Easton residents passed two local ordinances at the ballot Tuesday, officially banning recreational marijuana businesses in the town and creating a new local committee focused on school budget issues.
Along with the four statewide referendum questions, Easton voters were asked Tuesday to decide whether to prohibit recreational marijuana businesses and whether to set up a new advisory committee on school finance issues.
Both ordinances passed, said town manager Jim Gardner. The marijuana ban received 66 percent support among the 371 voters, while the school committee received 70 percent support, Gardner said.
Voter turnout amounted to 41 percent of the eligible voters in the town of roughly 1,300 people.
For an off year election, “That’s a very good turnout,” Gardner said.
Passage of the marijuana ordinance means that recreational pot businesses are prohibited from setting up in Easton. Approximately 75 percent of voters in the town voted against legalizing recreational marijuana in November 2016, Gardner said.
The other ordinance will establish a school budget advisory committee aimed at bringing more citizen voices to the annual school financing process, Gardner said.
“What this budget committee does is bring in new ideas,” he said, adding that the community has a similar advisory committee for the town’s portion of the overall budget.
The 15-member advisory committee will be under the umbrellas of the town’s board of selectmen, who will elect or appoint members. Members of the advisory committee must be Easton residents and cannot be employed by the school district, Gardner said.
The board of selectmen will start accepting nominations this month for people interested in serving on the advisory committee, the town manager said.
