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March 19, 2025, Finance Committee Meeting - Virtual Meeting. Minutes
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Canton Finance Committee Minutes Voted on: 4/2/25
801 Washington Street Vote: 6-0-1
Canton, MA 02021
Finance Committee Meeting Minutes
March 19, 2025
Virtual Meeting
Finance Committee Members Present: Dave Clough, John Leonetti, Emilio Mauro, Maureen Menconi, Kristin
Mirliani, Reuki Schutt and Cindy Thomas.
Finance Committee Members absent: Dan Cole.
Guests Present:
Derek Folan, Superintendent of Schools
Sonja Grauds, School Committee Member
Ellen Jones, Finance Committee Recording Secretary
Brian Lynch, Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Operations
Maureen Moran, School Committee Member
Kendall O’Halloran, Chair, School Committee
Randy Scollins, Finance Director
Call Meeting to Order: Mr. Mauro called the virtual meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Mr. Mauro introduced the Finance
Committee members and the guests that were present at the virtual meeting.
New Business:
Discussion – FY 26 School Department Operating Budget
Superintendent Folan stated that the budget being presented is in a different format than in the past. The School
Department strived to have a level service budget and worked backwards from the target ($59,033,748) that was
established for them through the Revenue Forecasting Committee and the Finance Committee. Mr. Folan read a two-
page document entitled “Message from the Superintendent” (see meeting documents). Additional state aid over the
summer of 2024 allowed them to add two teaching positions (a Luce special education teacher and a Luce kindergarten
teacher). The District is planning for the Grade 5-8 transition for the new Galvin Middle School. Mr. Folan turned the
discussion over to Mr. Lynch.
Mr. Lynch reviewed the Summary of FY26 Superintendent Approved Budget Recommendations (see page 5 of the
CPS Proposed Budget FY26). Highlights include:
• District Contractual Salary Obligations Increase $1,985,869
• District Yellow Bus Contract Increase $56,405
• Out-of-District Tuition Increase $565,582
• Custodial and Maintenance Supplies and Materials Increase $162,506
Mr. Lynch noted that there was a lot of “shake up” on many of the budget line items due to the effort on their part to
make a lot of corrections from years past. Mr. Lynch looked back at the last three years of expenditures within lines in
payroll to check to see if DESE would recommend that the type of employee was to be spent within that budget line
item. For non-salary budget lines, Mr. Lynch reviewed beyond three years of expenses to analyze what expenditures
were within that budget line item, any changes to budget allocations over time and anything carried forward and
readjustments going into FY26 to have the budget more accurately reflect the expenses for that budget area.
Mr. Lynch reviewed the Strategic Plan, which included Teaching, Learning, Leading for All; Management and
Operations; Communication and Community Connection; and Safe, Inclusive, and Equitable Environments. The
budget booklet is broken down by school and that approach will be the basics for the framework going forward. Mr.
Lynch will be striving to reach the Emeritus Award for Budget Books, as he did in the last district he worked in.
Enrollment in Canton will be relatively flat in the next few years with a slight decline at the elementary grade level.
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Mr. Lynch highlighted a few items from the Financial Summary as follows:
• Assumptions have been made during the negotiating process with the Teaching Units and are included in the
overall budget.
• The District will utilize revolving accounts and other non-operating revenue sources to support the Student
Services Program, the pre-Kindergarten Program, and the Athletics program.
• The District is planning for full utilization of the Circuit Breaker reimbursement program and IDEA Grant to
support Student Services, Out of District Tuition, and Out of District Transportation costs.
• There is some risk and volatility with regard to the Federal Grant Program IDEA, which may affect Canton, all
cities and towns within the Commonwealth and across the nation. Anything that may happen at the federal
level is not real until it becomes real and it will need to be responded to as any changes develop.
• The District will utilize tuition revenue from the Rodman Early Education program to fund the purchase of
supplies, the purchase of materials, and to support professional development costs associated with the
program.
Mr. Lynch reviewed the summary of the FY26 proposed budget and stated that the budget was broken down by DESE
codes, labels and categories. Separate budgets were also presented for the individual schools.
