Provincetown Town Meeting Warrant Includes Override to Fund Eight New Firefighters

PROVINCETOWN -- March 22, 2023, Provincetown town manager previews 37-article warrant ahead of April 3 Annual Town Meeting. Town Manager Alex Morse led a hybrid public forum March 22 walking residents through a proposed $34,824,809 FY2024 operating budget, a 5.3 percent increase that includes a $1,058,476 operating override to hire eight full-time firefighters at starting salaries of $80,000 to $85,000, alongside a continuing contract with Lower Cape Ambulance Association. The only debt-exclusion article on the warrant seeks $1.7 million toward a $2 million-plus McMillan Pier waterline replacement, with a $395,000 MassWorks grant already secured. Three citizen petitions to cap short-term rentals drew the sharpest debate: petitioners Michael Gauthier and Paul Benson cited census data showing Provincetown lost 60 percent of its year-round rental units between 2000 and 2019, while the Select Board voted 4-0-1 against recommending any of the three articles. The town has certified $5.3 million in free cash, a portion of which would complete a $3 million commitment to a 65-unit year-round housing project at the former VFW on Jerome Smith Road.