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February 09, 2022, Finance Committee Meeting - Virtual Meeting. Minutes
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Canton Finance Committee Minutes Voted on: 2/16/22
801 Washington Street Vote: 7-0-0
Canton, MA 02021
Meeting Minutes
February 9, 2022
Finance Committee Members Present: Dave Clough, Dan Cole, Tom Emery, Karen Foley, Emilio Mauro, Tim
McKenna, Reuki Schutt and Cindy Thomas.
Finance Committee Members Absent: All members were present for the meeting.
Guests Present:
Victor DelVecchio, Revere & Son Heritage Trust Corporation
Alan Hines, Revere & Son Heritage Trust Corporation
Ellen Jones, Finance Committee Recording Secretary
Tracy Kenney, Town Clerk
Randy Scollins, Finance Director
Laura Smead, Town Planner
Robin Tobin, Outreach Worker, Elder & Human Services
Diane Tynan, Director, Elder & Human Services
Call Meeting to Order: Chair McKenna called the virtual meeting to order at 7:01 p.m.
Discussion – Municipal FY23 Operating Budget Requests for the following Departments
# 541 – Elder & Human Services (fka Council on Aging) – Diane Tynan, Director
Ms. Tynan provided the following information regarding the Elder & Human Services FY23 operating budget
requests:
An increase of $24,524 to the Outreach Workers salary line item. This is to increase the part-time
Outreach Worker (Victoria DiMaria) from 19.5 hours to 35 hours per week. The department has one full-
time Outreach Worker (Robin Tobin) but the department has been faced with an inordinate amount of
requests for services. This increase in hours will help enable the Outreach Worker to be able to visit the
elderly at their homes to do well visit checks.
The department not only visits the elderly but they also assist with the Residential Assistance for Families in
Transition program (RAFT), housing through the Common Housing Application for Massachusetts Program
(CHAMP), fuel assistance, a variety of social services, coordinating recreational programs for seniors at the
Senior Center, individuals who are in mental health crisis and general hand holding to help people with the
process of assistance. The department also assists with referrals from the Police Department, Fire
Department and Board of Health as well as calls regarding vaccines and coordinating transportation
services for seniors to pick up groceries, prescriptions and attend doctor’s appointments in Canton and in
surrounding towns. Coordinating transportation services for 40 trips per day is nothing unusual.
The Elder & Human Services department also works closely with Health and Social Services Consortium
(HESSCO) and the Canton Area Helpline.
Ms. Tynan stated that the number of individuals being served is concerning to her.
The requests for FY23 has nothing to do with the name change from the Council on Aging to Elder & Human
Services. The name change was to make the public more aware of the services they are providing.
Ms. Tobin spoke about the overwhelming aspect of the job. COVID brought on angst, mental health issues and
depression with individuals seeking their help. Last week Ms. Tobin was faced with 4½ hours of assisting one
individual all the while voicemails accruing that needed responding to by the end of the day.
Ms. Tynan stated that they were unable to track the number of individuals they served during COVID.
In response to Mr. Cole’s inquiry if the department receives any help through state or federal grants Ms. Tynan stated
that they receive an annual grant which is fully leveraged. The Canton Housing Authority (CHA) offered $30,000
towards their budget if approved by the state. Another option is a formula grant of $55,000 that they receive annually.
She is expecting this to increase based on the 2020 census. The CHA does not know how much funding will be
available. Ms. DiMara spends half of her time at the CHA.
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Mr. Mauro inquired if the department has been affected by non-profit agencies that they work with due to the
pandemic. Ms. Tynan stated that many of these agencies have staffing shortages. The fuel assistance program
through the state has been very backed up due to staff shortages.
Ms. Tynan’s second budget request is for an incremental increase of $3,195 for a total budget of $10,500 for the
Social Programs budget line item. This line item has been at $7,305 for many years and with an increase it will
help them to offer much-needed programs for the senior population.
Ms. Tynan stated they try to have an open door policy at the Senior Center and on any given day they could have as
many as 100 plus seniors through the doors.
#544 – Revere & Son Heritage Trust (RSHT) – Alan Hines and Victor DelVecchio
Mr. Hines led the conversation regarding the FY23 budget requests for the Revere & Son Heritage Trust:
It was the first time the RSHT came before the Finance Committee for a budget request for the two buildings
the Town will own – the Barn and the Rolling Mill.
The Trust was created by special legislation in 2020.
One of their missions is to convert the Barn and Rolling Mill into a museum and tourist destination that will
generate profits. They will create programs with the hope of inviting the community into the site.
The Trust legislation gives the Trust the authority to seek Town appropriations for their operating budget and
capital needs. These funds would flow through the Town. Mr. Scollins handles all of the Trust’s tax filings.
