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March 03, 2021, Finance Committee Meeting - Virtual Meeting. Minutes
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Minutes Voted on: 3/24/21
Canton Finance Committee Vote: 7-0-1
801 Washington Street
Canton, MA 02021
Meeting Minutes
March 3, 2021
Finance Committee Members Present: David Clough, Dan Cole, Emilio Mauro, Tim McKenna, Reuki Schutt, Tom
Theodore, Cindy Thomas and Wai Wong.
Finance Committee Members Absent: Rob Barker.
Guests Present:
Jen Fischer-Mueller, Superintendent, Canton Public Schools
Derek Folan, Assistant Superintendent, Canton Public Schools
Nichola Gallagher, School Committee Member, Finance Sub-Committee
Ellen Jones, Finance Committee Secretary
Regen Milani, Conservation Agent
Kristin Mirliani, Chair, School Committee
Maureen Moran, School Committee Member, Finance Sub-Committee
Barry Nectow, School Business Administrator
Randy Scollins, Finance Director
Opening: Chair McKenna called the virtual meeting via Zoom to order at 7:00 p.m.
Approval of Agenda: Chair McKenna reviewed the agenda.
New Business
Conservation Commission – FY22 Budget Requests – Regen Milani, Conservation Agent
Ms. Milani stated that the only budget request this year from the Commission is for additional staff hours. The
following are some of the highlights of the Conservation Agent’s discussion with the Finance Committee:
• The Commission is requesting the same requests they had presented last year. The Agent stated that the
Department Secretary III and Recording Clerk were approved last year but due to budget cuts and COVID
they were not implemented.
• The Agent is seeking an increase in hours for the Department Secretary III (also known as Senior Clerk)
from 32 hours ($43,883 for FY21) to 35 hours per week ($45,063 for FY22).
Ms. Milani’s impression, after having worked in the Conservation Department for two and one-half years, is that the
Town had originally hired a consultant to do the work of the agent. When that individual left the Town, the
Commission moved towards a staff member as the agent position. It is her impression that the previous consultant
was building the work along with building a business rather than building the department.
• Ms. Milani has worked with the HR Director in redefining the Recording Secretary position. The duties of the
Recording Secretary were previously done by the Department Secretary III employee. Now the two
positions are held by two separate employees. Ms. Milani is requesting that the Recording Secretary
position be increased from 3 hours per week ($3,384 for FY21) to 15 hours per week ($15,889 for FY22).
• The Agent is also requesting that her position of Department Head be increased from 35 hours per week
($73,466 for FY21) to 40 hours per week ($83,636 for FY22). While the 35-hour workweek was conducive
to her working part-time with a family, she is now of the opinion that the job is busy enough to require the
additional five hours. In addition, she commented that all of the other department heads, except her
position and the Town Planner position, are at 40 hours. Ms. Milani provided information regarding 11 other
towns that have Town Planners (see meeting documents). Ms. Milani stated that the Town of Canton issues
double the number of permits as compared to other towns.
• Ms. Milani commented that that she has spent the last two and one-half years trying to streamline the
permitting process and the workload in the office and assess and implement areas that they can have a
reduction in administrative tasks.
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• The Town issued 357 LDP permits (Land Disturbance Permits) this year but as of November 27 of this year
the Town will no longer have to issue two permits for every project. The Town will only have to issue either a
wetland permit or a stormwater permit depending upon which jurisdiction the project falls under. The Agent
further stated that they need to close out a lot of the existing permits and that the Town has a huge number
of open/expired permits that are attached to the title of individual homes. These need to be resolved.
• Ms. Milani stated the Commission has over 500 acres of property that they are responsible for and that
many of those sites are currently underutilized and under managed. If the Commission is able to clean up
the backlog of permits that they have, they will then be able to spend more time improving the 500 acres of
property.
In response to Mr. Mauro’s question regarding whether or not the salaries being requested for FY22 included cost of
living increases, Mr. Scollins stated that at the present time several of the Municipal employment contracts are
unsettled but that an amount to cover contract costs will be budgeted in Department #910 (Employee Contract
Benefit).
