ATHOL – A Special Election has been called to determine the fate of a proposal approved at Athol’s Annual Town Meeting that calls for the hiring of eight additional firefighters.

Town Clerk Nancy Burnham appeared at a recent Selectboard meeting to discuss the date for the election. Her proposal was ultimately approved, but only after discussion on a matter that is usually dispensed with quickly.

“At the Annual Town Meeting, the voters voted to appropriate $895,000 to hire eight additional firefighters contingent upon the passage of a Proposition 2½ ballot question,” she said. “After consulting with several of my election workers, the date when I would recommend we hold the special election is July 31. The polls will open at 10 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. here at Town Hall.”

Selectboard member Brian Dodge said a fall election may work better, as people would be back from vacations and the summer holidays. He added that some voters wait until the last moment to get the information they need to decide how to vote, and pushing this to September would help.

“I won’t support an early ballot,” he declared.

Board member Rebecca Bialecki, who had made a motion to approve the town clerk’s proposal, balked at Dodge’s proposal.

“This seems to be yet another attempt to delay doing what we need to do to support public safety in our community,” Bialecki said. “So, I would like to go ahead with the motion and take a vote.”

“There’s no attempt to delay anything here,” Dodge responded emphatically. “My attempt is to give people…,” he continued before Bialecki tried to interrupt with a comment.

“I’m speaking,” Dodge said, raising his voice in response. “This is not an attempt to delay anything,” he continued. “It’s an attempt to give the taxpayers of this community the opportunity – without having to come back from Forest Lake, Lake Champlain, or wherever they’re at – to participate.”

Selectboard member Kala Fisher asked Burnham if holding the election in September would interfere with any other elections already planned. The town clerk said it would not, as nothing is scheduled for the fall.

“It could be done in September,” the town clerk said. “We do not have any fall elections this year because it’s an odd year.”

Burnham said she had checked on a couple dates in September and learned that some of her election workers would be available, while others wouldn’t. She said July was the best date for them. She also noted that under the VOTES (Voting Opportunities, Trust, Equity, and Security) Act, signed into law by then-Gov. Charlie Baker in June 2022, “The law now allows no-excuse, vote-by-mail balloting. So, the voters do have the opportunity to request a vote-by-mail ballot. Before, under absentee voting, you had to have an excuse; now anybody can vote by mail.”

Town Counsel John Barrett then told the board, “The language of the ballot question has to be approved by (the board) at least 35 days prior to the election. I don’t believe you’ll have another meeting – if the ballot question is voted on July 31.”

The motion to set the date for the special election for July 31 was approved by a vote of 4-1, with Dodge casting the lone dissenting vote.

Applications for mail in ballots are available online at

www.athol-ma.gov/town-clerk/pages/election-information. Completed vote-by-mail ballots must be received by the town clerk’s office by 5 p.m. on July 24.

Greg Vine can be reached at gvineadn@gmail.com.

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