Westborough town meeting approves procurement exemption to pursue Low Income Tax Credit financing for two trust parcels

Westborough voters on March 23 approved an article asking the town to seek an exemption to specific procurement provisions of Massachusetts General Law Chapter 149 so the Westborough Affordable Housing Trust can pursue Low Income Tax Credit (LITC) financing for two parcels, 45 High Street Extension and 6 Beach Street.

Speaker 1, presenting for the trust, said the change is narrowly tailored to remove provisions that require filed subcontractor bids and other duplicative procurement steps that increase cost and delay projects. He said the article does not exempt the trust from prevailing‑wage rules or procurement preferences and is intended only to harmonize municipal procurement with federal and state LITC eligibility rules.

During public comment, resident Donald Gilbert said he supports affordable housing but warned that vesting too much autonomy in a trust could create an unaccountable entity competing with private developers. Adam Bridal asked whether the Attorney General would review the petition for constitutionality; the presenter replied that the Attorney General will review filings and that similar exemptions have been used successfully by other housing authorities and trusts in Massachusetts, citing the Acton Housing Authority as a recent example.

The moderator moved the article as printed in the warrant on the motion attributed to mister Edinburgh. Electronic voting produced a result of 203 in favor and 16 opposed; the motion carried.

Next steps: town staff said the select board must request delegation to submit the home‑rule petition, and if filed the legislative process will likely take six to 12 months while project planning, design and financing proceed in parallel.