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February 29, 2016, Finance Committee Meeting. Minutes

Finance Committee · Record date 2016-02-29 · Record 3c7f79bdcb80523899

Saved text from 7 source pages. Transcription and OCR may contain errors; verify figures and wording against the original. Retrieved 2026-10-15.

Town of Canton Finance Committee                       Minutes Voted on: 3/14/16
                                           Meeting Minutes                               vote: to-o-o
                                      Monday, February 29, 2016


Members Present:
Rob Barker, Jim Casamento, Gerald Dorfman, Nichols Gallagher, Dianne Gustafson, Stephanie Leach,
Tim McKenna, Barbara Saint Andre and Jim Sims.

Members Absent:
Sepp Bergschneider.

Guests Present:
Tony Braconi, Sponsor of Citizen Articles
Mike Trotta, Superintendent of Department of Public Works(DPW)
Karen Zukauskas, Assessing Director
Jim Murgia, Finance Director
Ellen Jones, Finance Committee Secretary

Opening: A meeting of the Canton Finance Committee was called to order by Chair Saint Andre at
7:02 p.m. on Monday, February 29, 2016 in the Salah Meeting Room of Town Hall.

A.      Approval of Agenda

Chair Saint Andre reviewed the items on the agenda.

B.      Announcements

There were no announcements.

C.      New Business

Assessing Department — FY17 Budget Requests — (no meeting handouts) Karen Zukauskas, the
Director of Assessing, explained the Assessing Department's FY17 budget requests as follows:
   • Ms. Zukauskas has requested a $25,000 budget increase to the FY17 budget to cover the
        remaining balance of the cost for appraisal services fora 3-year revaluation.
   • The Assessing Department had negotiated a revaluation contract for $115,000 to be paid over
        three years with the first payment of $30,000 in FY15, the second payment of $30,000 in FY16
        and the final payment of $55,000 in FY17. By negotiating for the payments in this manner the
        Town saved $5,000.
   • The Assessing Department budget is currently carrying $30,000 and is in need of $25,000 to
        cover the remaining balance for FY17.
   • Mr. Murgia spoke in favor of supplementing the Assessing FY16 budget with $25,000 at Town
        Meeting by a transfer from Free Cash rather than increasing the FY17 budget.
   • In response to an inquiry from a Finance Committee member regarding a $4,142 contract
        provision budget line item, Mr. Murgia stated that this budget line item was for unsettled contracts
        costs for two AFSCME employees (American Federation of State, County and Municipal
        Employees) for FY16 and FY17.
   • Ms. Zukauskas stated that the Department of Revenue(DOR) requires valuations to be adjusted
        on an ongoing basis every three years. The DOR requires revaluations of all properties every
        nine years. Governor Baker's municipal reform does not address the nine-year revaluation
        process but does propose changing the three-year valuations to five-year valuations.
   • Mr. Murgia proposed funding the nine-year valuation for FY18, FY19 and FY20 through an article
        at the 2017 Annual Town Meeting for a transfer from the Assessor's Overlay account.
   • Ms. Zukauskas explained that her staff assists with the valuations during the three-year process
        whereas 10-15 appraisers are hired to assist with the nine-year revaluation.