Mr. Mauro inquired about the change in the stormwater threshold amount from 5,000 to 20,000 s.f. and how those
lower thresholds affect the number of permits required and how the Commission might be affected overall by these
threshold changes. Ms. Milani stated that the Commission will receive fewer applications in a year. Small projects
will no longer have to appear before the Commission for a stormwater permit.
Under the MS4 permit the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) only requires that the Town By-Law and
stormwater threshold regulations be at one acre. Canton’s regulations are much stricter than other communities and
stricter than what the federal government requires. The Town has worked with the Neponset River Watershed
Association, which has a model by-law that recommends ½ acre. Canton’s new threshold will be a little bit less than
½ acre.
The Commission consolidated the stormwater requirements as well as the wetlands/land disturbance during
construction permits into one by-law, thereby eliminating the need for typing and processing two sets of permits for
one location and each project.
Ms. Thomas inquired about the role of the Recording Secretary. Ms. Milani stated that the Recording Secretary helps
to compile all of the meeting materials for the Commission, write meeting minutes, and complete administrative tasks,
such as the filing system along with records retention duties and drafting letters to reach out to the homeowners that
might have a permit attached to their home. Ms. Milani stated that the Recording Secretary has worked 15 hours per
week since she was hired. The Commission voted to support the additional hours for a period of time under the
Wetlands Protection Fund because the Department Secretary III position was vacant for several months because the
interview process could not take place because of COVID. Ms. Thomas understands that there is a lot of work to be
done to get the Conservation Department properly organized and functioning as it should. However, she expressed
concern that fifteen hours per week may be a lot for a Commission that meets only twice per month. Ms. Milani’s
response was that the Human Resource Director modeled the Conservation Recording Secretary after the Zoning
Board Secretary.
In response to Mr. Clough’s question regarding whether or not there is a potential revenue reduction with the
reduction of permits being issued, Ms. Milani stated that there would be less revenue collected. Ms. Milani is
currently faced with the task of revising MS4 regulations that are due by June 30, 2021. After this is completed, she
will be looking more closely at stormwater fees and wetland fees to see if they need to be adjusted to include fees
that were being charged under the land disturbance permits. The Commission has discussed making up lost revenue
by improving enforcement by following up on permits and issuing fines for violations. The Commission would like to
reduce the burden on the smaller single-family house lots for the cost of permits; the current cost for a stormwater
permit is $800 to $900 versus only $50 in a neighboring town. Ms. Milani would like to analyze how much time is
being spent by her staff on administrative work, so that the tie is captured in those fees.
Mr. McKenna confirmed with Ms. Milani that the increase in hours for all three positions would not have an impact on
benefits. In response to Mr. McKenna’s question regarding how the COVID pandemic has impacted the Agent’s
work, Ms. Milani responded that she is seeing significant development and construction in Canton, that the market
seems very strong, and there have been a few commercial applications. The biggest impact to her department due
to COVID was not being able to hire the Department Secretary. She has also been impacted personally due to
hybrid learning at home.
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School Operating Budget Request for FY22 – Discussion with Dr. Jennifer Fischer Mueller, Superintendent
and Barry Nectow, School Business Administrator
Ms. Mirliani, School Committee Chair, thanked the Finance Committee for their support throughout the years,
especially now during the COVID pandemic. She praised the efforts of all of the school administrators for their work
during the challenging times. She further stated that this would be her last time appearing before the Finance
Committee as a School Committee member as she was not seeking re-election.
Dr. Fischer-Mueller thanked the Finance Committee and Mr. Scollins for their help and support. Dr. Fischer-Mueller
acknowledged key individuals in attendance – Mr. Nectow, Ms. Gallagher and Ms. Moran. She also acknowledged
Mr. Folan filling in as Superintendent while she was on a medical leave.
