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April 01, 2024, Finance Committee Meeting - Virtual Meeting. Minutes

Finance Committee · Record date 2024-04-01 · Record 402072049785356eca

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Canton Finance Committee                 Minutes Voted on: 4/10/24
801 Washington Street              Vote: 7-0-0
Canton, MA 02021

Meeting Minutes
April 1, 2024

Finance Committee Members Present: Dave Clough, Dan Cole, Karen Foley, Emilio Mauro, Tim McKenna,
Maureen Menconi, Kristin Mirliani and Cindy Thomas.

Finance Committee Members absent: Reuki Schutt.

Guests Present:

Victor Del Vecchio, Revere & Son Heritage Trust Corporation
Alan Hines, Revere & Son Heritage Trust Corporation

Ellen Jones, Recording Secretary

David McCarthy, Planning Board Member

Randy Scollins, Finance Director

TJ Torres, Town Planner

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 which included a discussion regarding several Town
Meeting Articles.

Discussion - Article 28 — Appropriation to Fund Museum Improvements at the Revere & Son Heritage Site —
Victor Del Vecchio and Alan Hines, Revere & Son Heritage Trust (RSHT).

Mr. Hines apologized to the Finance Committee that this motion was a last minute request but that he has been working
with Town Counsel for the past six months on this Article and have finally settled on the language for the motion.

Mr. Hines described the definition of a District Improvement Financing (DIF) Plan:

Designed to “grow” a District in a town without using other funds from a town to do improvements.

A special fund is created where all the new tax revenues from that defined District are used to pay for all
improvements to that District.

The Revere and Son Heritage DIF was defined by a development agreement and approved at Town meeting
when the Town authorized the Select Board to acquire the land and improve the land at the Paul Revere site.
A formulaic approach is used to fund District improvements and release tax revenues and determine how
much money can be used for the general fund.

Most of the tax revenues from the District have been used solely for District improvements and would continue
in that manner until all of the sinking fund balance was sufficient to pay for all of the improvements in full.

Mr. Hines reviewed the status of the current DIF as follows:

The acquisition of the land, barn and rolling mill has been a tremendous success.

None of the projections for students attending schools has happened.

Because real estate prices in the Town of Canton have risen higher than originally proposed, tax revenues
from the site have far exceeded the projections of when the DIF was originally structured. Because of this the
Town was able to acquire the Barn and the Mill from the developer

By July of 2029 tax revenues will be sufficient to pay off all of the improvements.

In 2024 the Town will receive approximately $1.4 million in tax revenues from the District. The current DIF
formula would contribute $246,840 to the General Fund to be split by School and Municipal departments. A
total of $570,907 would go towards improvements that have already been made and the remaining balance
of $1,367,000 would go towards the Sinking Fund.

As new buildings come on board there will be new tax revenues. Mr. Scollins has a set of projections and Mr.
Hines has a different set of projections. Mr. Hines is of the opinion that both the projections are very
conservative.

Projected in 2029: $2,085,904 real estate taxes collected, $348,131 contributed to the General Fund, $501,00
towards bond payments and $5,924,530 towards the Sinking Fund balance.

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Projected in 2030: $2,294,494 real-estate taxes collected, $2,294,494 contributed to the General Fund, $485,750
towards bond payments and $5,438,780 towards the Sinking Fund balance.

When the original DIF was created, Mr. Hines does not think there was a good financial! projection.

Mr. Hines projected on the Zoom screen the original motion that was created, reviewed by Town Counsel, and
reviewed by Bond Counsel.

Mr. Hines stated that the following three things the RSHT was trying to accomplish with the motion for Article 28:

1) Allow the Select Board to authorize $2.0 million to RSHT to use the funds towards the completion of the
Museum, The original cost to complete the Museum was $5 million but since that time the cost of inflation
has now increased the cost to $6 million.

