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February 26, 2018, Finance Committee Meeting. Minutes
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Canton Finance Committee Minutes Voted on: 3-8-18
Meeting Minutes Vote: 5-0-1
Monday, February 26, 2018
Members Present:
Rob Barker, Nichols Gallagher, Cynthia Holcombe, Tim McKenna and Cindy Thomas.
Members Absent: Barbara Saint Andre.
Guests Present:
Chief Ken Berkowitz, Police Department
Liz Francis, Parks &Recreation Director
Louis Jutras, Manager of Information Systems
Tracy Kenney, Town Clerk
Deputy Chief Helena Rafferty, Police Department
Mike Trotta, Superintendent, Department of Public Works
Jim Murgia, Finance Director
Ellen Jones, Finance Committee Secretary
Opening: A meeting of the Canton Finance Committee was called to order by Chairman Barker at 7:04 pm. on
Monday, February 26, 2018 in the Salah Meeting Room of Town Hall.
A. Approval of Agenda
Chairman Barker reviewed the items on the agenda which included a discussion regarding the FY19 budget
requests for the Police Department, Town Clerk, MIS, Parks &Recreation and a discussion with the DPW
Superintendent regarding water and sewer assessments as well as Town Meeting articles.
B. Announcements
Chairman Barker announced that there were three vacancies on the Finance Committee and that interested
parties should reach out to the Town Moderator.
C. New Business
FY19 MIS Department Budget Request — Mr. Jutras presented his FY19 MIS budget request as follows:
• A full-time Software Coordinator position was being requested for FY19. Once the position is filled the
existing part-time position (11 hours) would be eliminated.
• The impact of adding the Software Coordinator position would be an approximately $56,000 increase to
the budget.
• The last time a position was added to the MIS Division of the Finance Department was the Network
Coordinator position in 1999. Apart-time employee has been assisting the division in recent years.
• The Software Coordinator would be responsible for the managing, maintenance and upgrading of over 45
software programs the Town utilizes.
• A job description has been developed along with a grade for the position. The salary range for the
position would be $60,000 to $75,000. This would be a personal contract position and would not be
within any union.
• In response to Chairman Barker's inquiry about the pros and cons of having this new position be full-time
i nstead of part-time, Mr. Jutras responded that space allocation within the department could better
accommodate afull-time person instead of two part-time positions. In addition he further stated that the
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projects the division is currently working on are larger and more complex and it would not be conducive
to splitting the workload between two part-time employees that are only working 2 %days.
M r. Murgia stated that it is difficult finding part-time employees that have the skill set needed for this
position. Having been with the Town for over 25 years Mr. Murgia has seen a growth in support that is
needed in this division beyond just supporting the financial software for the Town but other departments
as well.
I n response to Ms. Holcombe's inquiry whether this position would be a software developer, Mr. Jutras
explained that the position would be more of a coordinator who would validate software packages,
scheduling training along with program management. This position would not be designing or creating
any in-house software packages.
FY19 Town Clerk &Elections Budget Requests — Ms. Kenny, the Town Clerk, presented the FY19 budget requests
for the Town Clerk budget as well as the Elections budget. She referred the Committee to her budget request
i nformation along with a copy of the HR policy regarding the Town's compensation plan.
• The Town Clerk is seeking a 2% COLA increase as well as a 5% increase for over 20 years of service with
the Town. She stated that her position is the only elected full-time position whose salary is voted at
Annual Town Meeting. Ms. Kenny further stated that she has been with the Town for over 30 years. She
just recently became aware of the Town's policy to grant a 5% increase to employees with 20 years of
service. She believes she is eligible for this increase.
• With regard to the Town Clerk's budget, Ms. Kenny shifted some of the funds to the overtime budget
and reduced the overall Town Clerk's budget by about $1,200 and shifted these funds to the Elections
budget.