• Total FY26 School Budget Request: $59,033,748.00
• Total Salary Request: $49,006,512.97
• Total Non-Salary Request: $10,027,235.00
The FY26 School Budget Booklet contained information for revenue and expenses associated with the Athletics
Funding Summary ($837,993.55). An anticipated increase for next year is that MIAA is allowing a 10% cost increase
for game officials, which has been projected within the budget. This increase was motivated by a potential hockey
officials strike.
With regard to Student Services Revenues:
• Operating Budget Funding $4,882,760.44 + Assumed Circuit Breaker $4,300,000.00 + Assumed IDEA Grant
$975,000.00 = Total Revenues of $10,157,760.44.
With regard to Student Services Expenses:
• Private Tuition Costs $5,125,512.81 + Collaborative Other $2,264,918.97 + FY26 Tuition Total
$7,390,431.78 + Out of District Transportation $2,000,000.00 + Related Services $700,000.00 =
$10,090,431.78.
• Potential Carryforward FY27 $67,328.66 + $10,090,431.78 = Total Expenses of $10,157,760.44.
Mr. Lynch indicated that they have made efforts to control transportation costs by utilizing one transportation/van
vendor whenever possible.
The School Department formed a budget that was not reliant on SPED reserves from “right out of the gate”. The SPED
reserve would be used for instances of volatility. Mr. Folan indicated that there are two other factors that contribute to
volatility: 1) exponential unilateral increases from Operational Services Division and 2) how much reimbursements are
funded by the State. It will help if the traditional State reimbursement rate of 75% for costs above the circuit breaker
threshold using the State’s eligibility formula of M.G.L. Chapter 70 is maintained. The need for a SPED reserve is
critical.
Mr. Folan stated that the School Department is leaning more into their revolving accounts, their preparation for their
budget, their offsetting elements, such as the Circuit Breaker Reimbursement and reserves, if necessary. Their goal
is to maintain staff, maintain positive class sizes, and maintain the student service level that the students need and
deserve. Mr. Folan thanked the Finance Committee for their opportunity to present the FY26 School Committee budget.
Mr. Mauro commended the School Department for their presentation. Ms. Moran stated that Mr. Lynch has done
tremendous work over the less than a year that he has been with Canton to get the budget lined up and cleaned. Ms.
O’Halloran echoed Ms. Moran. Ms. Grauds thanked Mr. Lynch and is grateful to the Town for the amount of support
the Schools receive.
Ms. Thomas, the Finance Committee Liaison to the School Committee, had met with Mr. Folan and Mr. Lynch along
with Mr. Scollins to go over the current FY25 budget and she appreciates the direction that the School Department is
going in and the work that Mr. Lynch is doing to clean up the budget with everything accounted for properly. Ms.
Thomas thanked Ms. Moran as this will be the last meeting Ms. Moran will have with the Finance Committee because
she is at the end of her term and the Committee shared that appreciation.
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Mr. Scollins is very confident with the Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent and the direction that they are headed in. He has been impressed with their commendable work. Ms. Thomas further commented that the overall financial picture of the School Department is not necessarily as reflected in the newspaper headlines and that the funds have been managed well and accounted for properly. Ms. Mirliani questioned the $687,000 budgeted for FY26 for Long-Term and Short-Term Substitutes. If the $687,000 was divided by 180 days, that equates to $3,800 per day being spent on Substitutes, which, in her opinion, seems to be a shockingly high amount per day. Mr. Lynch responded that the figure is in line with the past couple of years. The District’s teacher’s contract has four weeks of paid leave for maternity and paternity leaves, so those costs are covered through that budget line item. Mr. Lynch stated that short-term subs would be those daily call-out replacement teachers and other classroom educators. Mr. Lynch stated that this budget is trending downward from approximately $800,000 in FY21, $750,000 in FY22, $750,000 in FY23 and $700,000 in FY24. Mr. Lynch commented that while it is a difficult budget line item to predict it is something that they have to pay close attention to. Ms. Mirliani, a prior School Committee member, would like teachers in the classrooms with the students as much as possible because the teachers are so great. Mr. Clough thanked Mr. Folan, Mr. Lynch, and the School Committee officials for presenting this budget. Mr. Clough