2) Authorize the Finance Director to seek permission/approval from the Select Board/Annual Town Meeting to
modify the DIF financing arrangement to release excess taxes in the District to the General Fund to be used
by the Schools and the Municipal Departments. This would allow him to start “tapping into” any excess taxes
that is not needed to pay for the current bond payment structure. Mr. Hines stated that instead of having a $2
million “cliff or windfall” that it would make more sense to release some of those funds.

3) Improve the financial position of the Town by providing early access to DIF tax revenues and promoting a
more financially sound funding plan.

At a previous Finance Committee meeting in January Mr. Scollins presented information regarding the Plymouth
Rubber DIF and how it currently is implemented. With the present formula of the $1,295,182 collected in real estate
taxes and $1,071,488 going into the DIF fund only approximately $223,694 would be available for the Genera! Fund.
If this track continues using this formula for the next five years would mean that only a small portion of the tax revenues
would be moved into the General Fund. The Town would be fully funded of the $9.3 million DIF bond at the early part
of Fiscal 2030.

By making a modification to the DIF agreement suggested by Mr. Hines under Article 28 the Town would not be fully
funded until 2038. The Town would reach paying the DIF Infrastructure bond in 2045 and the Museum bond in 2045..
By paying for the infrastructure bonds and the Museum bonds and redirecting $850,00 into the General Fund as
opposed to the DFI fund and growing the funds not deposited into the DIF fund {growing by 5% per year), there would
be sufficient balance to pay the bond payments. However, it would take the Town until 2037 or 2038 to be fully funded.
It would not have a “cliff scenario” where all of a sudden $2 million has dropped out to the General Fund.

The motion allows for not placing all of the excess revenues defined by the new formula into the DIF fund but into the
General Fund but would still allow the Town to able to make the debt service paymenis for the DIF Infrastructure and
the Museum bond.

Mr. Clough inquired if there would be a series of DIF articles over the next few years to reach the $6 million to complete
the Museum. Mr. Hines assured the Finance Committee that this was their only ask and they would not come back to
ask for any additional funds from the DIF and that they would continue their fundraising efforts. Mr. Del Vecchio stated
that they have recurring revenue from the Northern Spy Restaurant and that they are already halfway to reaching the
$3 million needed for the Museum project. RSHT has to date approximately $1.4 million in grants and donations, have
acquired the terrace through the 7 Amendment of the Development agreement and are working hard with the
Museum's consulting/design firm which was entirely funded through grant money.

Mr. Clough inquired about additional hours for the Museum to be open, parking difficulties, and if the RSHT had feasible
estimates for the build out of the Museum. RSHT would continue to access the Reservoir Mitigation funds since it was
established for the downtown and Paul Revere Site.

With regard to parking for the site Mr. Del Vecchio stated the Select Board will be addressing the striping of additional
parking on Neponset Street, increased parking along Revere Street and parking in the green area allows 60-70 spots.
In addition, the 7 Amendment for the Development Agreement will allow for developing a parcel which will allow for
70 more spaces. At the request of the Select Board the Town Engineer did a parking study which demonstrated that
ihe site should have enough parking to accommodate the Museum. For weekends, a license agreement was
negotiated with the MBTA to use two of their MBTA lots at no expense to the Town.

Mr. Mauro had a few questions regarding the change in the DIF funding. By creating the bond payment for the Museum
and extending the infrastructure bond payment longer than it would have been, does it have any negative effect on the
Town’s debt capacity for any projects coming up in the pipeline? Mr. Scollins stated that this would be included debt
(within the levy limit) so the included debt capacity is very robust and under leveraged. An extra $180,000 per year
decreasing down to $104,00 per year would not affect the included debt capacity. With regard to the funds available
to municipal and school for FY25, how much would those funds offset the state aid that the Town has lost? Mr. Scollins
responded that this change would not affect the upcoming FY25 budget but the FY26 could be affected. The $850,000
is a number that Mr. Scoilins has estimated to affect the FY26 General Fund budgets that would otherwise not be

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available. Typically, new revenues to the General Fund are split 2/3 to the School Department and 1/3 to the Municipal
Departments. Mr. Scollins is estimating the $850,000 would grow 5% annually.