• Because the Town has three elections in FY19 —the State Primary in September 2018, a State Election in
November 2018 and the Town Election in April 2019 Ms. Kenney has requested an approximately $26,000
i ncrease to the Elections budget. She stated that in FY17 there was a $20,000 deficit to her budget
because of the expenses incurred for early voting. The unfunded state mandate of early voting will be
offered again for the State Election in November in 2018. The Town received only $1,000 for early voting
i n FY17 because the Town agreed to be open for four hours on Saturday.
• Ms. Kenney stated that her office was recently informed that the Governor signed an appropriation for $1
million to be spread out over the state to help compensate the Towns for a portion of the 2016 election
for early voting but the state is very limited as to what they will allow the Town's to submit for
reimbursement. The state will not cover the cost of any additional personnel for workers that assist with
early voting. Ms. Kenney is estimating that the Town may receive approximately $1,700 of this $1 million.
• Any potential reimbursement to the Town for early voting for FY19 is unknown to Ms. Kenney at this time.
• Ms. Kenney based her FY19 elections budget on the budget for FY17, which also had three elections with
early voting.
• After submitting her FY19 budget, Ms. Kenney was informed that the Secretary of State announced that
early voting might be offered one week before the State Primary in September. This could cause a further
budget problem as this was not considered when the FY19 Elections budget was prepared.
• Ms. Thomas stated that based on the actual expenses for the Elections budget in FY15 ($56,191) and in
FY17($59,789) that it would be reasonable to conclude that the Elections base budget for FY19 of
$32,150 was not sustainable and that indeed the $58,175 being requested for FY19 was a more
reasonable amount.
• Ms. Kenney stated that her elections budget with regard to the police details line item can fluctuate based
on the rank of the police officer hired to cover the police details at the six polling locations. Officers are
assigned for the details on a rotating basis.
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FY19 Parks &Recreation Department Budget Requests — Ms. Francis, Parks &Recreation Director, is seeking the
following budget changes/increases to the Parks &Recreation budget for FY19:
• The Playground salaries budget request for FY19 is being reduced from $19,500 to $17,000. In previous
years Canton had offered four supervised playgrounds for free during the summer. This has been reduced
to two playgrounds.
• The Lifeguards salaries budget request for FY19 is being increased from $33,000 to $38,000 in order to
keep the pool open an additional week at the end of the summer. Ms. Francis stated that the Parks &
Recreation Department had received many requests from the community to have the pool stay open an
additional week at the end of the summer. She further stated that she would also like to keep longer
hours in the evening beyond 6:00 p.m. to offer hours for swim lessons in the evening for families that
might not be able to attend during the day. In the past staffing issues has been a problem for keeping the
pool open through the last week in August because many of the lifeguards had to return to college or
attend high school sports activities. Ms. Francis is confident that they will be able to staff the pool for the
additional nighttime hours and the extra week.
• Ms. Francis has requested an increase to the Electricity budget. Parks and Recreation has seen an
i ncreased use of field lights due to additional games being offered in the evening hours. She further
stated that Parks &Recreation plans on doing a better job of monitoring the lights used at the fields to
avoid lights being left on at the fields overnight. Ms. Francis is working with Mr. Jutras on a system that
will allow the Town to have timers on the lights as well as allow remote access for control of the lights.
• Anew budget request of $3,000 has been requested for software maintenance for the Parks &
Recreation data base program entitled MyRec.com. Software maintenance has been previously coming
out of the Parks &Recreation Revolving Fund and Ms. Francis believes it should actually bean operating
budget item.
• Parks &Recreation has requested a $5,500 increase to its Chalk and Fertilizer budget from $12,500 to
$18,000 to cover the increased costs of maintaining the fields.
• In response to Chairman Barker's inquiry with regard to field lights being converted over to LED lights, Mr.
M urgia responded that Eversource may have a grant program for the conversion and installation of LED
lights. Ms. Francis stated that many of the field lights were installed over different periods of time by
different vendors and that because of that many lights would have to be retrofitted to accommodate for
the new lights.