The Trust has a 501c3 status which allows individuals to have a tax write-off for their contributions.
Donations are held in a separate Trust bank account.
The Trust has a Facilities Committee, a Collection Committee (to add to their Museum inventory), a Public
Relations, Fundraising and Community Committee.
The total FY23 budget request is $71,500. This is a $59,796 increase over the FY22 budget of
$11,704. The Trust is requesting an increase for the Board Administrative Services position (Kristen Phelps)
who has been helping out with the webpage and the scheduling of rental space in the Rolling Mill hall.
They are also seeking $15,000 for Legal and CPA/Accounting services. Last year the Trust filed the
short form. Because of the increase in donations the long form will have to be filed for this year. Mr.
Scollins, the Treasurer for the Revere & Son Heritage Trust, has been handling the tax filings to date but as
donations increase the need becomes greater for CPA/Accounting services.
Mr. Scollins stated that because of the nature of funding to the Trust from different sources it has been a challenge
for him to provide information in a timely manner to the Revere & Son Heritage Board and that he has not been
delivering everything needed. Because so much of his time is being used to serve as the Treasurer for the RSHT,
time is being taken away from his role as the Finance Director/Treasurer/Collector for the Town of Canton.
Revere & Son is not requesting an appropriation for IT services this year but as revenue increases they will
need better software to track the revenue in the near future.
The Select Board has requested bathroom facilities at the site so a budget of $7,500 is being requested for
FY23.
Revere & Son is requesting the Town contribute $5,000 for events at the site such as Heritage Day.
$7,500 is being requested for FY23 for utilities (phone, gas, electric and rubbish).
Their goal for donations and event revenues is $36,000 for FY23.
With regard to capital needs, RSHT is requesting $38,000 for monument signs. Mr. Hines stated that
Representative Galvin has secured $200,000 of ARPA Funds.
Mr. Hines was pleased to report to the Finance Committee that the RSHT had their first major success after having
lost out on many artifacts that were found in various homes in Canton but unfortunately sold to other parties. They
were recently contacted about a bell that was being donated to the Town but that the Town would have to pay the
shipping expenses to “bring the bell home”. The 1830 bell was forged in Canton by the son of Paul Revere. Mr.
Hines reported that they have already been successful in raising the funds through donations but if the public and
meeting attendees still wanted to donate they could point their phones at the QR code on the screen for information
on how to donate to the RSHT.
Mr. Clough inquired as to the difference between the Hooper Bell approved through Community Preservation Funds
and the latest bell acquisition. The Hooper Bell was forged by an apprentice of Paul Revere and is a maritime bell.
With regard to Mr. Clough’s questions as to how the RSHT came up with the $36,000 for donations, Mr. Hines stated
that the target number was based on the needs of their department and would be paid through donations and not thru
taxpayer donations.
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Mr. Mauro inquired if the property or buildings were on the State or National Historic Register. Mr. DelVecchio
believes that one of the structures may be on the State Historic Register.
Ms. Thomas expressed concern about the FY24 budget request projection of $222,000 and that this represented a
significant increase from FY23. She stated there will be a need to have an awareness on the “radar” of what this
project will need long term. Mr. DelVecchio is confident that rental income will increase.
Mr. Clough inquired if this Trust could have an Enterprise Fund. It could not have an Enterprise Fund but RSHT is
trying to create revenue streams thru rentals. The Trust does have two revolving Funds (#142 that is controlled by
the Select Board and #152 that is controlled by the Trust).
#161 – Town Clerk and #163 – Elections & Registrar’s – Tracy Kenney, Town Clerk
For the Town Clerk’s FY23 budget, Ms. Kenney is only seeking increases to the salary portion of the budget. Ms.
Kenney is seeking a 3% increase to her salary to $101,069 for FY23. Annual Town Meeting must approve the
increase for the Town Clerk’s salary. Mr. Scollins stated that any increases requested for her two staff persons would
be carried under Department #910 for anticipated contractual costs. The increases would not be able to be voted
twice – once within the Town Clerk’s budget and again under Department #910.
With regard to the #163 Election & Registrar’s budget, Ms. Kenney provided the following information:
This budget covers the costs associated with Annual Town Meeting and all elections. There are three
elections scheduled for FY23: the State Primary in September of 2022, the State Election in November
2022 and the Annual Town Election in April of 2023. The Town is also required to hold two weeks of in
person early voting prior to the State Election. Ms. Kenney stated that it is most likely that one week of in
person early voting will be required before the State Primary as well.
Ms. Kenney is requesting a $1,000 increase to the $12,500 Police Detail Salaries line item. This budget
can fluctuate based on the rank of the officer working the detail at the polling site.
