Brookline Select Board Approves 25-Article May Town Meeting Warrant Unanimously

BROOKLINE — March 6, 2026 — Brookline's Select Board unanimously approved a 25-article warrant for the May 26 Annual Town Meeting after rejecting a petitioner's request to split a stipend resolution into two separate articles. Chair Bernard Green and all four members — John Van Scoyoc, Paul Warren, David Perlman, and Michael Rubenstein — voted 5-0 on both the warrant and a companion measure authorizing a hybrid in-person and remote meeting format under state law. Town Counsel advised that the combined article covering stipends for both the Select Board and the School Committee was legally permissible and that a "motion to divide the question" at town meeting itself was the cleaner path to separate votes. Warren argued the split was inappropriate because petition signers "tied those things together" in a single document, while Van Scoyoc said the board was "the last people who should be deciding" on an article affecting their own compensation. The 25 articles include measures on accessory dwelling units, inclusionary zoning, immigration enforcement, surveillance technology, and a proposed 9-11 memorial, with seven of the articles taking the form of resolutions.