stated that he reviewed the YTD budget reports as of January 31 and that there are seven different areas in the School budget that are already overspent. He is concerned that the FY26 budget numbers being presented for these areas do not even match what has been spent so far this fiscal year. He believes that the School Committee may be under budgeting for some areas for FY26. Mr. Clough inquired as to how to increase their budget, so it is not always operating in a deficit. Mr. Lynch responded that the FY25 budget is not reflective of what it should be. The delta between the FY24 appropriation and the FY25 appropriation to the School Department is approximately $2.8 million. The breakout for each line item was not done before he arrived and it was not possible to change that for FY25 given the start of the fiscal year fast approaching at the end of FY24. They were unable to build it out perfectly, so the solution was to put the $2.8 million into two separate line items of the overall budget. Mr. Scollins provided clarification. What is in the FY25 budget column is the FY24 amounts and the increase to the FY25 budget is $2.8 million and is on two lines. There is no payment of expenses against a prior’s year’s appropriation. The FY24 budget was not updated line by line in FY25. The grand total for the School budget is the FY25 budget and all expenses are being charged to the FY25 appropriations. Mr. Folan stated that they have noted concerns and have built the budget differently this year. They have also scaled down vendors that they use for out of district transportation and have realized cost efficiency. They are still required by law to provide transportation included under Individual Education Plans (IEPs). Mr. Clough thanked the School officials. The FY26 School Budget presentation ended at approximately 8:11 p.m. Vote – Article 16 – Appropriation to Increase Special Education Reserve Fund Mr. Folan emphasized that the critical part of the FY26 School Department budget is the Special Education Reserve Fund which will become even more critical as the amount of State Aid and Federal grants remain uncertain. The School Committee prefers not to go in the direction of having to reduce staff, reduce services, or have overrides. The School Department prefers to continue with a request to increase the Special Education Reserve Fund and believes it is the most prudent direction for the Town to go in. Mr. Lynch stated that he concurs with Mr. Folan. He also stated that there are some out of district students that will max out in FY27 and FY29 when they reach the age of 22 and that the Town could realize some significant savings when this happens. Ms. Schutt commented that last year the Special Education Reserve Fund was funded and then utilized right away. In response to her inquiry if the appropriation under Article 16 was to be used right away, Mr. Lynch responded no, that they still have the $1.6 million that was appropriated to the Special Education Reserve Fund at the Special Town Meeting in November 2024 and that they are checking to see if they will need to utilize some of those funds as part of their FY25 year-end budget process in May and June. Mr. Scollins noted that this is a “spikey” area of expense and is unpredictable. Rather than adding it to the School Department budget and building up the base of their budget for something that is “spikey” it is more prudent to have a reserve to draw from to cover the “spikes”. The intent of the Special Education Reserve Fund has always been to deal with unexpended needs for the Special Education budget. Mr. Scollins confirmed that the Special Education Reserve Fund has been in place for 11 years and the average appropriation into this Fund has been $555,000 with some years a zero appropriation into this Fund. FINAL FINCOM 20250312 EM RSC.docx Page 3 of 10 3/14/25
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A motion made by Ms. Schutt that the sum of $1,000,000 be appropriated to the Special Education Reserve Account (#250) and to meet this appropriation, $1,000,000 be transferred from Free Cash (Undesignated Fund Balance) in the Treasury of the Town was seconded by Ms. Thomas. Roll Call Vote: Cindy Thomas Aye Dave Clough Aye Reuki Schutt Aye Kristin Mirliani Aye Maureen Menconi Aye Emilio Mauro Aye John Leonetti Aye Vote: 7-0. Mr. Mauro thanked Mr. Folan, Mr. Lynch, Ms. O’Halloran, Ms. Moran and Ms. Grauds for all that the School Department and the School Committee do for schools. Vote – Article 15 – Recommendations of the Canton Community Preservation Committee (CCPC) Mr. Mauro noted that there was a slightly different presentation format to this year’s Recommendations by the CCPC. The CCPC would be including