Debt Exclusion — 20-30 Year Tax Increase STILL ACTIVE — VOTE NO MAY 19
The library project did not receive the required two-thirds vote at the April 28 Town Meeting. That should have ended it. But within days, supporters of the library project submitted a petition with 300 signatures — which under Massachusetts law requires the Town to hold a Special Town Meeting for another vote on the same proposal.
This means Question 3 is still live. Your vote on May 19 matters more than ever.
Many residents were already confused during Town Meeting. Here is the process, clearly explained:
Here is the most important thing you need to understand:
If voters reject Ballot Question 3 on May 19, the library debt exclusion is effectively over — regardless of what happens at a future Special Town Meeting.
The ballot vote and the Town Meeting vote are both required. If Yarmouth voters say NO on May 19, it does not matter what any future Town Meeting decides — both votes must pass, and voters will have already rejected it. A NO vote on May 19 closes this chapter permanently.
Residents of Yarmouth took time out of their lives to attend Town Meeting on April 28. They participated in the democratic process. They voted. The library proposal did not receive the required two-thirds support.
Within days, supporters of the project turned around and filed a petition to restart the process — effectively telling everyone who voted at Town Meeting: your vote doesn’t count, we’re going again.
The petition process exists for legitimate purposes. Using it to immediately re-litigate a vote that was just taken — before the ink is dry — shows a troubling disregard for the residents who participated in good faith and the outcome they produced. May 19 is your opportunity to make your answer clear and final.
A debt exclusion lasts for the life of the bond. That means you'll be paying this additional tax from now until 2046–2056. That's "temporary" the way a 30-year mortgage is temporary.
Yarmouth Selectman Liz Argo stated on video during the March 24, 2026 Select Board meeting that Yarmouth scored high on the state library construction grant because they are "a social justice community." She then connected it directly to the sanctuary ballot question, saying the library "will serve ALL of us" because "we have a community here who needs us." That's not about books — it connects the library project directly to the sanctuary agenda in Question 4.
"Our need factor that was a part of our calculation for our grant… Yarmouth scored extraordinarily well… we scored very high in that calculation because we are — to some degree — 'a social justice community.' We have this ballot question coming up — I would point out that this library will serve ALL of us… and we got a big score because we 'have a community here' who needs us."
— Liz Argo, Yarmouth Selectman, March 24, 2026 Select Board Meeting
Said during official town government business, connecting the library grant to the sanctuary ballot question.
You are being asked to approve a blank check for a construction project with no published price tag.
Yarmouth's wastewater project is already impacting residents. The town needs a new fire station. The ME Small School feasibility study could cost millions. These are mandates and public safety needs — a new library is not. Every dollar committed to a library bond is a dollar unavailable for genuine priorities.
Library supporters overturned the April 28 Town Meeting result by filing a petition. Don’t let them undo the voters’ decision. A NO vote on May 19 closes this chapter — regardless of any future Special Town Meeting. Bring your friends. Bring your neighbors. Show up on May 19.