Some of the highlights of Dr. Fischer-Mueller’s presentation included the following:
• The budget is aligned to the School Department’s Strategic Framework and the four long-term Strategic
Objectives – 1) Achieving Education Excellence & Ensuring Equity; 2) Cultivating School Climate & Culture;
3) Transforming Teaching & Learning; and 4) Achieving District Excellence.
• During the FY22 budget preparation, Canton was compared to 12 communities as well as the State of
Massachusetts: Canton, Dedham, Foxborough, Milton, Needham, Norwood, Randolph, Sharon, Stoughton,
Walpole, Wellesley and Westwood.
• Data was provided with regard to Per Pupil Spending – Canton moved from 5th from the bottom of the group
to the middle of the twelve comparison communities . During this time staff, student services and teachers
for English language learners were added - a pre-school educator and school psychologist.
• With regard to leadership and school administration, Dr. Fischer-Muller stated that Canton remains at the
bottom of the twelve comparison communities . To get to the state average, Canton would be looking at the
addition of 10 Full Time Employees (FTEs) at over $1 million, which is not the budget the School Committee
presented to the Finance Committee.
• With regard to teacher salaries, Canton remains in the upper half of the twelve comparison communities.
• To build an in-district special education program for students that have IEPs related to social, emotional and
behavioral development, the School is seeking a GMS Special Education Teacher (1.0 FTE $75,032) and a
GMS Adjustment Counselor (1.0 FTE $75,032). Without this program, Canton is sending students out of
district at a cost that is higher than the cost needed to build the comparable SPED program in-house.
• Other positions and materials being sought as part of the Achieving Educational Excellence and Ensuring
Equity long-term strategic objective include District Data Specialist ($85,000), PK-5 Humanities Coordinator
($102,000), GMS 7th and 8th Grade Novels ($5,475), and GMS Challenge & Enrichment Coach ($75,032).
• Cultivating Climate & Culture – The School Department is seeking a GMS Health Teacher ($75,032) and an
Elementary School Adjustment Counselor ($75,032).
• Two GMS School Lunch Aides ($39,796) are being sought to free-up professionals/teachers for meeting in
teams, in departments and in work-related groups.
• The School Department is seeking $1,530,104 for contractual obligations for FY22.
• Non-contractual obligations include the Bus Transportation Contract ($50,000), Advanced Security
Software Fee ($25,000), Security License Fee ($12,740), Network Monitoring Fee ($40,000) and the
Annual License Fee for Fiber Internet ($31,000) totaling $158,741.
• In summary, the School Department is requesting the following broken down by long-term strategic
objectives:
Achieving Education Excellence & Ensuring Equity: $ 417,571
Cultivating School Climate & Culture: 150,064
Transforming Teaching Learning: 102,096
Achieving District Excellence ($158,741 + $1,530,104) 1,688,45
Total: $2,358,576
Beyond the $1,530,104 in contractual obligations, the School Department is seeking approximately $830,000.
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Mr. Nectow reported the following regarding the FY22 budget request:
FY22 in summary:
5.11% budget increase over the FY21 budget
$2,358,576 budget increase requested
$48,544,927 Total Budget requested for FY22
Mr. Folan explained the need for the in-district special education program at the Galvin Middle School. The projected
savings based on current tuition and transportation costs would be $236,000 if all of the students identified were to
come back to the district. Mr. Mauro inquired if the potential $236,000 in savings was a net savings after the hiring of
the two positions for the SPED program. A definitive answer was not provided. Mr. Mauro also confirmed with Mr.
Folan that the proposed in-house program would not cause the potentially enrolled students to have less complete
services compared to their current attendance of an out-of-district specialized program.
Ms. Thomas commented in support of the staffing requests being made by the school department and the importance
of addressing the mental health issues of the student population and that it is probably needed now more than ever.
In response to Ms. Thomas’ inquiry if the GMS SPED program was similar to the program at the High School, Dr.
Fischer-Muller responded that it was not the same.