Mr. Mauro inquired if there are any expectations to link the Museum to other things, such as the Paul Revere House in
Boston or other historic assets of the similar historic period. Mr. Hines indicated that the Paul Revere Site in Canton is
on the State Department of Tourism. Their expectation is also that area schools and even Boston schools will visit the
site and that this will be an attraction site from the tri-state area. Mr. Del Vecchio also indicated that they are in
communication with the Department of Transportation about placing two signs on Route 95 advertising historic Canton
with a notation to the Paul Revere Site.

Mr. Cole commented that this request was coming to the Finance Committee in the “11" hour’. He asked how this
request compared to other priorities of the Town, such as the Galvin Middle School project, cuts in State Aid, the
condition of roads (especially Sherman Street), additional funds being sought for the St. Gerard's project etc. Asa
Town Meeting attendee, how would a person rationalize this request? Mr. Cole agreed that it is a creative way to
finance the project but could we use that creative financing to fund other priorities? Will it come down to a choice of
where we spend our money? Mr. Del Vecchio responded that if the Town continues with the DIF as it stands the Town
Departments do not get any funds for several years. Mr. Cole asked if the DIF could be reconfigured to fund other
priorities. Mr. Del Vecchio stated that whether or not other priorities were funded, the underlying DIF would still have
to change. Because revenues are growing more than predicted the Town has an opportunity to accelerate the use of
the excess funds.

Mr. Scollins spoke in support of the release of funds that would have been “locked” away for 5 years. Given the
constraints of the FY 25 budget this could help departments in the near future with funds that would otherwise not be
available. Based on the current formula there would be limited funds available for the next few years. If the formula
were to change there could be $850,000 available which is estimate to grow by 5% per year. Mr. Scollins responded
to Mr. Cole/s inquiry as to why couldn’t the Town just change the formula and not have the incremental additional
funding to the Museum. Mr. Scollins stated that yes that could be done. Mr. Cole suggested having a different
purpose/balance for the use of the funds and that maybe the Museum could not continue at the pace they are on..

Vote — Article 28— Appropriation to Fund Museum Improvements at the Paul Revere Heritage Site

A motion made by Mr. Mauro that the Finance Committee recommend the Town appropriate the sum of Two Million Dollars
($2,000,000), to be expended under the direction of the Select Board, in consultation with the Revere & Son Heritage Trust
Corporation, to pay costs of constructing, fabricating and installing improvements to the property known as 2 Rolling Mill
Way in the Paul Revere Heritage Site, and that to meet this appropriation, the Treasurer, with the approval of the Select
Board, is authorized to borrow said amount under and pursuant to G.L. c. 44,§7(1), or any other enabling authority, and to
issue bonds or notes of the Town therefor, all in accordance with the district improvement financing program, fund and
district authorized by Article 3 of the Special Town Meeting of May 11, 2015 (the District) and the Special Act of the
Legislature, Chapter 150 of the Acts of 2020 to effectuate the purposes set forth in the said special act; and further, that the
Town Treasurer, with the approval of the Select Board, is authorized to allocate to the general fund any portion of the fiscal
year taxes collected in the District in excess of the appropriations required for the annual bond servicing costs associated
with this Motion and Article 3 of the May 11, 2015 Special Town Meeting was seconded by Mr. McKenna.

Roll Call Vote:

Ms. Mirliani      Aye              Mr. Cole         Aye
Ms. Menconi     Aye              Mr. Clough       Nay
Mr.McKenna Aye              Mr. Mauro       Aye
Ms. Foley          Aye                 Ms. Thomas      Aye

Vote: 7-1-0. Mr. Cole volunteered to write the discussion for Article 28.