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Snow &Ice ~udget —Request to Overspend FY16 ~udget Appropriation of $514,500
(no meeting handouts) Mr. Trotta discussed a few reasons why the $514,500 snow and ice budget would
 be overspent for FY16 as follows:
    • The DPW filled and refilled the new salt shed (double the capacity of the former salt shed) at a
        cost of $300,000 (2,000 tons x $75 per ton x 2 fills). Approximately $165,000 was spent on salt
        and chemicals.
    • According to Mr. Trotta the DPW handled 12 snow/ice events, plowed 16" of snow to date and
        sanded numerous times. Roads were plowed four times. Unlike other Towns that stop plowing
         between 11:00 p.m. and the morning, Canton plows and treats the roads throughout the night.
         Ms. Sims expressed concern with labor and overtime costs as well as damage to properties and
         mailboxes. Mr. Trotta stated that some property repairs are paid out of the DPW operating
         budget. The Town reimburses property owners $65.00 for mailbox repair.
         M r. Casamento stated that the Finance Committee should receive back up information if an item
         is to be listed on the agenda for discussion and a vote. (Prior to and at the time of the meeting no
         i nformation had been provided to the Finance Committee with regard to expenses incurred year
        to date for the Snow and Ice budget.)
           Ms. Gustafson cautioned that the Town should take into consideration the cost for materials
        when a new facility is built.
    • At the suggestion of the Finance Committee a few years ago, Mr. Trotta has been requesting a
        $50,000 increase to the Snow and Ice Budget each year for a few years. He is requesting a
        $50,000 increase which will bring the budget to $564,500 for FY17.
    • If the Snow and Ice budget has a surplus at the end of the fiscal year the excess falls out to free
        cash.

A motion made by Mr. Dorfman to allow the DPW Superintendent to overspend the FY16 Snow &
Ice budget appropriation of $514,500 was seconded by Mr. Barker. Vote: 9-0-0.


Department of Public Works(DPW)FY17 Budget Requests — Mr. Trotta summarized the DPW FY17
budget requests as follows:
   • Mr. Trotta is requesting a $77,000 salary for aFacility/Grounds Supervisor be transferred from
        the Highway Maintenance budget (Dept. #429) to the Public Buildings budget (Dept. #192). The
        Board of Selectmen upgraded this position to Grade 18. This position, approved at ATM 2015,
        has not yet been filled.
   • In response to Mr. Sims' inquiry about the $8,500 stipend that Mr. Trotta is receiving for
        managing a staff of four in the Public Buildings Department, Mr. Trotta stated that the BOS
        regarded the stipend as fair compensation for taking on the additional responsibilities from a
       $90,000 per year management position that has remained unfilled for the past five years. The
       Town Administrator, Bill Friel, had been receiving the $8,500 stipend.
   • Mr. Trotta is requesting two new positions. The first new position is a Business Manager that
        would be paid $34,390 from DPW (50%), $17,195 from the Sewer Enterprise Fund (25%) and
       $17,195 from the Water Enterprise Fund (25%). The reason this position is being requested is
        because of the need for someone to oversee the DPW's accounting, financial reporting and
        inventory of contracts.
   • The second new position is a GIS Analyst that would be paid $25,875 from the Engineering
        Department budget (40%), $19,407 from the Sewer Enterprise Fund (30%) and $19,656 from the
        Water Enterprise Fund (30%).
       The Board of Selectmen have not taken a voted position on these two new DPW positions. In
        response to a Finance Committee member's inquiry as to the priority of these two positions, Mr.
       Trotta stated that the GIS Analyst position was a higher priority than the Business Analyst
        position.
   • Mr. Trotta's budget request does not include funding for Storm Water Management.




