Town Meeting moderator, Gil Moreira, who will sponsor the warrant article, said he hopes to have the committee approved in the spring so members can take a trial run with the system at the next fall session.

“I think people will see it as a great step forward,” Moreira said.  Moreira said that recording votes, that would later be published, would give the entire Town Meeting process a greater sense of transparency.  “I think it’s a heck of an opportunity to streamline the entire process,” he said.

Though Moreira said that he did not have a specific company in mind to supply the voting system, Moreira said that the software does exist.

An electronic voting system debuted earlier this year at the Chelmsford Town Meeting. Under that system, “yea”, “nay” and “abstain” are each assigned a number, representatives then use a wireless device that has been numerically assigned to them to punch in the number that corresponds with their vote.

Representatives are the given 35 seconds to vote.  During that time they may change their vote.  Votes are posted on screens that are refreshed up to four times and then almost immediately uploaded to a Web site.

Richard DeFreitas, the town moderator in Chelmsford, said the system has been a success and has added a greater sense of transparency to the process. “We did it for accountability,” he said. “It’s amazing to watch.”

DeFreitas said that the view screens display each member’s name.  This makes their vote almost instantly public.

DeFreitas said that now 99 percent of the votes cast is done automatically

Moreira said this process would effectively do away with the hand-count and teller system that forces the moderator to count votes and the cross-reference his result with the town clerk.

“I think the this will save up to 20 minutes a night,” Moreira said.

The Chelmsford system cost $10,000, and though DeFreitas said that the primary reason for the switch was not save time, he admitted that voting electronically has sped the process up.

“We did it for accountability,” he said.

Moreira said he hopes to get a grant that would defer some of the cost.  Town manager, John Curran said he is looking for grants for the system. “I think it will expedite the entire Town Meeting process,” he said.

Some members of the Board of Selectmen welcomed the plan.

“I think it would be great for the folks at home to see how their representative voted,” said Selectman Bob Correnti.

Selectman Andrew Deslaurier agreed. “I’m in favor of anything that connects voters with their elected officials,” he said, “I’m in favor of responsibility.”

Town Meeting Rep. Sandra Giroux, who has served as vote counter for several Town Meeting sessions, said that while she is concerned about the cost of an electronic system, she, too, thinks it would bring more accountability to the process.

“You would actually be able to see how your representative voted,” Giroux said. She also said that it would force more people to vote. She said that there are times when it seems one-third of the body’s members are not voting.

The divisive proposal was brought forth by town manager, John Curran who said that the revenue would go towards capital improvement projects and paying down the debt.

The proposal called for an additional .75 percent tax on top of the 6.25 percent meals tax collected by the state. In all, the local portion of the meals tax will would have amounted to an additional 75 cents on a $100 bill.

But members were not hearing it and complained that residents had seen their property taxes go by an average of 2.5 percent the last several years, the maximum allowed by law without a voter override.

“This is not going to bring in the revenues they think it’s going to,” said Rep. Anthony Ventresca, a member of the Finance Committee.

Rep. Madeline Sargent said she was concerned that the tax would be harmful to restaurant owners and said that four establishments had closed in town recently.

Curran tried to allay the concerns of members by telling him that he spoke to several restaurant owners and, while they weren’t happy about it, they didn’t think it would harm their business.

“People aren’t going to make a decision not to get a meal based on an extra seven cents on a $10 bill, ” Curran said.

Still, it was not enough.  The proposal was overwhelmingly defeated.

Curran was able to push through a two percent room tax on the three hotels in town.

Currently, the state levies a four percent tax on hotel rooms. Under the proposal, Billerica will now levy an additional two percent on consumers.

“I don’t think it will affect someone’s decision to get a room in Billerica or Lowell,” Curran said. Curran also said that he thought consumers made decisions on buying hotel rooms based on geography.

Rep. Marti Mahoney agreed. “Everyone’s doing it,” she said. “At a hotel, there’s always a little expense there for the local town.”

In recent years, Town Meeting members have rarely had the opportunity to weigh in on tax issues.  Curran explained that the need for the new taxes was born out of the necessity to find a way to replace some of the $3.6 million in lost state aid since 2009. He promised that the money would be put to good use.

“We’re focusing our energy on capital improvements and debt service and this revenue will go in that direction,” he said.

Town Meeting adjourned for the Fall session will reconvene in April when members will debate what promises to be a controversial budget.

“There are people in our community who wish they were getting a pay check, never mind a pay raise,” said Rep. Paul Overy.