Discussion — Planning Board Articles - David McCarthy of the Planning Board and TJ Torres, Town Planner
Discussion — Article 32 - Add Zoning By-Law Section 9.10 Canton Junction Overlay District

This article is to achieve compliance with the Sate’s MBTA Community Zoning Law. This will affect 177 communities
or approximately ¥% of the Commonwealth's towns. This was passed by the legislature and was signed by Governor
Baker in 2021. It is a policy to encourage housing production and is designed to streamline the permitting process at
the local level. The State is basically giving cities and towns the ability to create its own agency that would meet the
compliance with this law. It is a State law but the towns have leeway as to how to how it creates the zoning to comply
with the law. This is an overlay and would not affect the underlying zoning. The underlying zoning would remain as is.
The overlay gives the opportunity for multifamily dwellings to be built around MBTA stations. The requirements would
be 1 acre lots with 30% of open space and a 4-story height restriction as well as a definitive setback. This would
streamline the special permitting processing and would eliminate one step of it. The Town is not required to build
anything but this would give the Town the “recipe” to have in place. With regard to infrastructure, the developer would

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be responsible for these costs. The school population has not been affected by the Copperworks project and Mr. Torres
does not think that this overlay would greatly affect the student population. The Town has until December 2024 to
comply with the law. If the Town does not comply the State could possibly pull grants for not being in compliance.

Ms. Mirliani asked what sort of grants that may be at risk and could this cause an issue for the Town. Mr. Torres stated
that some grants that could be affected include Mass Works, Housing Choice, preparedness plans, parks & open space
grants, seawall grants, etc..

Discussion — Article 33 - Amend Zoning By-Law Section 4

This article originated at the request of Zoning Board of Appeals Chair Gregory Pando and was drafted by a group that
included Mr. Pando as well as Building Commissioner Edward Walsh and Planning Board Chair Patricia McDermott.
This article makes updates to the Tables of Dimensional Requirements. Some of these updates fill in current gaps and
blank spaces while others modify the values of the table to better align with best practices.

Discussion ~ Article 34 ~ Amend the Zoning Map of the Town of Canton

This is a housekeeping article that updates the Zoning Map of the Town of Canton in order to reflect what is written in
the Zoning By-law. The By-law treats the Central Business District as its own zone whereas the map depicts it in the
same color and key of the Business District. This change would assign Central Business its own color and key on the
map. In response to Mr. Mauro's question about a map that was filed with the Article, Mr. Torres would forward it to
the Finance Committee Secretary to include in the Recommendations.

Discussion — Article 35 — Amend the Zoning By-Law Section 8.2 Multifamily Dwellings

This article adds a sentence to the existing multifamily section in order to clarify that the provisions of this section do
not apply to multifamily development as-of-right, such as in the Canton Junction Overlay District. This article was
recommended by Town Counsel because this section as it currently reads would contradict Article 32 and jeopardize
the Town's compliance with the MBTA Communities Zoning Law. Mr. Torres stated that if Article 32 does not pass
then Article 35 would be tabled.

Discussion - Article 36 —- Amend Zoning By-Law Section 3.1.4 Table of Use Requlations

This article contains many updates to the Table of Use Regulations. Some of these updates came from
recommendations from a Downtown study done by MAPC, which limit the uses allowed in Canton Center. The Finance
Committee would defer voting on Article 36 to their meeting on April 3.

Discussion - Article 30 - By-Law Modernization Study Committee Creation.