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Water and 5ew~~ enterprise Fur~e~~ ~ ~Y17 Budget Requests — Mr. Trotta offered the following
 information with regard to the Water and Sewer Enterprise Funds:
     • The largest impact on both budgets is the request for the salary for the two new positions of
          Business Manager and GIS Analyst.
     • Mr. Trotta is reducing the Sewer Enterprise expense budget by $18,000 based on need. The
          reductions will be in the areas of lights and power, repair/maintenance of pumping station, tools
         and hardware and septage site.
     • A request to reduce the Water Enterprise expense budget by $54,000 is in the areas of
         water/sewer purchased from the Town of Milton/Stoughton, chemicals, contingencies and
          pipeline assistance program.
     • Mr. Trotta stated that the MWRA assessment will increase for this year. The reason for this
          increase was because of two dry summers and the requirement by the MWRA to reduce pumping
         from the wells.
     • The Superintendent stated that he would be requesting $200,000 next year for a new well to be
         placed near Well #9. DPW would soon be performing maintenance work on encrusted screens
         on Well #9.
     s Prior to the completion of the water meter replacement project, there was approximately 13% of
         u nbilled or unaccounted water usage. Since the completion there is now approximately 8-9% of
         u nbilled water usage due to more accurate meter readings and billing. The water meters will
         have a 10-year life expectancy. Currently there are three water meter readers. Mr. Trotta stated
         that he is awaiting the results of the Collins Center job description review. Mr. Trotta may only
         need 1 ~/4 to 1 '/2 meter readers. Because Mr. Trotta is in need of employees in the Highway
         Department, he will assess in the near future reallocation of personnel.
     • In response to a Finance Committee member's inquiry with regard to water quality, especially in
         light of the recent Flint, Michigan water problem, Mr. Trotta stated that to the best of his
         knowledge there is no lead service in the Town of Canton, except possibly 1-3 pipes.
     • The taxes paid to the Town of Stoughton relates to property located within Stoughton that the
         Town of Canton owns on which there are two abandoned wells (Well #1 and Well #2). This
         property is located on the corner of Rt. 138 and York Street.
    • Mr. Trotta stated that the Water/Sewer purchase budget line item relates to properties near
         Oxbow that have sewer that dumps into the Stoughton sewer system which the Town must pay
         Stoughton. The Water/Sewer purchase budget line item that the Town pays to Milton relates to
         properties located near Blue Hills that are on Milton water. There were 56 homes that relied on
         Milton water but this has now been reduced to 30 homes. These homes will be coming off of
         Milton water near the end of the year.
    • Mr. Trotta stated that the budget request of $46,000 for Purchase of Services is for engineering
         help to assist him in answering DEP or EPA questions related to bacteria, flow, well maintenance
         and permitting process that comes up throughout the year.

The DPW and Enterprise Funds' capital requests were not discussed at the meeting because the Capital
Planning Committee would be attending the Finance Committee meeting on March gin

M r. Trotta stated that he appreciated the opportunity to explain his budget and acknowledged that the
Finance Committee has every right to inquire about it. Mr. Trotta's presentation of his budget requests
ended at approximately 8:40 p.m.

Citizen Articles 20, 21, 22 and 43 —Sponsored by Tony Braconi (no meeting handouts)

Article 20 —Vote to Approve Full-Day, Tuition Free Kindergarten —Article 20 was not discussed
because the School Committee would be attending a future meeting with updated numbers for the tuition
free kindergarten program.

Article 21 —Approve Municipal Wireless Network — Mr. Braconi explained that the purpose of Article
21 was to establish a committee to explore the opportunities of a wireless network in the Town of Canton.

   •    He mentioned that Google (and potentially Apple) was providing wireless connections (setting up
        fiber optic networks) to communities with speeds of 1,000 mbps (megabytes per second).


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•    Mr. Braconi read information from Google that he would provide to the Finance Committee.
        Google would provide a checklist that a Wireless Network Committee could use as a reference
        tool.
    •   Mr. Braconi stated that he would like the suitability of a wireless network in Canton determined
        prior to the expiration of the Verizon and Comcast contracts.
    •   In response to a Finance Committee member's inquiry about funding, Mr. Braconi stated that
        there would be no funding required for establishing this new Wireless Committee.
        M r. Braconi stated that the purpose of his warrant articles was to address the quality of life for
        Canton residents, the cost of living in Canton and to promote government transparency.
    •   He would like to reinvigorate public discussion at Town Meeting and get residents more involved,
    •   Google would provide basic free Internet to residents. Internet with 1,000 mbps is approximately
        $70.00, with TV included approximately $130.00.
    •   In response to Ms. Gustafson's inquiry about Google's reliance on Verizon or ComcasYs existing
        poles, Mr. Braconi did not have an answer to this question as this would be of the items on the
        checklist for the Wireless Committee. Mr. Braconi has not spoken with the Town's Cable
        Advisory Committee to discuss this plan.
    •   Mr. Dorfman inquired about the cost, the economic benefit and the costs other towns are paying.
        There would be the cost of building a 32'x50' "hut" which the Wireless Committee would have to
        look into.
   •    Verizon's license to operate in the Town of Canton expires in February 2017. Comcast's is
        approximately three years later. Mr. Sims indicated that Google would have to do their due
        diligence and would eventually have to negotiate with the Town and the Cable Advisory Group.
   •    Mr. Braconi estimates that this would be a 2-3 year process.



