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February 19, 2020, Finance Committee Meeting. Minutes
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Meeting of the Canton Finance Committee Minutes Voted on: 3/23/20
Meeting Minutes Vote: 7-0-0
February 19, 2020
Finance Committee Members Present: Christos Arsondiadis, David Clough, Dan Cole, Emilio Mauro, Tim McKenna,
Cindy Thomas and Wai Wong.
Finance Committee Members Absent: Rob Barker and Barbara Saint André.
Guests Present:
Ken Berkowitz, Chief of Police
Victor DelVecchio, Chairman, Paul Revere Heritage Commission
Liz Francis, Parks & Recreation Director
Louis Jutras, Manager of Information Systems
Helena Rafferty, Deputy Chief of Police
Randy Scollins, Finance Director
Christine Smith, Resident, Sponsor of Article 42
Diane Tynan, Council on Aging Director
Ellen Jones, Finance Committee Secretary
Opening: Chair McKenna called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. at the Armando Recreation Center.
A. Approval of Agenda
Chair McKenna reviewed the agenda.
B. Announcements
There were no announcements at the meeting.
C. New Business
Article 42 - Discussion with Christine Smith – Amend General By-Laws – “Board of Selectmen” to “Select Board”
Chair McKenna disclosed that Christine Smith is his spouse. Christine thanked the Committee for allowing her to
speak about Article 42. The article Ms. Smith is sponsoring will amend the General By-Laws to reflect gender
neutral names such as “Board of Selectmen” to “Select Board” and a member of the Board would be a “Select
Board member”. The by-law change would also affect other boards and committees of the Town. A “Chairman”
would be called “Chair” and the “Vice Chairman” would be called “Vice Chair”. Ms. Smith provided a list of
numerous other towns across the Commonwealth that have adopted similar changes. Over 100 cities and town
have adopted similar language to gender neutral pronouns. She stated that the “Massachusetts Selectman’s
Association” has recently changed its name to “Massachusetts Select Board Association”. When the Police
Department hires personnel they are referred to as Police Officers instead of Policeman. Similarly with the Fire
Department, Firefighters are hired as opposed to Fireman. The main purpose of this article is to modernize and
update titles of Canton’s Executive Board and other leadership positions in Town to reflect that any person entitled
to serve in these roles is not only able to serve in these roles but that they are welcome to do so. Ms. Smith is
seeking the Committee’s support at Town Meeting and does not anticipate any financial implications with this
article. Members of the Committee thanked Ms. Smith for taking an active role as a member of the community for
sponsoring an article as a citizen for both last year (plastic bag reduction) and this year.
Discussion with Liz Francis regarding FY 21 Parks & Recreation Budget and Rink Enterprise Budget & Article 14
The following are some of the highlights of that discussion:
A Parks & Recreation total budget increase of $5,950 is being requested for FY21. Some of this is due to
an increase in the minimum wage for part-time personnel in the playground programs budget and an
increase in the minimum wage and number of hours for part-time personnel for maintenance workers.
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The increase is from $12.50 per hour to $12.75 per hour. Eventually the minimum wage will increase to
$15.00. Life guards and swim instructors are paid slightly more than the minimum wage due to
certifications these employees are required to maintain.
Some expense requests have been increased to cover budget line items that have been under budgeted,
such as electricity, heating fuel (gas), gasoline and oil, software maintenance and employee training
expenses (increase to budget request from $0 to $3,000 for the Director and Assistant Director to attend
the national parks and recreation convention). Other expense requests have been decreased to cover
budget line items that were over budgeted such as repair/maintenance playground/pool, office supplies,
employee training expenses and heavy equipment licenses.
The pool project is on schedule due to the mild winter. Ms. Francis does not anticipate any delay in the
opening of the pool unless some unforeseen issue comes up. She is moving forward with hiring pool staff.
The concrete for the pool and decking slab will not be poured until the spring which is also dependent
upon weather. Ms. Francis is anticipating the maintenance costs for the new pool to be lower (budget
request decreased from $17,000 to $15,000) due more efficient systems being more energy efficient.
In response to Mr. Mauro’s question about any revenue impact if the pool does not open and is not
operational, Ms. Francis stated that if the pool is not open for the majority of the summer they may not
offer swim lessons which typically generates revenue.
