That's the question Selectman Lucy Wallace posed to Chairman Ron Ricci at the March 2 meeting, after he called potential meals-tax revenue "measly." Ricci posited that the amount meals tax would raise - estimated at $10,000 - is too insignificant to justify imposing the tax on the handful of establishments in town that serve food.

At their March 2 meeting, the selectmen debated whether the town should impose the meals tax, which the state Legislature offered as a revenue enhancement to cash-strapped communities.

Wallace suggested it might be "prudent" to put the question on the Town Meeting warrant and let voters decide versus leaving it up to the selectmen.

Given the financial straits the town is in and the burden already borne by residential taxpayers, it might be a wise move, she said.

Wallace said it may be better to offer the meals tax as an option rather than complain about diminishing state aid or increasing or adding permit and user fees.

Selectman Marie Sobalvarro said burning is a necessity residents shouldn't have to pay for. She also doesn't like charging seniors $2 fees for activities the Council on Aging offers. "I have difficulty with that," she said.

Selectman Peter Warren said he's strongly against the meals-tax idea and business owners he talked to dislike it. There are seven establishments in town that would be affected if the town buys into the meals tax, and he visited every one of them to ask owners and managers how they feel.

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"They said things like, 'We can't afford it.' 'Our profits are small as it is.' 'It will mean more paperwork,'" he said. The eateries would pass the added cost on to customers, who may take their business elsewhere, he said. One owner said he might leave when his lease expires. A resident in the audience said the town's $10,000 take from the tax could be half that if customers decamp, which she believes they will.

Warren shared that view.

"It would be wrong to ask seven businesses to take this on," he concluded. Selectmen should support the businesses, he said, but this tax would hurt them more than it would help the town. He might change his mind if surrounding communities went with the tax, he said, but that's not true right now.

Selectman Tim Clark suggested data gathering to see where other towns stand and if they will ask their residents to weigh in as town meetings roll around. After lengthy discussion, the board voted 3-2 to put the meals-tax question on the warrant.

As for the library override, it would close an anticipated funding gap and thus retain its regional municipal appropriation requirement certification, Wallace explained.

When Wallace, who serves as liaison to the library board, relayed the trustees' request to the board Tuesday night, Ricci countered that the library could and should seek a waiver from the requirement. Citing the history of community support for the facility and its recent addition, as well as the library's excellent services and track record, Ricci said he was confident the waiver would be granted.

"Did they discuss applying for a waiver," he asked Wallace. "Will they ever?" The problem is the difference between reduced budgets the Finance Committee has requested from the departments and the appropriation requirement for certification, including a 2 1/2 percent annual increase in the operating budget funded by the town. It can't come from other sources, either, such as fundraising or endowments.

Closing that gap isn't the only reason trustees want to ask for an override, Wallace said. Responses to a FinCom survey showed that townspeople want to restore library hours so that it's open on Fridays, she explained. But meeting the appropriation benchmark is key. "If they lose certification, there will be no interlibrary loans."

Ricci dismissed that notion as misleading. "Do you really think that would happen?" he challenged. "I don't."

He was just as incredulous when Wallace said there's no certified librarian on staff at The Bromfield School and that the high school relies on the town library to maintain its accreditation. Ricci said he believes there is a school librarian, however, and there was some back and forth at the table about that.

"I was asked to deliver the trustee's message," Wallace finally said. "They feel very strongly about meeting MAR criteria." Arguing about it would not change that fact.

It's also one of the issues she anticipates will come up when the triboard next meets.

Wallace implied that the importance of the triboard concept - tackling the town budget as a cooperative effort - seems to have slipped down a few rungs and she's worried about that. "I'm very concerned" about settling budget matters together rather than piecemeal, she said. For example, she's heard there's a school override on the table that's been discussed by the Finance Committee, but not as a triboard topic. And the selectmen, apparently, were left out of the loop. "It's our job to put the question on the warrant," Wallace said.

But Town Administrator Tim Bragan said the triboard is still active and will meet again in a couple of weeks, after the FinCom has finished its part of the process.

As for the school override, Bragan hinted that would be one of the issues taken up during executive session to follow. The purpose stated on the agenda was "to discuss on-going union negotiations."