Excerpt
MANSFIELD — Residents at Monday’s annual town meeting decide on spending for the fiscal year starting July 1, along with a host of other requests, including a proposal by a resident to stop fluoridation of local drinking water.
The meeting is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. in the parking area of the Xfinity Center on South Main Street where last year’s town meeting was also held because of the pandemic.
Registered voters will face 33 articles on the agenda.
The proposed $102 million budget would allocate $47.3 million for town government and $58.8 million for schools.
The school budget carries a 4% increase over this year’s spending and would add a few new positions and restore teachers that had been cut at the middle and high schools.
Resident Thomas Yeransian has a citizen petition article on the warrant asking residents to support discontinuing fluoridation of town water. The request is at the end of the warrant.
Mansfield started adding fluoride to its drinking water 30 years ago.
“Over the last 30 years, the advancements of science have provided recent insights on fluoridation of water,” Yeransian said. “The recent science has revealed why it is no longer prudent to fluoridate Mansfield drinking water.”
The resident argues fluoride has been shown to be a risk to cause a series of health problems.
Proponents of fluoridation contend it stops tooth decay, and any slight risks are worth fluoridating water.
Board of health members have voted unanimously for continued fluoridation.
Fluoridation has been a controversial subject in other towns, including North Attleboro, where residents eventually voted for fluoride.
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