After the last Finance Committee meeting on March 20 Mr. Emilio drafted a motion which the Finance Committee considered
for approval. This motion was reviewed by Town Counsel who had some feedback. Policies and procedures fall outside of
the scope of the work under this motion and rather fall within the executive branch functions. The motion has been changed
to reflect the changes discussed, in particular the timeline added to the motion and the membership change proposed by the
Committee. Town Counsel indicated that it was his opinion that governance was covered by the By-Law review and the
extra language “a review of the Town of Canton’s By-Laws” was not needed in the motion. Ms. Thomas stated that she did
not understand this because the first pass of Article 30 was a three-stage process being 1) by-laws, 2) zoning and then 3)
governance and if governance was to be the third stage of the review it does not seem to be the same as the by-law.
However, Ms. Thomas has not had a chance to follow-up on Town Counsel's feedback but she thinks there is plenty of work
to do within this by-law that includes governance. Ms. Thomas is open to feedback from others but much of the Town's
governance is included within the by-laws. The motion before the Finance Committee contained some constraints on how
far away from the original article that is presented in the warrant that the Finance Committee proceed. The motion presented
to the Finance Committee has not yet been approved by Town Counsel but it reflects the comments that she received from
Town Counsel.

Ms. Thomas read the contents of the Article 30 Motion as follows:

MOVED:     That the Town Meeting establish a Government Modernization Study Committee to conduct a review of the Town of Canton’s bylaw (excluding zoning
bylaws) for possible town meeting articles, or other recommended changes. This aforementioned committee shall update the Town Meeting regarding its progress
at the 2025 Annual Town Meeting and bring forth its recommendations for adoption of changes by the 2026 Annual Town Meeting. To implement this article, the
‘Town Meeting shall appropriate Twenty-Two Thousand Dollars ($22,000) to be transferred from Free Cash (Undesignated Fund) in the Treasury of the Town, for the
Chief Procurement Officer, with the approval of the committee, to engage a consultant to support the committee in its review process and town meeting
recommendations, and any other action related thereto. The membership of this Town Meeting Committee shall be appointed by the Town Moderator and is to be
convened no later than July 1, 2024. The Committee shall be comprised of nine (9) members to include:

A member of the Select Board, or designee of the Select Board;

Director of Finance, or designee of the Finance Director;

Director of Information Technology, or designee of the Director of Information Technology;
Town Administrator, or designee of the Town Administrator; and

Five (5) citizens of the Town as members at large.

eens

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The motion contained language that the committee would be appointed by the Moderator with the members as suggested
by the Finance Committee.

Mr. Mauro agreed with the changes proposed by Town Counsel. One of the points Town Counsel was making that by
reviewing the zoning by-laws it would take into account a lot of governance review. While Mr. Mauro is not certain about the
big separation of powers and where that came from specifically as to where they came from being a specific argument of not
being able to specifically put those two policies and practices. If the committee is to review the by-laws by extension they
would have to look at some elements of government to determine a) whether the existing by-laws are sufficient and b) if the
committee was going to propose by-law changes what existing conditions or prevailing best practices would cause there to
have to be a by-law change. In particular where the committee would still have the name Government Modernization Study
Committee in reviewing the by-laws, Town Counsel's point that it would be redundant because they would still do some of
that may still hold. Mr. Mauro would be reluctant if Town Counsel says that that would be a separation of powers issue to go
through that rather than proceed with caution, if that is the interpretation. It would be good to get a reference being cited
there, whether it is state constitution or general laws or Town by-laws or what the exact source was. Mr. Mauro is okay that
a by-law committee would inevitably have to consider government existing conditions and best practices to make the
recommendations that it would inevitably have to make. While it is not specifically in the motion it will be in some way de
facto be done as a process of that particularly where there is going to be a consultant that would have to holistically look at
what the Town is doing to decide whether the Town’s by-laws are sufficient or insufficient. Mr. Mauro is okay with how the
motion is as amended.

Mr. Clough referred to the negative feedback the Town received from citizens with regard to the Police Audit Committee and
the designee process. Article 30 does not have one designee and has four designees. He is concerned that the article is
being created by designating the whole committee and that it might not contain individuals that represent the people they are
designated to represent on this committee. Mr. Clough inquired as to what happened to the “old fashioned way” of the
Moderator nominating all the members of a committee rather than designating all these positions except the citizens at large.
He is concerned that too many positions are designated.