In response to Mr. Cole’s inquiry about the GMS SPED program, Mr. Folan stated that the service-based program
would meet the needs of 3-4 current students but the capacity would allow for a greater number of students that are
within the out-of-district service. The program would not eliminate out of district placements altogether, as those
placements address students with a wide range of needs. However, for students that have the ability to access their
education at the GMS with a higher level of support, the program would help those students do this, which could
potentially be 8-10 students. Dr. Fischer-Mueller stated that students from other districts could potentially be brought
into the program but that it is not the plan at the current time. If outside students were brought into the GMS program
the program would have to be approved by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
(DESE).
The School Department has a contract with a bus transportation company. Increases in service cost are negotiated
each year. This year’s increase is negotiated on the $1.3 million base contract for an increase of $50,000 for FY22.
The other four tech items included in the $158,741 being requested are all tech items and the amounts are for annual
fees.
Mr. Nectow acknowledged that they were given a budget target number at the prior Finance Committee meeting.
The Finance Committee voted on February 24, 2021, to set an FY22 School Department budget target number
of $47,792,662. The target number is $752,000 less than the budget the School Department presented at the
meeting. Mr. Nectow also acknowledged that they have work to do to bring their budget closer to the target number.
This gap could be closed by either the Finance Committee raising the 4.8% increase to meet the School
Department’s request or the School Department could look at their FY22 request and their current FY21 budget to
find some savings in both places and also discuss with the Finance Committee to see if they can “get the target
number up a bit”.
Chair McKenna stated that the mission of the meeting was to listen to the School Department’s presentation and to
absorb the information presented. There is a placeholder for the School Department to attend the Finance
Committee on March 24 to answer any additional questions or address additional information.
Mr. Nectow referred to two meeting documents that were sent late in the day to Mr. Scollins – Special Education
Expense Analysis FY20-FY23 and FY21 Full Year Spending including COVID-Related Expenses (see meeting
documents.)
Special Education Expense Analysis – Mr. Nectow uses this analysis to update the School Committee with regard
to three lines in particular regarding the SPED budget – Private School Tuition, Collaborative School Tuition, and
Special Education Transportation, totaling $8,542,695. There is $4,469,089 in the operating budget for these three
budget lines leaving a deficit of $4,073,606, which has to be covered outside of the operating budget. This deficit
amount is covered by three areas: Special Education Reserve Fund, Special Education Grant and Circuit Breaker
totaling $4,073,606. Mr. Nectow is projecting that they will have sufficient funds to cover the projected deficit
in the operating budget for SPED. Mr. Nectow cautions that the situation could change in the next two fiscal years
due to student movement in and out of the district schools. There are some placeholders to account for some
movement out of the district but there are always unanticipated changes.
Mr. Nectow also provided a reconciliation of the Circuit Break and the Special Education Reserve Fund.
There are two warrant articles on the Annual Town Meeting warrant relevant to this school operating budget
discussion. Article 16 is a request for $660,000 to fund the Special Education Reserve Account. Under Article 16 -
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$500,000 will be used directly out of the Reserve Account. When the use of the Circuit Breaker was projected for
FY20, the School Department used $160,000 less than projected, which allows the School Department to roll this
Circuit Breaker amount forward. Mr. Nectow reported that the School Department actually rolled too much forward
and violated a Department of Revenue rule as to how much you can have on reserve. In working with the
Department of Revenue they have informed the Town to take $160,000 of Circuit Breaker and roll it into cash, which
bumps up the cash reserve. Mr. Nectow suggested that the $160,000 be put into the Special Education Reserve
Account. The $500,000 would not only be used for FY22 but for future years. Mr. Nectow directed the Committee
members to the Special Education Reserve Fund Reconciliation and noted that FY22 would be the last “ask” of
$500,000, since there would be a sufficient amount, if expenses were to stay the same.
The Finance Committee would place the School Department on the Finance Committee meeting schedule for March
24 to discuss their FY22 budget.
