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Wareham Fire District elects moderator, approves budgets and transfers in unanimous votes
Summary
At its 2026 annual meeting, Wareham voters elected Peter Belzerini as moderator, approved a $1.4 million well replacement from water surplus, a lease-purchase payment for a new radio system, multiple operating and capital transfers, and set the water and operating budgets for FY 2026–27; all contested items passed unanimously.
Peter Belzerini was elected moderator at the Wareham Fire District’s 2026 annual meeting and was sworn into office before the body began consideration of budget and funding articles.
“Welcome everyone to the meeting and thank you for coming out tonight,” Belzerini said after taking the oath and before reviewing meeting procedures, including rules for hand-count votes, amendment limits and seating for nonvoters.
The meeting approved a sequence of routine and capital articles, most by unanimous voice vote. In a special-session block of transfers, voters authorized payment of prior-year invoices (including $550.40 to Alt Tech Group and $824.65 for invoices to Tai Sales and John Holdley) and approved funding moves to address contractual liabilities and other obligations.
Major approvals included a $1.4 million transfer from water surplus to replace well No. 3, and a lease-purchase authorization under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 44, §21C to acquire and install a digital conventional simulcast radio system; the warrant provided $340,378.20 for the first-year lease payment. The warrant language for the radio system authorizes a lease-purchase term of up to seven years.
An amendment to an article on fire department payroll was adopted during the meeting, reducing the proposed free-cash transfer for that line from $40,000 to $20,000; the amended article then passed unanimously.
Other approved items included: - $105,000 from free cash for fire station maintenance and repairs; - $9,000 from free cash to purchase and install two wall-mounted interactive panels at Station 2 for training; - $25,000 from free cash to fund training and retention of call firefighters; - transfers totaling $110,000 (combined items) to fund contractual liabilities and other water-surplus needs; - the operating budgets for the credential committee, clerk, treasurer, mechanics and fire department as read in the warrant; and - the water department operating budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2026, with a total of $5,769,124 listed in the warrant and $4,875,744 to be appropriated from water revenues (with specified transfers from betterment receipts and water surplus noted in the warrant).
Throughout the meeting, the moderator invited members to call out “hold” on specific budget line items if they wished to discuss them separately; no holds were raised on the items as read and the warranted budgets were voted as presented. No roll-call tallies were read aloud; outcomes were announced by voice as unanimous for the items on the warrant.
With all articles completed, the moderator adjourned the meeting and announced the district would reconvene for the annual district election at the water district offices on Saturday, April 18, 2026.