Ms. Thomas commented on the four Town positions. She stated that she would have concerns not having the designees as
opposed to having the Moderator designate all nine members. It is important to have committee members knowledgeable
about the basic functions of offices and that there is a lot within the Towns by-laws that refer to the workings of the Town.

Mr. Clough is concerned about not having a Select Board member on the committee who would be someone that oversees
the by-laws. He believes that a Select Board member should be required to serve on the committee. Mr. Mauro commented
that ideally it would make sense to have a Select Board member, Finance Director, Director of Information Technology and
Town Administrator serve on the committee. Mr. Mauro spoke in support of where it may make sense to have a designee
on the committee for the following reasons: the capacity of these people individually to serve on multiple committees (e.g. a
Select Board member serves on many other committees and there are five individuals) or in the case of the other three
members would have commitments to serve on multiple committees. If they were unable to serve time-wise or capacity-
wise they could designate someone who Mr. Mauro assumes would regularly report back to committee member. Where
some committees are made up of representatives of other committees it is sometimes hard to obtain a quorum. Many of the
volunteers that serve on committees also have other commitments such as full-time employment. Ideally, Mr. Mauro
understands what Mr. Clough is stating, but practicality to allow ihe option of a designee does allow some flexibility and
availability otherwise you may end up with five members of the Select Board are unavailable, you would have a vacancy on
the committee rather the ability to designate someone. The preferred party is the first name listed for the committee spot
with the designee as a back-up.

Ms. Thomas used as an example that if the Town Administrator designated his Executive Assistant, Jen Kemalian, to the
committee, she would bring great value to the committee because of her long experience having worked for the Town for so
many years. Ms. Thomas understands that there could be the risk of a designee being assigned in their lack of knowledge.

Ms. Mirliani spoke in support of her hope that a member of the Select Board would serve on the committee. But her concern
is not hearing from them directly or the Director of Finance or Director of Information Technology or the Town Administrator
before obligating them to sit on this committee about what their capacity is because they sit on a number of committees. The
designee language makes Ms. Mirliani comfortable with the motion.

Ms. Foley inquired about the Moderator having a say on who is appointed to the committee. Ms. Thomas’ interpretation is
that the motion specifies the four positions and that while the Town Moderator appoints the committee as a whole, the Town
Moderator does not decide whether it is the Select Board member or the designee. Ms. Foley commented that there is a
little of uncertainty in really knowing who the designee is going to be, but she totally understands that all of these people
cannot serve on so many committees.

Mr. Mauro respectfully disagrees with Ms. Foley and stated that once the Select Board designates someone the Moderator

would then appoint the person or not appoint the person. The Moderator would appoint all nine members or the designee,
but after they have been presented to the Moderator.

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Mr. Clough commented that the committee under the Motion would have five citizens at large, which could potentially lead
to a five to four vote (the citizen versus the four individuals running the government). He inquired as to who would have the
ultimate say on the committee. Would Town Counsel have the ultimate say? Shouldn’t Town Counsel have significant
involvement as well since he would be being involved in the recommended changes?

Ms. Thomas stated that the motion before the Finance Committee included the suggested changes from Town Counsel. She
further stated that Town Counsel does noi have a say in what the new committee does. Mr. Clough disagreed in that most
of the motions in the warrant come from Town Counsel so he believes that Town Counsel! will have a significant say in what
the consultant recommends. Ms. Thomas stated that one of the things that Town Counsel does is to make sure things are
in legal form. Ms. Mirliani is also concerned that things get changed. Her understanding is that if the Finance Committee
votes the article as presented at the meeting that Town Counsel could not change this without it coming back to the Finance
Committee for a revote.

Ms. Thomas stated that Town Counsel is in support of this article and even mentioned a few things that could be updated,
such as the election of a Town Moderator. Town Counsel's job is to review for legal form and not to change in principle what
the Finance Committee is trying to accomplish.

