Canton, Massachusetts · Saved source text
January 31, 2024, Finance Committee - Virtual Meeting. Minutes
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Canton Finance Committee Minutes Voted on: 2/14/24
801 Washington Street Vote: 6-0-0
Canton, MA 02021
Meeting Minutes
January 31, 2024
Finance Committee Members Present: Dan Cole, Karen Foley, Emilio Mauro, Tim McKenna, Maureen Menconi,
Kristin Mirliani, Reuki Schutt and Cindy Thomas.
Finance Committee Members Absent: Dave Clough.
Guests Present:
Ellen Jones, Finance Committee Recording Secretary
Tracy Kenney, Town Clerk
Arafat Knight, Veterans’ Agent
Tyler Radicioni, Parks & Recreation Director
Chief Wendell Robery – Fire Department
Call Meeting to Order: Ms. Thomas called the virtual Zoom Finance Committee meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
Review of the Agenda – Ms. Thomas reviewed the agenda items that included FY25 budget discussions with Tracy
Kenney, Tyler Radicioni, Fire Chief Robery and Arafat Knight.
Two Annual Town Meeting Articles to be sponsored by the Finance Committee - Feedback from Town Counsel
Ms. Thomas stated that she received feedback from Town Counsel regarding the warrant Articles. The warrant article
with a change to the Finance Committee By-Law was fairly simple. However, the proposal of a Government
Modernization Study Committee was more difficult. She mentioned that the Select Board (SB) would be reviewing all
of the warrant articles at their meeting on Tuesday, February 6, 2024. If Finance Committee members have the
opportunity to watch or attend the meeting Ms. Thomas did not want the Members to be surprised with the changes
Town Counsel made to the Finance Committee’s proposed Government Modernization Study Committee article. She
further stated that there would be more time between now and Annual Town Meeting to discuss any proposed changes.
Discussion - FY25 Budget Requests - Town Clerk, Elections and Registrar – Tracy Kenney
Ms. Thomas screen shared Ms. Kenney’s budget documents which included a 3-page very detailed breakdown (see
meeting documents) of the requests Ms. Kenney is making for FY25. Ms. Kenney is requesting the following:
Town Clerk Budget
• Salaries - Town Clerk’s salary is not covered by a union or personal service contract. She is requesting a 3%
COLA increase for her salary, similar to the AFSCME contract for FY25.
• Increase from 35 hours to 40 hours for both the Town Clerk and Assistant Town Clerk in order to complete
tasks and meet deadlines. There are 21 employees in Town Hall that are paid for a 40-hour week.
• Overtime Salary – $5,000 increase to cover cost for Assistant Town Clerk and Town Clerk to work beyond
their regularly scheduled hours.
• Town Clerk Longevity – $1,750 annual longevity payment request similar to 22 other Town Clerks in the
state that are receiving longevity payments. Ms. Kenney received longevity as a staff member in the Town
Clerk’s office but the longevity payment stopped 21 years ago when she was elected as the Town Clerk.
Elections and Registrar’s Budget
• Salaries – Increase from $850 to $900 for each member of the Board of Registrars.
• Police Detail Salaries – Increase of $3,000 to cover anticipated cost of police details for three elections.
• Overtime Salary – Increase from $4,000 to $6,000 to cover Assistant Town Clerk and Senior Clerk to work
beyond regular hours for elections, process vote by mail, absentee ballot applications and ballots returned by
voters.
• Purchase of Services – Total increase of $16,000 to the Purchase of Services. An increase of $2,100 (annual
maintenance of poll pads used on election days). $3,500 for purchase of a scanner (rental cost of $2,500 with
option buy out scanner for $3,500. This well help out with the early processing of ballots. Increase of $400
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to cover cost of annual maintenance on voting tabulators. $10,000 request to be added to the budget for a
on-time rental of 1,000 voting clickers. If successful Ms. Kenney would request funding to purchase the
clickers in the next fiscal year.
• Printing and Binding – Increase of $1,000 for the purchase of signage. While not definite yet, there are
plans in place to move the John F. Kennedy voting precinct to the former (now town-owned) St. Gerard’s
Church. Additional $1,000 for printing notices to inform the voters of the voting precinct change.