Paul Revere Heritage Budget – Ms. Francis submitted an original budget of $78,300 but submitted a
revised version of $92,200 due to other expenses that she had not anticipated when the budget was put
together. Parks & Recreation took over the maintenance of the site in July of 2019. Maintenance of the
property would be sub contracted out. Because the Town did not own the property in the early part of
Fiscal 2020 maintenance of the property had been delayed. Ms. Francis stated that the pervious
pavement installed on the property will need to be maintained. The original budget submitted had not
included these additional maintenance costs. She has now included in her budget request a vacuum for
her staff to maintain as well as a professional company to come in twice a year to do maintenance on the
pavement. The cost of an inspection of the property (which is in the agreement) will be approximately
$8,420 which includes inspections of catch basins, roof drains and drainage as well as quarterly reports
and annual reports of infiltration after rainfall for drainage. Subsequent inspections in the following years
may drop to an annual cost of $6,000. Mr. DelVecchio did not believe there would be ongoing
inspectional costs. Geese mitigation has been figured into the budget as well. Organic fertilizing will be
sub contracted out. An unknown expense includes snow removal (if it is determined that the sidewalks
are to be open through the winter). The restaurant is supposed to maintain the parking lot. Ms. Francis
believes that she will need a seasonal maintenance worker for daily maintenance (trash barrel emptying)
for the site during the summer/peak usage months. An outside company with licenses will be hired to
maintain the use of herbicide for weed control in the diversion channel.
The Youth Services budget will be level funded at $2,500 for Fiscal 2021. Parking could be an issue if the
Halloween parade and Easter Egg Hunt is held at the Paul Revere Heritage Site.
With regard to the Rink Enterprise budget, Ms. Francis is anticipating that the new rink will be more
energy efficient. The total budget request for FY21 for the Rink Enterprise Budget is $238,660. Ms.
Francis is hoping to have the rink available for use in September. The revised budget request for the rink
includes $50,000 of debt service for interest on a BAN/temporary loan (Bond Anticipation Note). With
regard to Mr. Cole’s question if any revenue assumptions have been determined for the rink, Ms. Francis
stated that because the Town has to first submit the rental rates to the DCR (Department of Conservation
and Recreation) for approval, the rental rates have not been determined yet. It is hopeful that the rentals
will be enough to cover the operational costs of the rink. In the lease agreement it states that the DCR
has to approve the rates. There are some DCR rinks that have two tiers of pricing such as one tier for
youth hockey and another tier for private groups. A specific tier could not be developed only for Canton.
Ms. Francis will be pursuing two different rates. Ms. Francis stated that any of the DCR rinks are priced
lower than the privately-owned rinks such as the Ice House. She has been advised by the DCR
representative that pricing should be selected which would generate enough revenue to cover the
expenses for several years as the DCR does not do price updating on a yearly basis. Mr. Scollins stated
that there are no principal payments for the rink yet because the Town has not borrowed for the loan but
will be borrowing in the spring of 2020. In response to Mr. Mauro’s inquiry as to why the Fiscal 2015
actual expenses of $297,238 was lower than the Fiscal 2021 budget of $238,660 especially the $11,463
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expense for officials was zeroed out for Fiscal 2021, Ms. Francis stated that the Town will be looking to
strictly rent out the ice and that organizations/leagues/schools looking to rent out the ice will have to
provide their own officials unless a league is being run by the Parks & Recreation Department. Ms. Francis
also does not anticipate that Rink Enterprise budget will be paying for the expense of an EMT at the
games. The purchase of the Zamboni was part of the project cost. The DCR rink lease cost was typically a
percentage of revenue but when the lease was renewed the lease payment was changed to a flat fee of
$2,000 per year. Mr. Mauro inquired about the use of the rink during off season. Ms. Francis stated that
she had conferred with an engineer and determined that the cost to keep the ice up and running for a
longer period of time might not be financially feasible for the Town if the Town were unable to generate
revenue. With regard to another off-season use of the rink, Ms. Francis had looked into artificial turf but
the cost of it as well as the added burden of storing the turf might not be beneficial or revenue generating
since most organizations are looking for turf in February and March which are during the months when
the rink is in use for hockey.
The amount being requested under Article 14 for the Fourth of July Community Celebration is $35,000.
Discussion with Victor DelVecchio regarding the Paul Revere Heritage Commission (PRHC) FY21 Budget
Mr. DelVecchio offered the following information regarding the $4,652 increase to the budget for FY21:
Charlie Aspinwall had assisted the PRHC last year by requesting a $1,000 budget for FY20 for an
administrative assistant for the Commission.
The Commission sought to hire an assistant but realized that the budget needed to be increased
significantly based on 10 hours per month at $21.76 per hour amounting to approximately $2,176 per
year. The 10 hours per month was unrealistically low given the amount of the backlog of work that the
Commission had over the past five years of being without an assistant.
