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Select Board member John Van Scoyoc says abstention signaled need for a 'restrained' override option
Summary
On Brookline public-access program TV on TV, Select Board member John Van Scoyoc explained why he abstained from a 4-0-1 board vote to place a single-ballot operating override on the May 5 ballot and proposed offering an 85% "restrained" option to change contract-negotiation incentives.
John Van Scoyoc, a Select Board member and candidate for re-election, said he abstained from a 4-0-1 Select Board vote to place a single-ballot operating override on the May 5 ballot and urged offering voters a smaller, "restrained" alternative to the full request.
"I made the proposal to the Select Board that it be 85% of the full ask," Van Scoyoc said during a pre-recorded interview on TV on TV, a Brookline Interactive Group program hosted by state Rep. Tommy Vitolo.
Van Scoyoc described the board's approved question as a single-ballot override that "begins at about $10 million and by the third year is a $23.25 million property tax increase to fund local school and town services," and said the town's recurring pattern of asking for full amounts risks creating repeated overrides.
He argued the town's revenue growth—about 3.5% in his account—has lagged behind budget growth, which he estimated at four to six percent, producing a structural gap that repeatedly puts large override requests before voters. Offering a pared-back option, he said, would "send a message to the negotiating table" that future contract agreements must fit within realistic revenue projections.
Van Scoyoc acknowledged his position was not the majority on the board: "Obviously, that didn't win a majority on the Select Board," he said, and he explained abstaining as an expression of that alternative approach rather than outright opposition to providing funds for schools and town services.
The discussion was framed as part of Van Scoyoc's re-election campaign, and Vitolo reminded viewers the episode was pre-recorded and that the override question would appear on the May 5 ballot. Van Scoyoc encouraged voters to engage with candidate forums and to vote in person, by early voting, mail, or drop-off.
The Select Board vote to place the single-ballot override on the ballot had recorded a 4-0-1 tally; the transcript identifies Van Scoyoc as the abstention but does not record a formal motion maker or second.