Mr. Scollins added that since his position is listed in the motion he wanted to clarify that he has no intention of designating
anyone for his position. He is extremely interested in the progress of what is being proposed by this committee and that the
Town is very “ripe for changes”. Mr. Scollins is interested to see decent recommendations come forward He would not be
designating someone, only for scheduling purposes if he could noi attend a meeting he would want someone to attend, but
that he wants to be a full participant in this committee.

Article 30 — Vote — By-Law Modernization Study Committee Creation

Mr. Clough made a motion to amend the motion presented from five (5) citizens of the Town as members at large
to three (3) citizens of the Town as members at large. The motion was not seconded and failed.

A motion made by Mr. Mauro that the Finance Committee motion recommended in Article 30 as written was
seconded by Mr. McKenna.

Roll Call Vote:

Ms. Mirliani      Aye              Mr. Cole         Aye
Ms. Menconi     Aye              Mr. Clough       Nay
Mr.McKenna = Aye                 Mr. Mauro         Aye
Ms. Foley         Aye                 Ms. Thomas      Aye

Vote: 7-1-0. Mr. McKenna volunteered to write the discussion for Article 30.

Vote — Article 24 -_ Amend By-Law Article lV Section 12 (Voting) and Section 17 (Motion to Require the Use of
Written Ballots)

Mr. Scollins read an email from Executive Assistant, Jen Kemalian, to Randy Scollins dated March 22, 2024 as follows:

“Tracy and | talked and we are going to recommend to the Fin Com that this article be indefinitely postponed. The
proposed increase in the Election budget for the rental of the electronic devices is not being recommended for funding
in FY25. There are some pieces of this bylaw that the modernization committee, should it be formed at Town Meeting,
might want to take a look at and make recommendations on, so we fee! like the best approach is to wait for now.”

Mr. Mauro inquired if the Town was not purchasing the electronic devices this year due to budget constraints, would there
be an advantage to adopting this language and then letting it be reviewed later but to follow the momentum that has been
building to get these devices. It does say at the discretion of the Moderator. If the devices are not purchased it does not
affect putting the language in the by-laws but it would get this language to its conclusion, especially given the momentum
that has been going since Special Town Meeting. The Government Modernization Committee could amend this later. Mr.
Mauro inquired if the language of “with prejudice” needed to be in the motion to allow the article it to come back quicker.

Ms. Thomas stated that a vote to indefinitely postpone does not necessarily mean that the Town is not purchasing the
devices. When The Town Clerk and Executive Assistant met with the Finance Committee there were many questions that
came up. It was not the case of whether or not the Town would purchase the electronic devices but a case of getting the
language in the by-law correct.

A motion made by Mr. McKenna that the subject matter of Article 24 be indefinitely postpone was seconded by Mr.
Mauro.

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Roll Call Vote:

Ms. Mirliani       Aye                 Mr. Cole           Aye
Ms. Menconi     Aye                Mr. Clough       Aye
Mr.McKenna Aye                      Mr. Mauro            Aye
Ms. Foley          Aye                 Ms. Thomas      Aye
Vote: 8-0-0.

Vote - Article 15 — “Omnibus” Capital Outlay Program

The Finance Committee decided to defer their vote on Article 15 to their meeting on Wednesday, April 8, 2024.

Vote - Article 17 — Recommendations of the Community Preservation Committee

A motion made by Mr. Mauro that the Finance Committee recommend the Community Preservation Committee’s Motions 1-11 as

follows:

Motion 1 — $45,196 for administrative expenses,

Motion 2 - $90,393 be transferred into the Fund Balance Reserved for Historic Resources,

Motion 3 - $223,740 for debt service and expenses for the Open Space land acquisition at the Paul Revere Heritage Site,

Motion 4 - $40,000 for the salary of the part-time Housing Trust Coordinator,

Motion 5 - $502,000 for installing lighting on the Gibson Athletic Field at Canton High School ($228,386 from fund reserved for
Open Space and Recreation and $274,114 from Community Preservation Undesignated Fund Reserve),