their Motions, Votes and Discussions in the Finance Committee’s Recommendations to the Voters of Canton along with the recommendations, votes, and discussions of the Finance Committee. CCPC is legally allowed to present their motions directly to the Town Meeting but the Finance Committee can make recommendations on those motions. Vote – Article 15, Motion 1 - $51,124 Administrative Expenses CCPC MOTION: That the sum of $51,214 be appropriated from the Community Preservation Fund revenues for the administrative expenses of the Community Preservation Committee in Fiscal Year 2026 provided, however, that any amounts not used during the year for administrative expenses shall revert back to the CPA Undesignated Fund Balance at the end of Fiscal Year 2026. FINANCE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION: A motion made by Ms. Schutt that the Finance Committee recommends that the motion presented by the Community Preservation Committee to Town Meeting for Article 15, Motion 1, be adopted as printed in the warrant was seconded by Ms. Thomas. Roll Call Vote: Cindy Thomas Aye Dave Clough Aye Reuki Schutt Aye Kristin Mirliani Aye Maureen Menconi Aye Emilio Mauro Aye John Leonetti Aye Vote: 7-0. Vote – Article 15, Motion 2 - $214,490 – Debt Service Payment for Open Space Land Acquisition – Paul Revere Heritage Site CCPC MOTON: That the sum of $214,490 be appropriated from the Community Preservation Fund revenues for the purposes by the Chief Procurement Officer with the approval of the Select Board for debt service and expenses associated with the Open Space land acquisition of the Paul Revere Heritage Site for the Fiscal Year 2026. FINANCE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION: A motion made by Ms. Thomas that the Finance Committee recommends that the motion presented by the Community Preservation Committee to Town Meeting for Article 15, Motion 2, be adopted as printed in the warrant was seconded by Ms. Menconi. Roll Call Vote: Cindy Thomas Aye Dave Clough Aye Reuki Schutt Aye Kristin Mirliani Aye Maureen Menconi Aye Emilio Mauro Aye John Leonetti Aye FINAL FINCOM 20250312 EM RSC.docx Page 4 of 10 3/14/25
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Vote: 7-0. Vote – Article 15, Motion 3 - $100,000 – Canton’s Open Space & Recreation Plan CCPC MOTION: That the sum of $100,000 be appropriated from the Community Preservation Funds to be spent by the Town Planner in conjunction with the Department of Parks & Recreation and the approval of the Conservation Commission to be spent for the purposes of updating Canton’s Open Space & Recreation Plan. FINANCE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION: A motion made by Ms. Thomas that the Finance Committee recommends that the motion presented by the Community Preservation Committee to Town Meeting for Article 15, Motion 3, be adopted as printed in the warrant was seconded by Ms. Schutt. Roll Call Vote: Cindy Thomas Aye Dave Clough Aye Reuki Schutt Aye Kristin Mirliani Aye Maureen Menconi Aye Emilio Mauro Aye John Leonetti Aye Vote: 7-0. Vote – Article 15, Motion 4 - $200,000 – Pavilion at Paul Revere Heritage Site CCPC MOTION: That the sum of $200,000 be appropriated from the Community Preservation Funds to be spent by the Revere and Son Heritage Trust for the purpose of constructing a pavilion at the Paul Revere Heritage Site. FINANCE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION: A motion made by Ms. Thomas that the Finance Committee recommends that the motion presented by the Community Preservation Committee to Town Meeting for Article 15, Motion 4, be adopted as printed in the warrant was seconded by Ms. Menconi. Roll Call Vote: Cindy Thomas Aye Dave Clough Aye Reuki Schutt Aye Kristin Mirliani Aye Maureen Menconi Aye Emilio Mauro Aye John Leonetti Nay Vote: 6-1. Mr. Mauro offered the opportunity for Mr. Leonetti to write a minority discussion. Mr. Leonetti responded that he may or may not write a minority discussion. Mr. Leonetti is opposed to this motion because the Community Preservation Committee has spent more money on the Paul Revere Heritage Site than any other single project including the repayment of the $2.5 million for the purchase of the land at the Revere Site and they have the ability to fundraise to obtain funds for projects. Article 15, Motion 5 - $255,000 – Canton Affordable Housing Trust It has been Mr. Leonetti’s observation that Town Meeting generally follows the advice and votes of the Finance Committee. If the Finance Committee opposes something, it is worth conversation. Mr. Leonetti served on the CCPC at a time when the CCPC conducted a survey with the voters and it was concluded from the survey that the voters did not want the CPA funds going towards affordable housing. The required amount spent from CPA each year is 10% minimum for each “bucket” of the three CPA funds: Housing, Open Space and Recreation, and Historical Preservation. The 10% for each bucket is set aside to be accumulated from year to year. FINAL FINCOM 20250312 EM RSC.docx Page 5 of 10 3/14/25