• Postage - increase of $1,716 for postage to mail precinct change notices. In 2020 greater than 11,000 ballots
were mailed to voters that requested to vote by mail. Using the same number of ballot counts for the 3
elections in FY25 the Town Clerk is requesting $10,315 for postage. To mail the census in 2025 the cost will
be close to $5,807 (the cost for mailing the 2024 Town census. Total postage increase requested is $17,838.
Mr. McKenna inquired about the voting clickers. Ms. Kenney confirmed that many other towns are using the voting
clickers and she has not heard any negative feedback so far. There are two vendors that Towns use for clickers. Ms.
Kenney is fully supportive of the Town using the clickers.
Mr. Mauro spoke in support of electronic voting should a by-law amendment pass. Mr. Mauro inquired as to what the
procedure would be if the town had 1,000 clickers and more than 1,000 voters attended Town Meeting and if not all
attendees were given an electronic voting device. Ms. Kenney stated that up to the start of Town Meeting, if purchased,
the Town could rent an additional number of devices needed right up to the start of Town Meeting. She stated that it
is difficult to predict the number of voters that will attend Town Meeting but she may be able to gauge, depending upon
what is included in the Annual Town Meeting Warrant that you might expect a larger turnout. She stated that she may
have to talk with other Town Clerks to see how they have handled the number of voters exceeding the number of
clickers. Mr. Mauro also inquired if the budget as proposed would have a contingency for more devices or would that
be a supplemental request. Ms. Kenney thought it would be a supplemental request. Ms. Kenney stated that if Town
Meeting approves a change to the By-Law and the General By-Laws that would allow the Town to use electronic
voting/clickers, subsequently the Attorney General’s Office would need to approve the change. Typically the Town
receives approval from the Attorney General’s Office by early September. Special Town Meeting would very likely
occur after September.
Mr. Mauro inquired about election workers and the difficulty for obtaining election workers. Is the budget being
proposed for FY25 competitive to attract election workers? Ms. Kenney stated that the pay rate for election workers in
Canton is typical of election workers around the state. Canton pays an hourly rate similar to many other communities
where as some communities pay one flat rate. Mr. Mauro asked if the budget contained the availability of promotion
option for workers. She stated there is nothing in the budget for advertising for election workers, however, they have
advertised at a no cost to the Town in local papers, in church bulletins, on the website and on cable TV. Letters are
required from a doctor to be an election worker. Mr. Mauro inquired if an intern program could be set up with local
colleges.
Mr. Mauro asked Ms. Kenney about the capacity of the Town Clerk’s office as more things being delegated to the office.
Ms. Kenney stated that the staff hours increase and budget increase to implement the early voting process and vote
by mail. A typical election would be one date to vote whereas now an election can have 7-15 days of voting for one
election. Ms. Kenney also stated that her department is outgrowing the office and that her office is looking like a
warehouse and they need additional space. She expects to receive a delivery of approximately 32,000 ballots for the
state primary. Every ballot cast, by law, has to be kept for 22 months before being destroyed. The vault in Town Hall
is filled to capacity. Storage is a problem for the Town Clerk. The increasing demand for public records requests is
also consuming a great deal of the staff’s time. All of these additional tasks that did not exist ten years ago such as
ethics requirements and adherence to open meeting requirements are adding to the staff’s workload.
Ms. Foley inquired about the cost of the clickers at $10,000 and the rental of clickers at the same cost of $10,000, why
would the Town rent. Ms. Kenney stated that it would allow the Town to not commit to one vendor and leave the option
open of another vendor. Ms. Thomas inquired about the scanner retailing for $25,000 with the option to buy out the
lease for $3,500 after the end of the year. If the by-law were to pass would it be more prudent to purchase the clickers
outright instead of the rental cost in addition to the purchase cost. Ms. Kenney is reluctant to commit to a purchase
without having used them first. If the cost is the same just rent them and then purchase. Ms. Thomas thought that the
Town would be paying the $10,000 cost twice. Ms. Kenney will double check on this. She is under the impression if
the Town rents the clickers that that cost would be towards the purchase.
Ms. Thomas also inquired if there would be clicker options available to those individuals with disabilities (visual etc.).
