Marshfield voters approved Article 36, a housekeeping measure to cancel authorized borrowing that is no longer needed. The article is designed to clean up the town’s financial records, which officials say is a critical step for maintaining a strong rating with municipal credit agencies.

Town Accountant Mele May explained that the unissued debt often represents the remainder of projects that came in under budget. Town meeting approved a project for a million dollars. It came in at $800,000... we no longer need the 200,000, May said, noting that the town does not want to carry the authority to borrow funds that are not required for completed projects.

Advisory Board member Jan Martin noted that carrying unauthorized debt on the books can hinder the town's borrowing capacity. The motion passed easily by a show of hands, effectively streamlining the town's balance sheet.

Motion: To rescind the borrowing authorization for previously authorized but unissued debt.

Vote: Passed