Town Meeting rejects $75,000 school audit, backs camera ban

Town Meeting · Meeting of October 27, 2026

Auburn Town Meeting rejected a $75,000 forensic audit of school accounts and approved a non-binding surveillance camera article. The audit, Article 23, pushed by citizen petitioner Eric Richards over a disputed decade-old $134,604.50 accounting variance, failed 9-68 with three abstentions after Business Manager Jennifer Stanek said the issue had been reconciled. Article 22, a citizen petition from Vera Corain targeting Flock Safety cameras, passed 59-18 with three abstentions after members broadened its language to cover all "surveillance camera systems." Police Chief Scott Mills said the town's Flock contract, funded by a state grant, was already canceled with "zero dollars" spent.

Members also amended the FY27 budget upward by $941,217 to $86,976,902, approved a three-year moratorium on data centers over one megawatt (68-7), adopted inclusionary zoning changes (79-2) aimed at reaching the state's 10 percent affordable-housing threshold, and shifted a $1.4 million Water Street culvert replacement from borrowing to stabilization funding, passing 60-11.

In the full story:

• Opening business and procedural matters
• Article 22: Surveillance camera policy
• Article 23: Citizen petition for school audit
• Article 2: Amended FY27 operating budget
• Articles 3, 4, 6: Athletic field replacement funding
• Article 7: Economic development strategic plan
• Articles 8-13: OPEB, stabilization, staffing and building studies, phone system, roadway software
• Article 14: Inclusionary zoning bylaw
• Article 15: Regional Mall Overlay District height limits
• Articles 16-19: Easement and enterprise fund items
• Article 20: Data center moratorium
• Article 21: Water Street culvert replacement
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report: 3,827 words

Source: the Town Meeting meeting of October 27, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript. It was corrected where it differed.