Ms. Thomas wanted to make sure there is a mechanism in place to accommodate this. Ms. Kenney would look into
this further.
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Discussion - FY25 Budget Requests - Parks & Recreation, Parks, Youth Services and Rink Enterprise – Tyler
Radicioni, Director
Mr. Radicioni is requesting the following FY25 budget requests:
Youth Services
• Halloween Party - $500 was moved from the regular Recreation Budget to the Youth Services Halloween
Party line item for an increase from $2,500 to $3,000. Participation in the Halloween Party has been increasing
every year despite some inclement weather.
Parks & Recreation
• Salaries – Assistant Recreation Director – Increase from 35 hours to 40 hours for the Assistant Recreation
Director – Mr. Radicioni explained that he and his Assistant Rec Director do not work the typical 9-5 or 8-4
hours, with both of them usually working well over 40 hours per week including weekends with late night
programming. He has looked at other Assistant Director positions in other Towns and the increase is more
appropriate for this position. Mr. Radicioni stated that this individual is wonderful and he would hate to lose
the individual due to an inadequate salary reason.
• Salaries – Lifeguards Salaries – Increase of $10,000 from $70,000 to $80,000. This has been a struggle
since COVID to obtain lifeguards. The Director stated that they had tremendous success recruiting lifeguards
last year going above and beyond. They have a 95% return rate for pool staff and lifeguards. The Department
will now be able to expand their hours on the weekends which will help satisfy one of the biggest complaints
that he has received. The Town has also offered to pay for the lifeguard’s certifications that range $300-400.
The Town reimburses the guards in their last paychecks as long as they work the whole summer. The $10,000
increase will help them to be competitive in the market. DCR is up to $21-22 per hour. Canton does not pay
that high but has been increasing salaries gradually to help maintain the guards.
• Expenses – A $1,000 increase to motor vehicle repairs. $500 increase to software maintenance fees
(increase in participation is an increase in fees paid to MyRec). Decreases to printing and binding (due to on-
line advertisement of programs instead of printed programs) and a decrease to communications based on
prior years. $5,000 increase to pool supplies, $3,500 increase to gas and oil and a ($1,100) increase to the
work shoe line item due to additional staff.
Parks Department
• No increase requested for FY25. This budget supports the outsourcing of maintenance for the Paul Revere
Heritage Site park. Mowing and maintenance is contracted out to a landscaping company.
Rink – Enterprise
• Stipend contractual increase requested from $8,300 to $9,800 for the department head.
• Increase of $30,000 from $100,000 to $130,000 for electricity – new systems in rink. $2,500 increase to
heating fuel/gas due to increase in usage. $500 increase for telephone/communications.
Discussion – FY25 Budget Requests – Fire Department, Dispatch Services, Fire Alarm, Ambulance &
Emergency Management – Chief Wendell Robery
911 Dispatchers – Fire –
• Purchase of Services – Increase of $8,524 from $282,046 to $290,570 for contractual increases. This is for
the Agreement with the dispatch service in Holbrook, which increases every year.
Fire Department
• Salaries – Contractual increases
• Expenses – Total increase of $40,865 to various line items as follows: Trailer Expense ($8,800), Assessment
Center ($7,000), Blue Card Training ($6,000), Repair and Maintenance of Vehicles ($5,000), Vehicle Fuel
($4,800), Cancer Screening ($2,000), Rent Increase ($1,100), Firefighter Equipment ($1,000), Software
Maintenance ($5,000), EMT Training ($5,000), Vehicle Fuel ($5,000), Tires ($2,400) and Office Supplies
(200).
• Blue Card Training is a grant and is a one-time expense. In FY22 the Norfolk County Fire Chiefs voted to
apply for a federal grant of $1,179,000 which was awarded. The match for the grant is $107,000 divided by
19 towns or approximately $6,000 for Canton’s share (same share for all the Towns). The program
incorporates incident training, tactics and firefighter safety. All of the participating Towns will be following the
same standards as the towns go about commands for an incident.
• Purchase of Services - $7,000 is for an Assessment Center which will add to a candidate’s application based
on a scene for which they are graded on. Some officers do not do well on written exams but perform well on
commands for incidents. The $54,994 is for rent for a garage at the Draper property where the mechanic
does all his work on the fire department vehicles.