Rep. Virginia Musker was frustrated because she said that members had no authority to vote down the school contracts because school departments officials negotiated agreements that need no funding in the current fiscal year, thereby making the contracts valid even if Town Meeting voted them down, according to Patrick Costello, the town’s legal counsel.

Rep. Barbara Morrissey disagreed: “We are the final arbiter, and I don’t understand why we are giving raises,” she said, “I think it’s our job to protect our citizens.”

School clerical and cafeteria workers will see their pay increase .5 percent next year and 1.5 percent in fiscal year 2013.  The raises will be paid for from savings on tuition the town is required to pay for students electing to go to Minuteman Technical High School.

Patrolmen will see their pay increase 1.5 percent each year beginning in fiscal year 2011 and ending in 2013.  The town also negotiated adjustments in attendance benefits that will see patrolmen and their superior officers stripped of financial perks should they have only used between two and four sick days. A $1,000 bonus for using no sick days and a $750 bonus for using one sick day remain.

The patrolmen’s contract also contains a new educational provision that is meant to give new hires an incentive to continue their education.

Under the approved contract, the town will reimburse new patrolmen 7.5 percent for receiving an associates degree and additional 2.5 percent for receiving a bachelor’s degree and up to 15 percent for receiving a Master’s degree.

John Curran, the town manager, said he advocated for the incentive because he was concerned about a dividing line on the police force between officers who had their education paid for by the state through the Quinn Bill and those that didn’t.

Each collective bargaining agreement was approved overwhelmingly.

In other news, members again rejected an amendment to the zoning bylaws that would have restricted detached residential accessory buildings to be no taller than 25 feet height and within 900 square feet in scope.

Rep. Mike Rosa, a member of the Board of Selectmen, said that the amendment was too broad. “We are trying to regulate the vast minority of situations,” he said.

Rep. Patricia Flemming, a member of the Planning Board, disagreed saying that the law was not overly restrictive because residents wishing to construct buildings in excess of 25 feet high could always apply for a variance.

“If they want it bigger, or they want another story, they can go to the Zoning Board of Appeals,” she said.

Rep. Salvatore Dampolo was concerned precedent Town Meeting was setting because he said the article was brought forth by a citizen who was trying to make hay out what amounted to three inconsiderate neighbors out of 12,000 lots.

“If we pass this, someone will be in next week with another little ax to grind,” Dampolo complained.

The proposed path would extend from Middlesex Community College on the Bedford line all the way to Good Street where the Hallenborg Ice Rink is located.

Will the familiar refrain: “Why not us?” Lombardo gave an impassioned defense of a project he has worked on since his days as a member of the Board of Selectmen.

“I picture families walking and spouses jogging,” he said.  Lombardo said that the project would also contribute to a cleaner environment and spur economic development.

Lombardo also lashed out at critics of the plan, including Selectman David Gagliardi, who said that, while he supported the construction of a bike path, the town should wait until it had secured the proper easements from private landowners.

Gagliardi also questioned where the funding for the project would come from and criticized Lombardo for not securing any state funding before he brought forth the warrant article.

The project would also require easements on property owned by the Cabot Corporation and Pan-Am Railways.

Beverly Woods, executive director of the Northern Middlesex Council of Governments said that the town was told several years ago by the state Department of Transportation that the agency would not release any state funds for bike paths until municipalities had secured easements from the private landowners involved.

Woods said the town secured state funding for a similar project almost a decade ago, but had to relinquish it once it became clear that the necessary easements couldn’t be secured.

Gagliardi told members that he spoke with representatives from Pan-Am who told him that they would be unwilling to give up there leases to the rails.

A representative from Pan-Am Railways, who refused to give his name, declined to comment on ownership of the tracks, nor did he confirm or deny that the company had any conversations with any town officials.

Cabot Corporation did not return a phone call seeking comment.

Citing a cost estimate done in 1999, Gagliardi said that the project could cost the town more than $2 million and probably more given the increases in labor costs over the last 10 years.

In a report by chairwoman, Mary McBride, the Finance Committee, who voted 10 to 1 to recommend that the project be defeated, said that the bike path could cost between $4 million and $6 million.

Ed Hurd, a former selectman and Lombardo’s chief of staff, balked at that number saying the project would cost the town around $700,000.

The article came just three votes shy of passing only after Lombardo tried to have the article dismissed saying he couldn’t go ahead with the project without the support of the Board of Selectmen.

Outside Town Hall after the vote, tempers flared when Lombardo called Gagliardi a “liar” and accused members of the Board of Selectmen of demagoguing the issue in order to hand him a defeat.