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Vote – Article 15, Motion 5 - $255,000 – Canton Affordable Housing Trust CCPC MOTION: That the sum of $255,000 be appropriated from the Community Preservation Funds to be spent by the Canton Affordable Housing Trust for the purpose of continuing to support the preservation and creation of new affordable home ownership and rental units in Canton. FINANCE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION: The Finance Committee decided to defer voting on Article 15 Motion 5 until April 2. Mr. Scollins will invite Mr. Kevin Shea, Affordable Housing Administrator, to the April 2 Finance Committee meeting. The members are supportive of Mr. Shea attending April 2, so they can have all the facts before they vote. Vote – Article 15, Motion 6 - $90,000 – Window Replacement Hemenway Building CCPC MOTION: That the sum of $90,000 be appropriated from the Community Preservation Funds to supplement $140,908 approved under Article 17 Motion 6 of the 2024 Annual Town Meeting to be spent by the Canton Housing Authority for the purposes of the replacement of windows and accompanying work as planned in Phase 3 for the Hemenway Building. FINANCE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION: A motion made by Ms. Thomas that the Finance Committee recommends that the motion presented by the Community Preservation Committee to Town Meeting for Article 15, Motion 6, be adopted as printed in the warrant was seconded by Ms. Schutt. Roll Call Vote: Cindy Thomas Aye Dave Clough Aye Reuki Schutt Aye Kristin Mirliani Aye Maureen Menconi Aye Emilio Mauro Aye John Leonetti Aye Vote: 7-0. Vote – Article 15, Motion 7 - $40,000 – Analysis of the Canton Historical Society Building CCPC MOTION: That the sum of $40,000 be appropriated from the Community Preservation Fund Balance reserved for Historical Preservation to be spent by the Chief Procurement Officer with the approval of the Canton Historical Society for the purpose of conducting an analysis of the Canton Historical Society Building. FINANCE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION: A motion made by Ms. Schutt that the Finance Committee recommends that the motion presented by the Community Preservation Committee to Town Meeting for Article 15, Motion 7, be adopted as printed in the warrant was seconded by Mr. Menconi. Roll Call Vote: Cindy Thomas Aye Dave Clough Aye Reuki Schutt Aye Kristin Mirliani Aye Maureen Menconi Aye Emilio Mauro Aye John Leonetti Aye Vote: 7-0. Vote – Article 15, Motion 8 - $200,000 – Repair and Restoration of 1902 Historic Portion of the Library CCPC MOTION: That the sum of $200,000 in total be appropriated from the Community Preservation Fund, with $140,849.05 from the Historic Preservation Reserve and $59,150.95 from the Community Preservation Fund, to be spent by the Chief Procurement Officer with the approval of the Canton Public Library Board of Trustees for the purpose of repairing structural issues and the restoration of the original 1902 historic portion of the Library. FINAL FINCOM 20250312 EM RSC.docx Page 6 of 10 3/14/25
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FINANCE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION:
A motion made by Ms. Schutt that the Finance Committee recommends that the motion presented by the
Community Preservation Committee to Town Meeting for Article 15, Motion 8, be adopted as printed in the
warrant was seconded by Ms. Menconi.
Roll Call Vote:
Cindy Thomas Aye Dave Clough Aye
Reuki Schutt Aye Kristin Mirliani Aye
Maureen Menconi Aye Emilio Mauro Aye
John Leonetti Aye
Vote: 7-0.
Vote – Article 15, Motion 9 - $295,000 – Master Plan and Repair and Restoration of Gravestones
CCPC MOVED: That the sum of $295,000 be appropriated from the Community Preservation Fund to be spent
by the Department of Public Works for the purposes of engagement of professional services for the creation
of a Master plan of the historic Canton Corner Cemetery and for the hiring of professionals to do the restoration
and repair of the gravestones at the Cemetery, and further that
A. $95,000 be made available at the start of Fiscal Year 2026 for the purposes of creating a Master Plan;
and
B. That $200,000 be made available by the Community Preservation Committee after the Master Plan has
been completed and submitted, for the purposes of restoring and preserving gravestones identified
in the Master Plan.