Article 22 —Vote to Amend General By-Laws —Municipal Government Reform — Mr. Braconi
reviewed the various items under Article 22.
   • He stated that the first few items in the article refer to identifying revenue streams and leveraging
        Town assets that do not go through the normal Town Meeting process and general fund
        appropriation process.
    • Mr. Braconi suggested a X20,000 cap on mitigation spending when used for purposes other than
        the original purpose of the mitigation fund.
   • Mr. Sims inquired about the use of "open checkbook" software to allow public access to view how
        funds are being spent. Mr. Murgia spoke against "open checkbook" because while the software
        indicates the vendor and amount paid, there is no point of reference. Instead he spoke in favor of
        the MUNIS software that allows accounts to be "drilled down" for detailed information.
   • Mr. Braconi stated again that there needs to be better understanding, better notice, better
        transparency and better accountability of all funding available in the Town of Canton.
   • Ms. Gustafson suggested that perhaps there needs to be a change in the process whereby the
        intent or purpose of the mitigation negotiated by a developer needs to be clearly documented,
        even if the intent is unrelated to the original reason why the mitigation was negotiated. There
        would be a process whereby the Board that negotiates the mitigation notifies the Town regarding
        the availability of these funds. If the funds were to go into the general revenue instead of a
        separate mitigation fund this could help solve some of the problem of the disbursement of these
        funds.
   • With regard to item #3 in Mr. Braconi's article, Mr. Murgia would notify the Finance Committee
        when a department has exhausted funds in their budget. Departments have bottom line
        authority. Mr. Braconi stated that he would be okay with eliminating this item from the article.
   • Because there is an article on the Town Meeting warrant proposing term limits, Mr. Braconi would
        be willing to rescind this item if needed.
   • Mr. Braconi's proposal to move the April election to a Saturday in May was to allow more
        flexibility for the voters. Mr. Sims inquired about the Home Rule Petition from last year's Town
        Meeting for moving elections to November.
        U nder item #6 Mr. Braconi would like to see a repository of all of the Town's contracts.
   • Mr. Braconi spoke about item #7 and the need for Boards and Committee's to adhere to the Open
        Meeting Laws, especially when negotiating with the developers of Plymouth Rubber. Mr. Braconi
        is in agreement that meetings take place in Executive Session but that there needs to be a clear
        historical record of what was negotiated and the documentation recorded. Ms. Gustafson
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acknowledged the Open Meeting law but stated there is a difference in the "deliberations" of a
        contract versus the "negotiation" of a contract. She stated that the "deliberation" of an agreement
        usually conducted by one or two members of a board do not necessarily have to take place at an
        open meeting. Mr. Braconi spoke in favor of having a stricter by-law in place than the Open
        Meeting Law.
        With regard to Item #8, Mr. Murgia stated that all accounts are audited every year, including the
        Enterprise Accounts and revolving funds.
        Item #9, Mr. Braconi would like to see legal notices return to a competitive bid process. Mr.
        M urgia stated that the Canton Citizen is the official "newspaper of record" for publishing legal
        notices. In response to Mr. Sims' inquiry about the Conservation Commission using the Patriot
        Ledger for legal advertising, Mr. Murgia would follow up with the Conservation Commission. Mr.
        M urgia further stated that part of Governor Baker's municipal reform would eliminate newspaper
        legal notices and would allow Internet posting of notices.
        U nder Item #10 Mr. Braconi would like to see a funding mechanism in place for citizen ideas and
        articles. A Finance Committee member stated that a citizen can propose a warrant article to
        Town Meeting without the funding being identified. Another member stated that while there
        needs to be education for the citizens on how to participate in the Town Meeting process, the
        citizen needs to take the full responsibility in order to proceed.