“Everything I said was on the board,” said Gagliardi “How could I have lied?”

Inside the auditorium, political tensions were just as raw.

“[Lombardo] wasn’t working in concert with anybody,” said Selectman Bob Correnti, ”so the demagoguery doesn’t rest on our side.”

Town manager, John Curran, was even more blunt.

“He ‘s suppose to be looking for money not coming down and pilfering ours,” said Curran. “In my 20 years I’ve never seen a state representative elbow his way into a Town Meeting and try to get money through a petitioner’s article. “

Curran also accused Lombardo of going behind the backs of town leaders for his own political gain.

In other news, members approved the borrowing of more than $16 million in sewer expansion for new sewer hook-ups in East Billerica and an expansion of the wastewater treatment plant. The upgrades are necessary for the town to win approval from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection to continue with the sewer expansion project.

“The folks in that area of town have been paying for the rest of the town to receive sewer,” said Rep. Onorio Cerrato, echoing the sentiments of many people who spoke on the article, which was approved overwhelmingly.

Known for his sense of humor, he captivated his students with his ability to do complicated math problems in his head. Endlessly congenial, he advised the class of 2005 through graduation and organized fundraisers to help reduce the cost of class activities such as the senior prom.

When Piwowar took the podium at Town Meeting to plead for funding for building maintenance, it seemed as he were back in front of a rowdy classroom again, but with his trademark wit and organization he answered every question about school maintenance plans that dominated the first session of Town Meeting.

In the Fall of 2010, members approved a $775,00 project to replace windows at the high school.  The total cost of the project came in $250,000 under budget and school department officials wanted authority to move that money to fund repairs at the elementary schools including the fire alarms at the Dutile School.

Rep. Dan Burns said that he was disappointed that the school department couldn’t have provided a more accurate bid for the cost of the windows

“How do we get a real dollar value,” he asked. “At my job, I don’t go out and  buy things without  quote.”

Piwowar responded that the window replacement at BMHS has not been completed and that the school department determined that there were more pressing needs at some schools including falling lights at BMHS and replacing water fixtures around all school department buildings to help diminish water consumption.

But members bemoaned that they were being nickel-an-dimed to death and that these projects should have been apart of the normal spring budget process.

Rep. Dan Cugno, a member of the School Committee, jumped to Piwowar’s defense: “For the longest time this body has been asking for maintenance in the schools and we’re embracing that,” he said.

Rep. Bernie Duggan, who is employed by the school department as Piwowar’s assistant, said that at the time the original article was presented to Town Meeting members in the Fall of 2010, the school department was running up against a deadline that would make the project eligible for state reimbursement.

Finally, members approved the funding of a study that would evaluate the cost effectiveness of continued renovations at the high school.

The most stunning admission of the night came when school officials admitted that part of the study’s purpose was to begin to look at the feasibility of building a new high school or completely renovating the current building: and even Duggan threw cold water on the idea of renovating.

“Take a walk through the high school, any part of it,” he said, “if you think we can renovate something like that for any kind of decent money you really are not very far-sighted.”

The board approved a capital article that would take $500,000 from free cash to purchase a new backhoe, bucket truck and the replacement of water lines in the Rio Vista section of town.

Though he supported the warrant article, Selectman Andrew Deslaurier asked why these purchases were not made in the normal budgetary process in the spring.

Town Manager John Curran responded that the town and received more revenue from new economic development than officials had previously anticipated.

Curran also stressed that the items were of an urgent need.  Curran said that town employees had been called to the Rio Vista section of town approximately 21 times in recent years to fix line breaks. According to Curran, the town could save a significant amount of money in labor and overtime play if the lines were replaced.

“These are essential, frontline services of government,” Curran said.

In other news, Curran met with officials for the Massachusetts Housing Authority to discuss the agency’s interest in renovating the old Ditson School into elderly housing.

Curran said that the MHA was more inclined to help communities develop private properties into affordable housing units.

This is something of a setback for town officials and local housing authority members who have tried for years to find a suitable use for the old school property.

Still, members of the board of Selectmen remain reluctant to give up any authority over the Boston Road site. They forwarded the matter to the housing subcommittee in the hope that the committee will be able to come up with a proper use for the antiquated school.

“We need to explore all the avenues so we can make informed decisions,” said Correnti.

This was the final board meeting before Town Meeting convenes Tuesday. Curran, who at times has shown noticeable frustration with the body’s reticence to approve capital infrastructure improvements, said that he hopes in this session members will realize that the town can move ahead with major capital infrastructure projects and keep a reasonable tax rate.