Ms. Thomas inquired about two items with regard to the FY22 operating budget:
Non-teaching Longevity will increase by 18.73% ($80,013 increasing to $95,000) for FY22 – Everyone that has
longevity that is not in Unit A for the Teachers who are schedule to receive a longevity increase fall into this
budget. Mr. Nectow figures this amount out of the contract based on the individuals that will be receiving an
increase to their longevity.
Teaching Stipends – This budget will increase 28.98% from $619,039 to $798,420 for FY22. Mr. Nectow stated
that there are all kinds of different stipends. An example he gave was members of Unit A Teachers, who also
serve as department heads or PK through 12 Coordinators. Ms. Thomas inquired if there was something that
changed for the FY22 that would cause such a large increase. Mr. Nectow would get back to Ms. Thomas with
more information on this increase.
Mr. Scollins explained in response to Mr. Mauro’s concern about the School Department’s budget gap possibly
affecting the cash reserves, that the purpose of the target numbers was to split up the available revenue and that the
15% reserves is a reserve function of free cash and is typically not used in Canton for balancing the operating
budget. The $752,000 delta, Mr. Scollins doubts, would not be covered by using free cash reserves. It would be
raised against the revenue forecast.
Mr. Nectow referred to a meeting document entitled “FY21 Full Year Spending Including COVID Related Expenses
as of 3/1/21”. Mr. Nectow reminded the Finance Committee that the School Department attended the October 10,
2020, Finance Committee meeting to discuss the School Department’s operating deficit as a result of COVID
expenses. There were two options discussed at the time on how to close the operating deficit. The approach used to
close the gap included some sources for offsetting the deficit as follows:
Finance Committee Reserve Fund Transfer $370,000
Special Education Reserve Fund $300,000
Additional Special Education Reserve Fund $500,000
Preschool Revolving Account $200,000
Athletic Revolving Account $150,000
Building Rental Account $150,000
Mr. Nectow indicated that they will request a warrant article to replenish the three revolving accounts. Mr. Nectow
indicated that the situation has become more stable since October.
The two requests to be made at the upcoming Annual Town Meeting include a $660,000 reserve and $500,000
warrant article to refund the monies used from the revolving accounts. If things change dramatically between the
time the warrant is completed and Annual Town Meeting, the School Department would likely come to Town Meeting
and ask the Finance Committee to consider warrant articles that may change the original amounts to lesser amounts.
Special Appropriation Articles and Appropriating from Unappropriated Local Receipts – Mr. Scollins reviewed
for the members the special appropriation articles. Snack Shack at the JFK School (Article 31) and the split funding
of the Memorial Hall renovations. Tallied up, the total is approximately $3.2 million. If Town Meeting were to exceed
funding $2.6 million in appropriations then the Town would not be able to maintain the 15% targeted ratio for cash
reserves. The good news, he stated, was that back in June 2020, the Town budgeted $1 million in state aid less
than expected because of the uncertainty with the state budget. In December 2020, the state kept cities “whole” with
the large cherry sheet items, such as Chapter 70 and Unrestricted Government Aid. The $1 million that was reduced
is still available to the Town this year and is available for appropriation. Mr. Scollins' recommendation is a
combination of the special appropriations or “asks” come out of the $1 million. Mr. Scollins is recommending that
$180,000 come out of the $1 million to cover the deficit in the Snow and Ice account. The remaining balance could
be used for the various articles. This would reduce the Town’s use of free cash if everything were approved to
approximately $2.4 million, thereby still maintaining the Town’s ratio reserves.