The FY23 budget request for Election Workers Salaries line item is an increase of $8,660. This is
primarily due to the Town being required to add a 7 th polling precinct based on the 2020 Census Bureau’s
population figures. Additional staff will be needed for the precinct. The Town will receive $3,780
reimbursement from the state for three poll workers.
An increase of $450 from $2,900 to $3,350 is to cover the maintenance costs of an additional tabulator
for the 7th precinct. The Town has one poll pad for every precinct.
Ms. Kenney is requesting an increase of $1,500 to the postage budget due to the popularity of early
voting by mail. The Town Clerk’s office must mail the ballots to voters. Also since the Automatic Voter
Registration was implemented the Town Clerk’s office has seen an increase in the number of electronic
voter registrations through the Registry of Motor Vehicles, Mass Health and the state’s on-line portal. Each
registration requires the Town Clerk’s office mail the voter an acknowledgement of receipt.
In response to Mr. Mauro’s question about the location of the future 7 th precinct polling station, Ms. Kenney stated
that the 7th precinct would be located in a public/municipal building and would be discussed at an upcoming Select
Board’s meeting.
Mr. Scollins has earmarked a year end transfer request from the Finance Committee Reserve Fund of approximately
$10,000 or less to cover shortages in the elections budget for FY22.
#179 Planning Department – Laura Smead, Town Planner
Ms. Smead is requesting two salary budget requests for FY23 as follows:
A promotion for herself with a title change from Town Planner to Community Development Director
with an annual salary increase from $85,183 to $107,660 or a 26.4% increase with an increase to 40
hours per week.
A new position for the Planning Department with a title of Assistant Town Planner or Economic
Development Coordinator with an annual salary of $80,000.
Ms. Smead provided very detailed information comparing Canton’s Planning Department with planning departments
of 11 surrounding communities. The new position would tie in with the goals of the Planning Department. She further
explained that there is a public need for an additional staff person because of an increase in the population of Canton
with Canton seeing a faster growth rate than surrounding towns. Ms. Smead does not have the capacity to run other
programs. There is a need for an Assistant Town Planner with economic development experience who could
research and apply for untapped resources.
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Mr. Mauro has worked with Ms. Smead on the Route 138 Working Group, the Master Plan Steering Committee and
the Master Plan Implementation Committee. He stated that the Town has seen positive revenue externalities due to
strong planning efforts. The more the Town’s planning capacity is expanded, the more the revenue potential
increases through wise zoning and development and through more grant acquisitions, which maximizes budget
opportunities for the Town in many ways.
Ms. Smead explained that the difference between a Town Planner and a Planning Director is the management of a
budget and staff. The Economic Development Coordinator would work closely with the Economic Development
Committee (EDC) who is appointed by the Select Board. Human Resources and Charlie Aspinwall will coordinate a
meeting with the Economic Development Coordinator to discuss the relationship the position would have with the
EDC.
In response to Ms. Thomas’ inquiry as to what the Town’s process is for determining salaries for employees, Ms.
Smead stated that the HR Department typically uses the same 11 towns for salary comparisons (Walpole, Dedham,
Sharon, Stoughton, Randolph, Milton, Westwood, Norwood, Needham, Foxboro and Wellesley). Ms. Smead stated
that she received the go ahead from the Town Administrator to submit these two budget requests for this year.
Review and Vote the Revenue Forecast for FY23 – Mr. Scollins
Mr. Scollins stated the Revenue Forecasting Committee (RFC) met on February 8. The RFC is made up of the
following individuals:
Charlie Aspinwall, Town Administrator
Kathy Butters, Town Accountant
Carolyn Floyd, Assessing Director
Derek Folan, School Superintendent
Stephen Marshall, School Finance Director
Tim McKenna, Finance Committee Chair
Randy Scollins, Finance Director
Cindy Thomas, Finance Committee Vice Chair
Ed Walsh, Building Commissioner
The RFC voted unanimously a total FY23 Revenue estimate of $112,697,097. This total is comprised of the
following four components:
Property Tax Revenue - $90,361,116. The property tax revenue is based on the levy limit with the
assumption of new growth of $1.2 million.
State Aid - $10,665,364. The Town accepts the Governor’s state aid numbers. Mr. Mauro questioned if the
State Aid increase was really a true purchasing power increase given rising labor and material costs and
inflation. Mr. Scollins responded that the Governor’s proposal for Ch. 70 state aid is a 19.3% increase of
$1.3 million over the FY22 estimate for Ch. 70 state aid. This one-year $1.3 million increase compares to
the $1.3 million increase that took five years to obtain from FY17 to FY22.