“We can manage our debt service and still manage our infrastructure,” said Curran.

Evans, a 50 resident of Orchard Avenue bordering Bedford, has been pleading with board members for years to put pressure on on Bedford officials to allow him to tie-in to Bedford’s sewer infrastructure.

“I’ve been through five town manager’s in Billerica, probably five more in Bedford, and probably forty of fifty selectmen,” Evans vented.  “I don’t see any reason why you people can’t put pressure on the town of Bedford.”

Short of a tie-in, Evans said he was told by the department of public works that it would at least 10 years before the town-wide sewer expansion project made it to his part of town.

Town Manager John Curran informed Evans that after discussions with the town manager in Bedford, the neighboring community had declined to allow Evans to tie-in to their sewer system.

“Well, I would appreciate any help you could give me,” Evans said.

Unfortunately for Evans, he will continue to wait, and he seemed to know it as he left the meeting room.

Woodard and Curran, a consulting firm hired by the town told board members Monday that the town will need to come up with $255 million to complete the expansion for the 30 percent of the Billerica that remains without sewer access.

Curran said the town’s piecemeal strategy towards sewer upgrades was the right approach.

“Two hundred fifty-five million dollars will give us all a collective stroke,” Curran said. “We’re going to have to take these things one day at a time.”

Curran said the town should move forward with a planned expansion in northeast Billerica, along with upgrades to the wastewater treatment plant.  The total plan will cost $16.5 million and has to be approved by Town Meeting.  Curran was non-committal when asked if Town Meeting would vote on the project when it reconvenes in October.

Selectman Bob Correnti said he sympathized with residents who did not have sewer.

“We’re doing the best we can given the constraints we’re in,” Correnti said. “We can’t go out tomorrow and borrow $255 million.”

In other news, the Environmental Protection Agency informed the board that they will move ahead with a less invasive plan to deal with contaminated groundwater at the Iron Horse Park Superfund site.

The 20 year plan calls for monitoring of contaminants in the groundwater to make sure they do not seep beyond the boundaries of the site. The plan also removes sediment with the use of stormwater controls.

Don McElroy, the site’s project manager, said the plan was chosen because data showed a reduction of contaminants on the site.  McElroy said the other plan would require a complete upheaval of existing wetlands on the site that the agency worried would never recover.

McElroy said that testing for contaminants at the site will likely go on forever.

The chosen plan will cost $4.1 million. McElroy said that he hoped money will come from a settlement between the EPA and landowners responsible for the pollution.

Allen, 25, bounced onto the elevator of her small Santa Monica apartment complex accompanied by an elderly couple.

“It’s beautiful out,” said the old woman, her male companion standing quietly beside her.

“I know,”Allen responded.

When the elevator stopped on the second floor, Allen got out and said goodbye. As she walked to her second floor apartment, Allen had no idea that she had just come face to face with the country’s two most wanted domestic criminals: James “Whitey” Bulger and his female companion, Catherine Greig.

Bulger and Greig were captured by federal authorities Wednesday after 16 years on the run.  Bulger was indicted in 1995 for his alleged role in a crime ring spanning at least three decades, and is implicated in at least 19 murders.

“I still can’t believe it,” Allen said.  She said she was familiar with Bulger’s story having grown up in Massachusetts, but never would have guessed Bulger was living one floor above her. “If I had, I’d be $2 million richer,’ she said.

Allen moved to the Princess Eugenia apartment complex in Santa Monica, Calif. in July of 2010.  She said that Bulger, who was living in on the third floor and using the name Charles Gasko, was always quiet. Greig, who used the name Carol Gasko, was always friendly in a neighborly sort of way.

“She was always smiling,” Allen said.  Bulger, she said, was very quiet and kept to himself. “He might have nodded as I got off the elevator,” she said.

Allen is living in Washington, DC for the summer She said she found out about Bulger’s arrest after receiving emails from friends who had visited her in California.

“Everyone’s just shocked because it’s such a small building,” she said.

Allen, who graduated from Billerica Memorial High School in 2003, said that when she first heard the news she was scared considering law enforcement found more than 20 firearms and $800,000 in cash in Bulger’s apartment.

“If you think about it, it’s sort of scary,” Allen said.  She said she has done more reading on Bulger in the last few days and still plans on returning to her apartment in the Fall when classes resume.

Bulger is expected to return to Boston Friday to face a multitude of charges including racketeering and murder.  Bulger is also facing first murder charges in Oklahoma and Florida that could land him on death row.

As of this writing, Greig faces charges of hiding a fugitive. The charge carries a five year maximum sentence if she is convicted.

