35 years in Lincoln, expresses the real values of Lincoln and why so many people choose to move here,” she said. The article passed with a 195-48 vote, clearing the required two-thirds majority hurdle.

Voters also overwhelmingly supported a citizens’ petition to file a home rule petition to ban anticoagulant rodenticides. Residents and local veterinarians spoke passionately about the secondary poisoning of owls, hawks, and foxes that eat poisoned rodents.

Here is some information and links to previous Lincoln Squirrel stories about some of the warrant articles that will be voted on at the Annual Town Meeting on Saturday, March 28. See the town web page above for the article list, warrant, and motions.

Town Meeting Study Committee (Article 3)

The TMSC will report on its recommendations for making Annual Town Meeting more efficient and transparent.

• Group makes recommendations for improving Town Meeting (February 10, 2026)

Community center update (Article 4)

• Happy faces and shiny shovels at community center ground-breaking (October 8, 2025)
• All Lincoln Squirrel stories on the community center

Town budget and other allocations (Article 5 and others)

• Library HVAC project postponed; 0% tax increase in FY27 (March 13, 2026)
• Three spending meetings on the horizon (March 1, 2026)
• See also:
  • Article 6 (Community Preservation Act projects) — $1.4 million total
  • Article 9 (Capital Spending Committee projects) and Article 10 (fire truck) — $1.9 million total
  • Article 14 (Water Department capital projects) — $457,000

Lincoln-Sudbury Regional Agreement update (Article 33)

A vote to approve updates to the agreement (last updated in 1988) submitted by an inter-town group that bring the language into alignment with current state law and how the district operates today.

Dark Skies zoning bylaw amendment (Article 35)

The proposal would update Section 13 of the zoning bylaw to place more controls on the types and usage of outdoor lighting on new and substantially renovated buildings.

• Planning Board votes 3–1 to endorse Dark Skies measure (March 25, 2026)
• Dark Skies group finalizes zoning amendment proposal (March 12, 2026)

Request to ban on anticoagulant rodenticides (Article 26)

• Citizens’ petition seeks to ban certain rodenticides (February 16, 2026)

At two recent meetings, town officials sought to offer more detail about the Hanscom misallocation and pushed back against the idea that there had been actual mistakes by anyone.
 
In 2024, an outside consultant found that — under terms of the contract between Lincoln and the Department of Defense Educational Activities (DoDEA) then in effect — not enough money was allocated to the town from that contract for some expenses. The issue was raised by resident David Cuetos and eventually resulted in a review of the contract and a report by the Collins Center, which found that “some expenses, typically paid by the town on behalf of the Hanscom contract, were being funded by outdated methodologies,” School Committee Chair Matina Madrick said at the group’s March 19 meeting.
 
Since then, a revised allocation approach was adopted and about $560,000 has been returned to the town’s general fund for Hanscom pension liabilities in FY 2024 and FY2025, but resident David Cuetos and others have been trying to get the town to recover a further $1.5 million they say it is owed from the Hanscom reserve fund.
 
Cuetos et al maintain that the town should also get reimbursed for misallocations for several earlier years, but the Collins Center report did not address that specifically.

“The amount paid for these years is the difference between what was already paid and the amount if the new methodology had been applied to these contract years. These are the only past years for which actuarial determined contributions are available,” Madrick said.
 
The report — which was issued about a year before the current contact with DoDEA was signed — updated the methodologies for determining pension payments and indirect cost payments to the town. It made numerous recommendations for improving town and Lincoln Public Schools policies and procedures as well as financial and accounting operations concerning Hanscom. The report also recommended seeking special legislation to establish the Hanscom contract as an “enterprise account operation.”
 
Some have expressed unfounded fears that town funds have gone directly to Hanscom when they shouldn’t have, but Madrick vigorously disputed that notion.
 
“At no time has the Lincoln School Committee taken money from the town general fund to pay for Hanscom expenses. The School Committee does not have the authority to move money from the town’s general fund,” she said. “The Hanscom reserve is entirely made up of DoDEA funds from the contract. There is no Lincoln tax levy that goes into the Hanscom reserve.”

As a result of the new methodologies, the annual payment for pension benefits has gone from roughly $200,000 to over $400,000 per year, and the indirect costs (the administrative costs the town incurs to run benefits and other administrative costs for the contract) have gone from $71,000 to close to $200,000, she said.

Madrick added that the Hanscom reserve “should be used primarily to protect the town from increased expenses at Hanscom due to a loss or change in the contract.” In that case, Lincoln would probably be solely responsible for educating the children who live on the base, and the increased expenses would include unemployment benefits for laid-off workers as well as pension and retiree benefits in addition to operating expenses for the Hanscom School.
 
“Additionally, the School Committee was cautious to commit too much money out of the reserve because of the new financial structure of the new DoDEA contract” that began on July 1, 2025, whose “revenue structure differs from the previous contract significantly.”
 
However, Cuetos said at the School Committee meeting that “several of the explanations offered for refusing [additional] reimbursement are not supported by the record” and said that Hanscom has been running an annual budget deficit for several years. He also argued that the School Committee does not have control of those funds by right (a notion that has been refuted by town counsel and others). He and others added that the town should “take a much more active role” in overseeing Hanscom funds.
 
The Select Board agreed at their March 23 meeting with the sentiment that other town officials should have some oversight over Hanscom finances. Board member Jennifer Glass went even further in advocating for consistency across other town departments.
 
“I agree a hundred percent,” board member Jim Hutchinson said. “If we do this for the School Committee, it better be the same for the Water Department, the library, or any other department that does any kind of budgeting or allocation of shared costs.” 
 
But Hutchinson also said he was “troubled” about the tone of some residents when discussing the issue. 
 
“I disagree with using the words ‘error’ and ‘mistake.’ I feel like that’s when you type in a wrong number to an Excel spreadsheet. I don’t think a stale or inaccurate estimate is an error or mistake. You make estimates all over the place when you make budgets every year,” he said. “I respectfully ask residents to think about the language they use when they talk about this topic.”
 
Nonetheless, there are still “significant misunderstandings and misstatements,” said resident Sarah Postlethwait. “I know it may look bad for the town to have a misallocation pointed out, but don’t try to put lipstick on a pig.” 

When Cuetos first raised the issue in 2022, he was “dismissed and denied,” she added. “Frankly, residents are being generous in describing it merely as a mistake.”
 
“I personally am sorry it took us so long to figure out what to do about that,” Hutchinson said earlier in the meeting.