FINANCE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION:
A motion made by Mr. Leonetti that the Finance Committee recommends that the motion presented by the
Community Preservation Committee to Town Meeting for Article 15, Motion 9, be adopted as printed in the
warrant was seconded by Ms. Thomas.
Roll Call Vote:
Cindy Thomas Aye Dave Clough Aye
Reuki Schutt Aye Kristin Mirliani Aye
Maureen Menconi Aye Emilio Mauro Aye
John Leonetti Aye
Vote: 7-0.
Vote – Article 15 Motion 10 - $123,000 – Ponkoag Schoolhouse Bell Tower and Facade
CCPC MOTION: That the sum of $123,000 be appropriated from the Community Preservation Fund to be spent
by the Chief Procurement Officer with the approval of the Christ’s Ambassador Ministries for the purpose of
salvage, restoration and preservation of the Ponkapoag Schoolhouse Bell Tower and Façade, provided that
the following conditions are met:
A. A preservation restriction be obtained for the historic portion of the building;
B. Funds only made available after a building permit is issued for the complete renovation/expansion
project; and
C. All work on the historic portions of the building is done under the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards
for the Treatment of Historic Properties.
FINANCE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION:
The Finance Committee recommends that the motion presented by the Community Preservation Committee to
Town Meeting for Article 15, Motion 10, be adopted as printed in the warrant.
Mr. Leonetti is not opposed to Motion 10, however, in his time serving on the CCPC there was considerable focus given
to making sure applications qualified for CPA funds. Mr. Leonetti is concerned that there are prerequisites under Motion
10 to qualify for CPA funds. The prerequisites are supposed to be vetted at the application stage. The Finance
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Committee is being asked to vote on these funds with three conditions to be put in place to receive those funds. Mr. Leonetti understands that this year there were fewer requests than there were funds available but he is surprised that this request under Motion 10 got through with three conditions, when conditions are supposed to be put on the applicants before they are considered for funds. Mr. Leonetti wondered if the rules for CPA funding may have changed a bit. Mr. Mauro suggested that the CCPC return to a Finance Committee meeting to discuss Motion 10 to ensure the committee has clarity regarding these concerns. Ms. Thomas does not think Mr. Leonetti is right or wrong but she struggled with the fact that by the time CPA Recommendations come to the Finance Committee that they have followed rules that are either Town-governed rules versus formal rules and regulations. If the CPA has guidelines that they follow and it has been the protocol, perhaps CCPC was more flexible this year due to the lower number of applications they received. Mr. Leonetti does not think that just because there may be fewer applications than funds available that the applications should be approved and the rules changed for that approval. The Finance Committee decided to defer voting on Article 15, Motion 10, until April 2. Mr. Scollins will invite the Canton Community Preservation Committee to the April 2 Finance Committee meeting. Mr. Scollins confirmed that the CCPC could be invited to a Finance Committee meeting to explain their recommendations or they could seek the advice of Town Counsel. Mr. Mauro supported the CCPC being asked to attend the Finance Committee meeting on April 2 to discuss these matters. In response to Ms. Mirliani’s inquiry regarding the CPA survey, Mr. Leonetti believes a summary of the survey was posted to the CCPC website. The CCPC did take a vote on whether or not to post the entire results of the survey but the CCPC voted it down against Mr. Leonetti’s proposal that the CCPC should let the community know the full results of the survey. It was voted to redact the survey into a shorter version. Vote – Article 14 – Funding for the Annual 4th of July Community Celebration A motion made by Ms. Thomas that the sum of $50,000 be transferred from Free Cash (Undesignated Fund Balance) to be expended by the Director of Parks and Recreation with the approval of the Select Board, for the July 4th community celebration in 2025 with the intent that said funds shall be available in FY25 in anticipation of July 4, 2025, was seconded by Ms. Menconi. Roll Call Vote: Cindy Thomas Aye Dave Clough Aye Reuki Schutt Aye Kristin Mirliani Aye Maureen