Local Receipts - $8,800,000. Local Receipts include such items as motor vehicle excise taxes and hotel
and meals excise taxes. The RFC is recommending the same budget of $8,800,000 for FY23 that was
recommended for FY22. The 5-year average increase to the revenue budget from local receipts is $338,519
and has been the consistent practice of the Town in the past. For FY22 the increase to the local receipts
revenue budget was $1,200,000, which was a higher increase than past practice in order to flex the revenue
budget, or lever up, to meet the continuing service needs of the community due to uncertainty of the Town’s
total revenue projections. Mr. Scollins stated that the free cash reserves are robust enough.
Transfers from Other Funds - $2,870,617. The RFC is recommending the same amount of $2,870,617 for
FY23 as was estimated for FY22. Mr. Clough inquired if there would be any transfers from the Revere &
Son Heritage Trust Corporation (RSHTC) to the Town. Mr. Scollins responded that the RSHTC is its own
legal entity with their own tax ID number and that any donations made to the Trust accrues to that Tax ID.
The legislation that established the Trust stated that all of the funds be managed by the Town Treasurer.
Any revenue from the RSHTC would not be part of the Town’s Revenue Forecast.
Mr. Scollins reported the RFC discussed the emphasis on being conservative with revenue estimates. He
encouraged the Finance Committee to look at the Revenue Forecasting Policy and focus on the part of the policy that
states a goal to “provide desired service levels to the community that are reliably sustainable over the long term”.
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A motion made by Mr. Mauro to approve the Revenue Estimate of $112,697,097 for FY23 as presented by Mr. Scollins was seconded by Ms. Thomas: Roll Call Vote: Ms. Schutt Aye Mr. Cole Aye Mr. Mauro Aye Mr. Clough Aye Ms. Foley Aye Ms. Thomas Aye Mr. Emery Aye Mr. McKenna Aye The motion to approve the Revenue Estimate of $112,697,097 for FY23 passed 8-0-0. Ms. Thomas complemented Mr. Scollins on the great job he has done through the revenue process. Even though the revenue forecast has been a bit easier this year due to the amount the Town will receive from the state for Ch. 70 aid, she stated that Mr. Scollins and Mr. Murgia have both done great jobs with the revenue estimates of “working the line” and have been appropriately conservative with their forecasts. Approval of Minutes: A motion made by Ms. Schutt to approve the January 26, 2022 minutes as written was seconded by Mr. Clough. Roll Call Vote: Ms. Schutt Aye Mr. Cole Aye Mr. Mauro Aye Mr. Clough Aye Ms. Foley Aye Ms. Thomas Aye Mr. Emery Aye Mr. McKenna Aye The motion to approve the January 26, 2022 minutes passed 8-0-0. A motion made by Ms. Schutt to approve the February 2, 2022 minutes as written was seconded by Ms. Thomas. Roll Call Vote: Ms. Schutt Aye Mr. Cole Aye Mr. Mauro Aye Mr. Clough Abstain Ms. Foley Aye Ms. Thomas Aye Mr. Emery Aye Mr. McKenna Aye The motion to approve the February 2, 2022 minutes passed 7-0-1. Next Meeting Date: The Finance Committee will meet on Wednesday, February 16, 2022. Mr. Scollins stated that the ATM 2022 Warrant with 43 articles, many of which are zoning articles, was recently sent to the Finance Committee. A motion made by Ms. Thomas to adjourn the meeting at 9:11 p.m. was seconded by Ms. Schutt. Roll Call Vote: Mr. McKenna Aye Ms. Schutt Aye Ms. Thomas Aye Mr. Mauro Aye Mr. Clough Aye Ms. Foley Aye Mr. Cole Aye Mr. Emery Aye The motion to adjourn the meeting at 9:11 p.m. passed 8-0-0. Minutes reviewed by: Reuki Schutt Respectfully submitted, Timothy McKenna Chair, Canton Finance Committee FINCOM 20220209 RS EM.docx Page 5 of 6 2/13/22
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Canton Finance Committee Meeting
Meeting Documents
February 9, 2022
Please note: Some meeting documents may be found on the Town’s website under the Posted Minutes
section (Laser Fiche).
Information regarding the FY23 Municipal Budget may be found at the following link:
https://www.town.canton.ma.us/407/Municipal-Budget-Capital-Information
Agenda for February 9, 2022 (1 page).
PowerPoint Presentation entitled Revere and Son Heritage Trust – Finance Committee Budget Presentation,
presented by Alan Hines and Victor DelVeccchio, dated February 9, 2022 (7 pages).
PowerPoint Presentation entitled Full-Time Planning Staff Funding, presented by Laura Smead, Town Planner
(13 pages). For further information regarding the Planning Department’s FY23 budget requests, please follow the
above link.
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