Motion 6 - $140,908 for window replacement at the Hemenway Building, Canton Housing Authority),

Motion 7 - $175,000 for the JFK Kennedy School playground,

Motion 8 - $452,500 for the Canton Library Park Phase 1,

Motion 9 - $350,000 for the Pequitside Farm playground,

Motion 10 - $100,000 for consultant services for the Wardwell Conservation Area Master Plan and

Motion 11 - $100,000 for the Wentworth Recreational Facility Master plan

was seconded by Ms. Foley.

Roll Call Vote:

Ms. Mirliani       Aye                Mr, Cole          Aye
Ms. Menconi Aye                Mr. Clough       Aye
Mr.McKenna Aye                     Mr. Mauro           Aye
Ms. Foley          Aye                 Ms. Thomas      Aye

Vote: 8-0-0. Ms. Foley volunteered to write the discussions for Article 17.

Vote - Mr. Mauro as the Finance Committee’s representative on the Master Plan Implementation Committee

A motion made by Mr. McKenna to recommend Mr. Mauro as the Finance Committee’s representative on the
Master Plan Implementation Committee was second by Ms. Foley.

Roll Call Vote:

Ms. Mirliani       Aye                Mr. Cole          Aye
Ms. Menconi     Aye                Mr. Clough       Aye
Mr.McKenna Aye              Mr. Mauro       Aye
Ms. Foley        Aye              Ms. Thomas     Aye
Vote: 8-0-0.

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Meeting Minutes: The March 6, 2024 minutes were approved and were out for signature from Ms. Thomas.

A motion made by Mr. McKenna to approve the minutes for March 13, 2024 as written was seconded by
Mr. Mauro.

Roll Call Vote:

Ms. Mirliani       Aye                Mr. Cole          Aye
Ms. Menconi     Aye                Mr. Clough       Aye
Mr.McKenna Aye              Mr. Mauro       Aye
Ms. Foley          Aye                 Ms. Thomas      Aye
Vote: 8-0-0.

The March 20, 2024 meeting minutes were not voted on. The minutes are still being reviewed.

Next Meeting Date: The next meeting will take place on April 3, 2024 at 7:00 PM as a Zoom meeting.

Meeting Adjournment: A motion made by Mr. McKenna to adjourn the meeting at approximately 9:37 p.m. was
seconded by Ms. Foley.

Roll Call Vote:

Ms. Mirliani       Aye                 Mr. Cole           Aye
Ms. Menconi     Aye              Mr. Clough       Aye
Mr.McKenna Aye              Mr. Mauro       Aye
Ms. Foley         Aye                 Ms. Thomas      Aye
Vote: 9-0-0.

Minutes reviewed by: Tim McKenna

Cindy Thomas
Chair, Canton Finafice Committee and
Sub-Committee to Review Compensation of Elected Officials

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Finance Committee
Meeting Documents
April 1, 2024

Please note: Some meeting documents may be found on the Town’s website under the Posted Minutes
section (Laser Fiche).

Agenda — April 1, 2024.

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. These 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

Revere & Son Heritage Trust — Select Board Presentation, dated March 27, 2024, provided by Alan Hines of the
Revere & son Heritage Trust (7 pages).

Paul Revere Heritage Site - “The Region’s Gathering Place” (13 pages).

Letter from Gene Manning, Chairman of the Board of Assessors, dated December 19, 2023, regarding Chapter 59
Section 5K — Senior Work Program (1 page).

Acts (2023) Chapter 50 — An Act to Improve the Commonwealth's Competitiveness, Affordability, and Equity,
approved October 4, 2023 (2 pages).

Part I, Administration of the Government, Title IX — Taxation, Chapter 59, Assessment of Local Taxes, Section 5K
Property Tax Liability Reduced in Exchange for Volunteer Services; Persons over Age 60.

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