Article 43 —Vote to Approve aTown-Wide Comprehensive Traffic Study and Review — Mr. Braconi
is proposing the appropriation of $450,000 for a comprehensive traffic study and review. He would like to
see origination to destination of traffic in town and flow and infrastructure study. Mr. Braconi brought his
proposal to his precinct's representative on the Blue Ribbon Traffic Study Committee.

A Finance Committee member stated that there needs to be a clear understanding for the purpose of this
study, what will be the results of the study and what actions will be taken after the study.

Mr. Braconi's presentation on his articles ended at approximately 9:55 p.m.


Article 27 —Vote to Approve Term Limits fay° elected and Appointed Boards and Committees -
Sponsor —Jim Sims

Because of the ongoing problem for years with citizens not taking out papers to run against incumbents,
except last year when six citizens took out papers to run for two vacancies on the Board of Selectmen,
M r. Sims submitted a Town Meeting warrant article for term limits for elected and appointed boards and
committees. Mr. Sims stated that citizens were reluctant to run against incumbents, even when the
incumbents have been doing fairly decent jobs in office. This by-law change would encourage the idea of
change. The By-law does not state that an officer holder could not take a year or so off and run for office
again. Mr. Sims used the Finance Committee as an example whereby some current members have
served in the past and been reappointed. He also used another example that one of Canton's Town
Moderators stated to him that George Washington had the idea that the office of President had term limits
as well. Chair Saint Andre confirmed with Mr. Sims that this would indeed be a By-Law change.

Since it is difficult to obtain members to run for some of the boards and committees, Mr. Casamento
proposed Mr. Sims about having term limits just for the Board of Selectmen. Mr. Sims still maintained his
position that this was all encompassing.

M r. Sims stated that anine-year term was used because most of the boards and committees use three-
year terms (except the Planning Board) that has afive-year terms.

D.      Other business/Open Issues

Liaison Reports — Ms. Gustafson gave a brief summary of her and Mr. Dorfman's attendance at the
Capital Planning Committee meetings. No votes have been taken by the Capital Planning Committee yet.




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Approval ~f IV1iU~~~~~

There were no minutes approved at the meeting. The February 4t" and February 18th minutes would be
approved at a future meeting.

F.      Next Meeting Date: The next meeting would take place on Thursday, March 3rd in the Salah
Meeting Room at which Blue Hills Regional Technical School and Mark Porter of the Blue Ribbon Traffic
Study Committee would be in attendance.

Chair Saint Andre briefly mentioned that she had received some requests from members about having a
follow up discussion regarding the anticipated revenue available this year and whether the Finance
Committee should recommend some of this revenue towards capital projects, return some revenue back
to the taxpayers, etc. Ms. Saint Andre asked that this item be placed on the next meeting agenda.

Adjournment: A motion made by M~, Dorfman to adjourn the rrx~~~ting at 10:~~ ~.rn. was seconded
by M~. ~a~llagher. Vote: 9-0-0.

Minutes reviewed by: Stephanie Leach

Res ectfully submitted,



Barbar~I Saint Andre
Chair, Canton Finance Committee




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Town of Canton
                          Finance Committee Meeting —Monday, February 29, 2016

                                        List of Meeting Handouts


 Please note: These meeting handouts may also be found on the Town's website under the Posted
 Minutes section (Laser Fiche).

 Agenda (1 page).

Capital Project Request — FY17 —Converting Streetlights to LED - $356,000 (27 pages).
(This handout was provided by Mr. Murgia to the Finance Committee members but due to lack of time
was not discussed at the meeting on February 29. It would be discussed at a meeting on March 9`h when
the Capital Planning Committee is in attendance.)




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