FINCOM 20220209 Minutes

Source page 1

Canton Finance Committee Minutes Voted on: 2/16/22 
801 Washington Street Vote: 7-0-0 
Canton, MA 02021 
Meeting Minutes 
February 9, 2022 
Finance Committee Members Present: Dave Clough, Dan Cole, Tom Emery, Karen Foley, Emilio Mauro, Tim 
McKenna, Reuki Schutt and Cindy Thomas. 
Finance Committee Members Absent: All members were present for the meeting. 
Guests Present: 
Victor DelVecchio, Revere & Son Heritage Trust Corporation 
Alan Hines, Revere & Son Heritage Trust Corporation 
Ellen Jones, Finance Committee Recording Secretary 
Tracy Kenney, Town Clerk 
Randy Scollins, Finance Director 
Laura Smead, Town Planner 
Robin Tobin, Outreach Worker, Elder & Human Services 
Diane Tynan, Director, Elder & Human Services 
Call Meeting to Order: Chair McKenna called the virtual meeting to order at 7:01 p.m. 
Discussion — Municipal FY23 Operating Budget Requests for the following Departments 
# 541 — Elder & Human Services (fka Council on Aging) — Diane Tynan, Director 
Ms. Tynan provided the following information regarding the Elder & Human Services FY23 operating budget 
requests: 
An increase of $24,524 to the Outreach Workers salary line item. This is to increase the part-time 
Outreach Worker (Victoria DIMaria) from 19.5 hours to 35 hours per week. The department has one full- 
time Outreach Worker (Robin Tobin) but the department has been faced with an inordinate amount of 
requests for services. This increase in hours will help enable the Outreach Worker to be able to visit the 
elderly at their homes to do well visit checks. 
The department not only visits the elderly but they also assist with the Residential Assistance for Families in 
Transition program (RAFT), housing through the Common Housing Application for Massachusetts Program 
(CHAMP), fuel assistance, a variety of social services, coordinating recreational programs for seniors at the 
Senior Center, individuals who are in mental health crisis and general hand holding to help people with the 
process of assistance. The department also assists with referrals from the Police Department, Fire 
Department and Board of Health as well as calls regarding vaccines and coordinating transportation 
services for seniors to pick up groceries, prescriptions and attend doctor's appointments in Canton and in 
surrounding towns. Coordinating transportation services for 40 trips per day is nothing unusual. 
The Elder & Human Services department also works closely with Health and Social Services Consortium 
(HESSCO) and the Canton Area Helpline. 
Ms. Tynan stated that the number of individuals being served is concerning to her. 
The requests for FY23 has nothing to do with the name change from the Council on Aging to Elder & Human 
Services. The name change was to make the public more aware of the services they are providing. 
Ms. Tobin spoke about the overwhelming aspect of the job. COVID brought on angst, mental health issues and 
depression with individuals seeking their help. Last week Ms. Tobin was faced with 4Y: hours of assisting one 
individual all the while voicemails accruing that needed responding to by the end of the day. 
Ms. Tynan stated that they were unable to track the number of individuals they served during COVID. 
In response to Mr. Cole's inquiry if the department receives any help through state or federal grants Ms. Tynan stated 
that they receive an annual grant which is fully leveraged. The Canton Housing Authority (CHA) offered $30,000 
towards their budget if approved by the state. Another option is a formula grant of $55.000 that they receive annually. 
She is expecting this to increase based on the 2020 census. The CHA does not know how much funding will be 
available. Ms. DiMara spends half of her time at the CHA. 
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