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Mr. Scollins explained that when the Town files its Tax Recap for setting the tax rate, the Department of Revenue does not allow the Town to not use the latest cherry sheet or state aid number. The Town is required to use it whether it appropriated the funds or not. Therefore, the $1 million that the Town did not plan on for budgeting purposes has to be used when filing the tax recap, you cannot use something less than that which has been allocated to the Town. Mr. Scollins also explained that the adjustment in that filing is in local receipts. Instead of appropriating from state aid to fund some of the items up to $1 million, the Town would appropriate from unappropriated local receipts. Other Business Chair McKenna inquired of Mr. Scollins if there were any Annual Town Meeting articles that might have funding needs that could be a surprise. Mr. Scollins stated that the amount of the appropriation for Article 31 (Construction of Bathroom, Storage and Snack Shack at the Kennedy Elementary School) has not yet been determined. The Finance Committee secretary would reach out to the sponsors of this article to invite them to an upcoming Finance Committee meeting. The amount of the appropriation under Article 26 (American Legion Post 24 Annual Operating Expenses) has been determined to be $25,000. The Select Board amended the lease with the American Legion to cover maintenance expenses out of mitigation funds for this year and on a “go forward basis”. These funds would become part of the Veterans’ Agent annual operating budget. Mr. Scollins reported to the Finance Committee on the following articles: He suggested that Article 5 (Collective Bargaining Agreements under the Select Board) and Article 6 (Personal Service Contracts under the Select Board) would be indefinitely postponed because contracts were still being negotiated. Funding for these two articles would be included in Department #910. Article 13 (Approval of Funding for 4th of July Community Celebration) would be indefinitely postponed due to social distancing issues and other COVID concerns. Mr. Scollins would clarify with Town Counsel regarding the Planning Board articles. At Mr. Scollins suggestion, Article 18 (Appropriation to Increase the Solar Facility Stabilization Fund) should be indefinitely postponed as there are no funds available for appropriating to this Fund. He also suggested that Article 24 (Appropriation for Removal of Weeds and Nuisance Vegetation at Old Shepherd’s Pond) be indefinitely postponed because the Conservation Agent had indicated that it was unnecessary this year. Mr. Scollins had been informed that Article 33 (Acceptance of Bazin Lane as a Town Way) and Article 34 (Acceptance of Magnolia Way as a Town Way) should be indefinitely postpone as they were not ready to be approved. Approval of Minutes A motion made by Mr. Mauro to approve the February 24, 2021, minutes as written was seconded by Mr. Wong. Roll Call Vote: Mr. Theodore Abstain Mr. Clough Aye Ms. Schutt Aye Ms. Thomas Aye Mr. Mauro Aye Mr. McKenna Aye Mr. Cole Aye The motion passed 7-0-1. Next Meeting Date – The next Finance Committee meeting will take place via remote on March 10, 2021. FINCOM 20210303 Minutes EM Suggestions.docx Page 6 of 8 3/6/21
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Adjournment - A motion made by Ms. Thomas to adjourn the meeting at 9:00 p.m. was seconded by Ms. Schutt. Roll Call Vote: Mr. McKenna Aye Mr. Mauro Aye Ms. Thomas Aye Ms. Schutt Aye Mr. Clough Aye Mr. Wong Aye Mr. Cole Aye The motion passed 8-0-0. Minutes reviewed by: Emilio Mauro Respectfully submitted, Timothy McKenna Chair, Canton Finance Committee FINCOM 20210303 Minutes EM Suggestions.docx Page 7 of 8 3/6/21
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Canton Finance Committee Meeting
March 3, 2021
Please note: Some meeting documents may be found on the Town’s website under the Posted Minutes
section (Laser Fiche).
Agenda for March 3, 2021 (1 page).
See the link below for detailed information regarding the FY22 budget requests discussed during the meeting:
https://www.town.canton.ma.us/DocumentCenter/View/7526/FY22-Municipal-Budget---Dept-Requests---Jan-2021
The following documents were referred to during the Finance Committee meeting:
Spreadsheet regarding Conservation Agent compared to 11 other towns (# of hours, vehicle, Stormwater, Wetland
Bylaw etc.) (1 page).
FY22 School Department Budget Presentation (32 pages).
Special Education Expense Analysis FY20-FY23, 6/30/20, provided by Mr. Barry Nectow (1 page).
FY21 Full Year Spending Including COVID Related Expenses as of 3/1/21, provided by Mr. Barry Nectow (1 page).
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