Menconi Aye Emilio Mauro Aye John Leonetti Aye Vote: 7-0. Vote Article 23 - Accept State Statute MGL Ch. 59, Section 5, Clause 22I - Increase Veterans Tax Exemption A motion made by Ms. Thomas that the Town accept General Laws Chapter 59, Section 5, Clause 22I, which authorizes an annual increase in the amount of the exemption granted under General Laws Chapter 59, Section 5, Clause 22, Clause 22A, Clause 22B, Clause 22C, Clause 22E and Clause 22F by the percentage increase in the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the previous year as determined by the Commissioner of Revenue, to be effective for applicable exemptions granted for any fiscal year beginning on or after July 1, 2025, was seconded by Ms. Schutt. Mr. Clough inquired about the amount of funding that comes from the state for this exemption and sought confirmation that it would not all be funded from Assessor abatements. Mr. Scollins confirmed that a small portion of funding will come from the state if it fits within the reimbursement clauses. The state does reimburse the Town on Veteran’s exemptions and he does not know why this would not be included. The reimbursement from the state would be on a trailing basis. Mr. Clough will be writing the discussion for Article 23 and he wanted to be sure he was clear to the voters on what percentage would come from the state. Mr. Clough will follow up with either Ms. Floyd, Assessing Director, or Mr. Manning, Board of Assessors. Roll Call Vote: Cindy Thomas Aye Dave Clough Aye Reuki Schutt Aye Kristin Mirliani Aye Maureen Menconi Aye Emilio Mauro Aye John Leonetti Aye Vote: 7-0. FINAL FINCOM 20250312 EM RSC.docx Page 8 of 10 3/14/25
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Approval of Minutes Mr. Mauro stated that Open Meeting Law recommendations are that minutes for a given meeting should usually be approved within three subsequent meetings of the Committee. The March 5, 2025, and March 12, 2025, minutes were deferred to the next meeting on March 26, 2025, and that timeline is still within those legal recommendations. Next Meeting Date The next Finance Committee virtual meetings will be held on March 26, April 2, and April 9, 2025. Motion to Move into Executive Session Mr. Mauro stated that the Finance Committee will vote to enter into Executive Session and to not reconvene in Open Session He declared that an Executive Session would be necessary to discuss strategy with respect to collective bargaining because an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the bargaining position of the public body. A motion made by Ms. Schutt that the Finance Committee move to enter into Executive Session and not reconvene in open session to discuss strategy with respect to collective bargaining if an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the bargaining position of the public body and the chair so declares was seconded by Ms. Thomas. Roll Call Vote: Cindy Thomas Aye Dave Clough Aye Reuki Schutt Aye Kristin Mirliani Aye Maureen Menconi Aye Emilio Mauro Aye John Leonetti Aye Vote: 7-0. Mr. Scollins stopped recording the meeting. Mr. Mauro thanked Canton Community TV for their coverage of the Finance Committee meetings and he asked them to leave the meeting, they then left the meeting. The Finance Committee entered into Executive Session at 9:20 p.m. Minutes reviewed by: Reuki Schutt Respectfully submitted, bmihe- € Wau Emilio E. Mauro, Jr. Chair, Canton Finance Committee FINAL FINCOM 20250312 EM RSC.docx Page 9 of 10 3/14/25
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Finance Committee Meeting Documents March 19, 2025 Please note: Some meeting documents may be found on the Town’s website under the Posted Minutes section (Laser Fiche). Budget documents may also be found on the Town’s website under the Finance Committee’s page, Municipal Budget and Capital Information, Operating Budget Requests, “FY26 Municipal Budget — Dept. Requests — Jan 2025. Agenda — March 19, 2025. FY26 Budget Request information and Annual Town Meeting 2025 Article information for the following: Canton Public Schools — Proposed Budget — 2026 (38 pages). Article 16 - Appropriation to Increase Special Education Reserve Account - Draft motion (1 page). Article 15 — Recommendations of the Community Preservation Committee - Draft motions 1-10 (10 pages). Article 14 — Approval of Funding for the Annual 4" of July Community Celebration - (1 page). Article 23 — Accept State Statute MGL Ch. 59, Section 5, Clause 221 — Draft motion (1 page). FINAL FINCOM 20250312 EM RSC.docx Page 10 of 10 3/14/25