For her part, Allen said, she always felt safe in her Santa Monica home and has no fear of returning in the Fall. “It’s just so safe and everyone is so friendly,” she said, “It’s just the last place I ever would have guessed he was hiding.”

The increase was based  on the recommendation of the Water and Sewer Oversight Board. Board Chairman Lewis Zediana told the board at their regular meeting on June 6 that the high increase was necessary to maintain the town’s dilapidated water infrastructure.

The increased passed with a 4-1 vote.  Selectman Mike Rosa was the lone “No” vote saying that given the economy, the increase was too steep.  Rosa advocated for the plan put forward by by Town Manager John Curran that called for a half percent increase.

But other members disagreed saying that the water infrastructure was in desperate need of upkeep and the town could no longer kick the can down the road.

“We are faced with rising costs that are very difficult to control,” said Selectman Bob Correnti, who cited the increased cost of chemicals needed to operate the water treatment plant.

Also speaking in support of the increase, Selectman Dave Gagliardi said: “I think these revenues are terribly needed for our under supported infrastructure.”

Some residents in attendance spoke out against the increase. Kay Kennison, spokeswoman for residents of the Lakeside Mobile Home Court on Oak Street, said that the increase would burden the park’s 240 residents because the are billed at the highest rate of usage.

According to Kennison, because there is only one water meter on the park, they are billed at the highest tier of usage, and then the cost is divided among the units.

Kennison said that units are billed by the park owner more than $400 a month for water based on a units size and age. Residents said that they thought this was ubfair becayse some units have many people living in them while others only have one.

Cathy Donnelly, a resident of the park said he could not keep affording the increases because she had a fixed income.  “I’m on disability,” she said.

The group would like the town to bill each unit individually.  Correnti said that the town could not do that because there is only one meter, but that the manager of the park could divide the bill however he wants.

According to town officials, the park owes the town close to $100,000 for construction done more than a decade ago that allowed residents of the park that live in Tewksbury to use Billerica water.  According to town officials, at the time, Lakeside’s owner said he would pick up the cost of pipe hook-ups and repair of the road.   According to Correnti, the bill was not paid.

“He better move quickly because he’s putting you people at risk,” said Correnti.

The Billerica Board of Selectmen Monday voted 4-1 to increase sewer rates.  The increase means the average house-hold will see their bill increase by approximately $26 a year.

With the recommendation of the Water and Sewer Oversight Board, the town manager, John Curran, said the increase was necessary to support the upkeep of the sewer infrastructure, but also to fund capital improvements to the infrastructure.

Selectman Mike Rosa was the lone no vote saying he disagreed with retroactive billing and thought that capital improvements should not be funded through the rates.

“People don’t like retroactive things because they smack of unfairness,” Rosa said.

But proponents of the increase disagreed saying that the need for spending on sewer infrastructure is long overdue.

Selectman Bob Correnti said the retroactive rate increases were necessary because of the antiquated way the town reads water meters.  Correnti said that retroactive billing could have been avoided had Town Meeting members approved the installation of new water meters at Town meeting.  Correnti also cited a study done saying that the town would need to come up with $200 million over the next 20 years to maintain the sewer infrastructure.

“There is no more low hanging fruit,” Correnti said.

Selectman Dave Gagliardi said he thought budgeting for capital through rate increases was the right approach and urged board members to put political considerations aside.

“Its always been my opinion that we check our political opinions at the door and make the decisions we need to make,” Gagliardi said. “This is one of those times.”

Lewis Zediana, chairman of the Water and Sewer Oversight Board, which recommended the proposal, said that it was important to address repairs and other maintenance issues early so they don’t cost more money down the line.

“I’d rather pay a nickel today than a dollar tomorrow,” said Zediana.

The board also delayed a vote on water rate increase. The oversight board has recommend that a water rate increase by five percent, costing rate payers approximately an extra $15 year.

This is the second increase in as many years for Billerica rate payers. Last year, the board decided that rates should be examined on a yearly basis after sewer rates went unchecked since 1989.

A vote on water rates is expected at the board’s next meeting on June 20.

In other news, Chairman Correnti initiated the annual review process for the Town Manager.  Under the rules agreed to by both parties, the annual review commences in the third week of May when the Manager submits his own evaluation to the chair. Board members then provide their own assessment of Curran’s performance and then decide whether a new contract should be offered.  The town manager’s public review is expected to take place at the Aug. 8 meeting.

Curran’s current contract expires on June 30, but he can continue to work until a new agreement is ironed out.