Based on a COLA for FY2021 for a rate of $22.30 per hour the Commission decided to increase the hours
per year from 120 to 240 for a total cost of $5,352 per year.
The Commission received four responses to the posting of 240 hours per year. The candidate that they
have hired went to Smith College and has a Master’s degree from Rhode Island School of Design.
Mr. DelVecchio provided a detailed handout (see meeting documents) of the responsibilities of the
Administrative Assistant including communications, research, social media, schedule and administrative
functions.
The Commission has two web pages that need to be updated now and in the future as the process grows:
one for the Town and another for the Commission.
The arrangement that the Commission has with the Board of Selectmen is that scheduling of events for
the second floor of the Rolling Mill and private events on the upper portion of the land closest to the Barn
will fall with the Commission or a non-profit. The Commission is seeking the legislature to adopt non-
profit special legislation. This was drafted by Town Counsel and it has been submitted to the legislature
which is pending. If this is approved the result could be additional work for the Commission.
The Commission may be back next year with an additional budget request given the amount of
responsibility the Commission has to maintain this historic site.
Mr. DelVecchio received information from the HR Director that the Community Preservation Assistant is
averaging 608 hours per year at approximately $13,500 in labor.
The Commission is also requesting a budget of $300 for office supplies.
Discussion with Diane Tynan regarding the Council on Aging FY21 Budget Increase - $54,512
The following are a few highlights of the discussion with Ms. Tynan regarding the Council on Aging and the FY21
budget request of $54,512:
The Council on Aging provides to citizens under the age of 60 help with, including but not limited, to
public assistance, food assistance, health insurance, fuel assistance, housing foreclosures and CHAMP
applications (Common Housing Application for Massachusetts Public-Housing). The Veterans’
Department had originally processed these applications but the Council on Aging was asked by the Board
of Selectman several years ago to take on this function.
In addition the COA provides services to approximately 6,008 seniors (over the age of 60) in Canton.
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The COA outreach worker schedules transportation. The COA has two 21-passenger buses, two 11-
passenger vans and one car that transport older adults as well as citizens under the age of 60 with
disabilities to medical appointments, food shopping and pharmacy. All of these vehicles are Town-owed.
The current Outreach worker works 35 hours per week. Ms. Tynan is requesting that this position be
increased to 40 hours per week. Ms. Tynan works 40 hours per week and the COA has three other full-
time employees that work 35 hours per week. Ms. Tynan is also requesting an additional Outreach Work
for 18 hours per week at a cost of $27,239.
Ms. Tynan stated that with the staff the COA currently has they will be unable to keep up with and
continue the current level of services they provide. The volume of visitors, volume of telephone calls and
requests on the staff is very demanding.
Ms. Tynan provided statistics from Emmett Schmarsow of the Executive Office of Elder Affairs that the
projections of seniors in Massachusetts will increase 30% between 2010 and 2020 and a 20% increase
between 2020 and 2030. The national senior population is expected to increase 50% from 2010 to 2030
and that there will be no decrease in senior population prior to 2050.
The COA has a revolving fund which helps subsidize programs.
Ms. Tynan further explained that their preference is to get the additional five hours for the Outreach
Worker. They also asked for a full-time bus drive but they need to be able to offset the hours they are
paying out of their grant and the revolving fund for the buses. The COA runs their vehicles 87 hours per
week. Of those 87 hours 61 hours come out of their municipal budget and 10 hours come out of their
grant. They would like to have 16 hours come out of the municipal grant as well. The COA receives
approximately $59,000 through a formula grant with the Executive Office of Elder Affairs which is based
on Canton’s populations.
Mr. Cole questioned how the grant money is applied to expenses. Mr. Scollins stated that if the COA
budget is short on any particular line item a journal entry reclassifies the expense over to the grant. The
grant fund has to be completely visible as to funds that come in and charges against it.
Ms. Tynan expressed a bit of concern with the electricity budget line item as the COA has had many
problems with its HVAC system. The COA has been receiving $1,800 to $2,000 electric invoices per
month. She is hopeful that as the problems are worked through with the HVAC system they might see a
decrease in these invoices.
Discussion with Chief Ken Berkowitz regarding the Police Department & Animal Control FY21 Budgets
Chief Berkowitz provided the following information regarding his request for an FY21 budget increase of $186,369:
The Chief is requesting two new positions: an additional School Resource Officer (SRO) and a Detective
for a combined increase of $113,000. The SRO was requested last year but was not funded. The SRO
would rotate among the Town’s three elementary schools. This will bring the total SROs of four for the
Town.