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Fire Alarms, Boxes Etc. – There is no increase being requested for this budget for FY25.
Ambulance Service
Total Ambulance increase for FY25 is $62,435.
• Salaries – A new line item for EMT overtime has been added for $6,300. The Office of Emergency
Management Services (OEMS) now requires EMTs to do rounds. Currently paramedics are required to do
six rounds (each round is 3 hours of overtime) every year. The number of rounds is up to the medical doctor
who would like the EMTs to do 3 rounds (3 hours of overtime).
• Expenses – Increases include the following: EMS Equipment ($15,500), Supplies ($10,000), Asher Training
– Active Shooter Hostile Event Training ($8,000) EMS Educational Software ($5,000), EMT Training Expense
($5,000), Vehicle Repair & Maintenance ($5,000), Vehicle Fuel ($5,000), Ambulance Tires ($2,400) and Office
Supplies ($200).
Because $6,500 was being carried under the line item for Stretchers, Chief Robery reduced his original request
of $25,520 for the line item for paramedical supplies to $19,020.
Emergency Management – There is no increase being requested for Emergency Management.
Ms. Schutt thanked Chief Robery for working with her on the budget.
Discussion – FY25 Budget Requests – Veterans’ Agent – Arafat Knight
• Salaries – An increase from 20 hours to 32 hours is being requested for his Assistant (hired in August 2023).
Since hired the Assistant has averaged 30-35 hours per week. The 32 hours would be for 4 7-hour days and
1 4-hour day on Friday.
The biggest task that Mr. Arafat added to the Department was the Hometown Heroes Banners in July. Since that time
the program has increased from 77 honored, with 40 additional added in October and another 25-30 added before
November. There is an additional 40 ordered that will go out for display in March 2024.
Mr. Knight stated that their focus going forward will be to work on Veteran’s claims. Unfortunately, Mr. Knight
stated that he had put aside working on the veterans claims for 2 ½ years because of running the office by himself.
• Expenses – Increase of $584 for the dues and memberships line item for the new Assistant.
Ms. Thomas complimented Mr. Knight for the great photography skills of his Assistant. The Facebook media page
increased from 400 followers to 1,700 followers.
Approval of Minutes
A motion made by Ms. Schutt to approve the January 10, 2024 minutes as written was seconded by Mr.
McKenna.
Roll Call Vote:
Ms. Schutt Aye Ms. Menconi Aye
Mr. Mauro Aye Ms. Mirliani Aye
Mr. Cole Aye Mr. McKenna Aye
Ms. Foley Aye Ms. Thomas Aye
Vote: 8-0-0. The minutes for January 10, 2024 were approved.
Next Meeting Date: The next meeting would take place on February 7, 2024 as a virtual meeting via Zoom.
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Meeting Adjournment - A motion made by Ms. Schutt to adjourn the meeting at 8:23 p.m. was seconded by Mr. Mauro. Roll Call Vote: Ms. Schutt Aye Ms. Menconi Aye Mr. Mauro Aye Ms. Mirliani Aye Mr. Cole Aye Mr. McKenna Aye Ms. Foley Aye Ms. Thomas Aye Vote: 8-0-0. Minutes reviewed by: Tim McKenna Respectfully submitted, Cindy Thomas Chair, Canton Finance Committee and Sub-Committee to Review Compensation of Elected Officials FINCOM 20240131 Minutes TM.docx Page 5 of 6 2/3/24
Source page 6
Finance Committee
Meeting Documents
January 24, 2024
Please note: Some meeting documents may be found on the Town’s website under the Posted Minutes
section (Laser Fiche).
Budget documents discussed at the meeting may be found on the Town’s Website under the Finance Committee
section. The budget documents are subject to change as the budget process progresses. The documents may also
be found at the below links.
https://town.canton.ma.us/DocumentCenter/View/10987/FY25-Municipal-Budget---Dept-Requests---Jan-2024---Part-
1-of-2
https://town.canton.ma.us/DocumentCenter/View/10988/FY25-Municipal-Budget---Dept-Requests---Jan-2024---Part-
2-of-2
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