Currently, an SRO at the Blue Hills Regional School (BHRS) provided by the Canton Police Department is
being funded by the Town of Canton. Starting in FY21 50% of the salary for this SRO will be paid by the
other Towns sending students to BHRS while 50% will continue to be paid by the Town of Canton.
The Chief is also requesting $36,000 for shift overtime for FY21 as per contract increases. This budget line
item has been underfunded. The Chief stated that this year has been an unusual year in that they have
had three officers out with injuries.
In response to Mr. Cole’s inquiry about increasing the staffing levels in the Police Department because the
overtime budget is running over $300,000 per year, the Chief responded that this could be done through
attrition but he is currently unaware of anyone officially retiring this year. The Police Department has
three per diem police officers that are used on a fill-in basis. They will be ready to replace an officer in the
event of a retirement.
Other salary costs associated with the two new positions being requested include a $35,000 increase to
the budget in line items such as educational increment, paid holidays, night differential and stipends.
Expense costs associated with the two new positions include increases to the uniforms and the training
program budget line items.
For the Animal Control budget the Chief is requesting an increase of $1,760 to the Burial of Animals
budget line item for increased overtime costs and a $393 increase to office supplies.
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Discussion with Louis Jutras regarding the Information Systems FY21 Budget - $90,600
Mr. Jutras provided a handout with summary information about his budget request.
Two of Mr. Jutras’ budget must haves include an $8,500 increase for contractual obligations (for three
staff) and $16,800 for permitting software currently being used by various departments. The main
portion of the $16,800 is approximately $10,000 for updating the Town’s permit software to a hosted
model.
Additional requests include a request for $5,800 for website software and $68,000 for monitoring
software for website security.
The $68,000 software monitoring request is a request from last year that was not funded. This request is
being made again because of the substantial need for this monitoring given the current environment that
the Town is operating in with the risk of cyberattacks, ransomware attacks etc. This request is in his
operating budget because it will be a recurring charge that is needed every year for preventative care and
monitoring services. Mr. Jutras provided a proposal from an outside vendor that could perform the
monitoring service. Offices are closed twice as many hours as they are open and many times problems
occur during off hours when the Town is not open for business. This monitoring would not include the
School Department or public library systems.
D. Old Business
Vote - Article 14 – 4th of July Community Celebration
A motion made by Mr. Clough to recommend to Town Meeting the transfer for $35,000 of free cash for the 4 th of
July Community Celebration was seconded by Mr. Cole. Vote: 7-0-0.
Vote – Article 42 – Amend General By-Laws – Change “Board of Selectman” to “Select Board”
A motion made by Mr. Clough to recommend to Town Meeting that the General By-Laws be amended to reflect
“Select Board” and other gender neutral pronouns was seconded by Mr. Mauro. Vote: 7-0-0.
E. Public Comments
There were no public comments.
E. Approval of Minutes
There were no minutes approved.
F. Next Meeting Date: The next Finance Committee meeting will take place on February 26, 2020 at 7:00
p.m. in the Salah Meeting Room of Town Hall.
Adjournment: A motion made by Mr. Wong to adjourn the meeting at 9:08 p.m. was seconded by
Mr. Mauro. Vote: 7-0-0.
Minutes reviewed by: Dan Cole
Respectfully submitted,
X
Tim McKenna
Chair, Canton Finance Committee
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Canton Finance Committee Meeting
February 19, 2020
Please note: Some meeting documents may be found on the Town’s website under the Posted Minutes section
(Laser Fiche).
For information regarding department budget requests please follow the below link:
https://www.town.canton.ma.us/DocumentCenter/View/5658/FY21-Municipal-Budget---Dept-Requests---Jan-2020
Agenda for February 19, 2020. (1 page).
Article 42 – Amend General By-Laws – Change “Board of Selectman” to “Select Board” etc. - Information provided
by Christine Smith (2 pages).
Updated Paul Revere Heritage Budget Worksheet for FY21, provided by Liz Francis, Recreation Director (1 page).
Article 14 – Draft Motion – Funding for the Annual 4 th of July Community Celebration (1 page).
Paul Revere Administrative Assistant Responsibilities – January 8, 2020, provided by Victor DelVecchio, Chair of the
Paul Revere Heritage Commission (1 page).
Information Systems 2021 Budget Request, provided by Louis Jutras, Manager of Information Systems (16 pages).
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