• Paul Revere Heritage Site —Anew budget request of $50,000 for maintenance of the Paul Revere
Heritage Site by an outside vendor has been requested for FY19. A projected expenses worksheet was
provided to the Committee prior to the meeting. The $50,000 is based on a preliminary quote from a
vendor, but this purchase of service would eventually have to go out to bid. Ms. Francis stated that given
the amount of vegetation and irrigation as well as the size of the property, she was concerned that Parks
& Recreation might not have enough equipment and personnel to take care of a property of this size. By
having an outside vendor take care of the property it would give Parks & Recreation a short-term solution
u ntil the demands and resources for the property are better known. The price quote does not include
snow removal. Electricity estimates for the lighting along the walkways at the site was based on the
electricity for the ornamental lighting in the downtown area. The costs for maintaining the pumps for the
irrigation system are unknown at this time. Ms. Francis stated that it is unknown as to when the Town
will take control of the property. Mr. Murgia stated that for the time being the Paul Revere Heritage Site
maintenance budget will be included in the Parks &Recreation budget but that the plan is to setup a
separate cost center within the Parks &Recreation budget in order to track expenses separately.
Playgrounds — Ms. Thomas inquired if the playgrounds that will be installed at the Tilden and Devoll field
will be ADA compliant as well as inclusive. Ms. Francis stated that Parks &Recreation is attempting to
i nclude inclusive components to the playgrounds they are having installed. She noted that a new inclusive
playground is being built at the Pappas Rehabilitation Center.
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• Rink Budget — Mr. Murgia stated that Ms. Francis submitted an FY19 Rink budget of $15,430. Of the
$15,430 total budget, $6,180 will be used for debt service payments and $9,250 will be used for
continuing to cover the cost of securing the rink with a fence and a storage container for equipment.
Article 14 —Funding for the 4th of July Celebration — Ms. Francis is recommending $35,000 for the
u pcoming 4`h of July celebration which is the same amount that was requested last year. Funding for this
if approved at Town Meeting will come from free cash.
• Article 60 —Authorize Disposition of the Gridley School — Ms. Francis stated that the design of the
Gridley School made it difficult to run programs in the space, with the second level unusable and the first
level needing significant repairs in order to make it a usable space.
The discussion with Ms. Francis ended at approximately 7:46 p.m.
FY19 Police Department &Animal Control Budget Requests —Police Chief Berkowitz presented the following
budget requests for FY19:
• Traffic Control Officer $55,000 —The Chief stated that the Police Department is seeking a budget increase
of $55,000 to hire an officer dedicated to traffic enforcement. Five years ago the Police Department had
two officers assigned to traffic. When one of the traffic officers retired, that position was redeployed to
the School Department and the position was never filled with another traffic officer. There are currently
police officers located at the Galvin Middle School, the High School and the Blue Hills Regional School on a
full-time basis.
• Chief Berkowitz stated that the Department of Public Works and the Engineering Department reach out to
the Police Department for information when considering traffic designs and signs. He further stated that
the BOS is in the process of combining the Traffic Committee and the Blue Ribbon Study Committee into
one committee that will address traffic concerns.
• The Police Department has not had a new position added to the Police Department since he had become
Chief.
• Computer Expenses $15,000 Increase —The Police Chief is looking fora $15,000 increase to the
computer expense budget to meet the increased demand for cameras, technology and for the annual
license fees.
• Patrol Cars —Through the capital request process the Police Department is requesting three new police
vehicles. Funds remaining from last year will be used to purchase the remaining police vehicles needed.
• Animal Control Assistant and Stipend —The Chief recently interviewed a candidate from Suffolk to fill the
vacant part-time Assistant to the Animal Control Officer Stacey Nee. The Animal Inspector stipend of
$2,300 which was originally under the Board of Health budget will be transferred over to the Animal
Control budget for FY19.
The discussion with Chief Berkowitz and Deputy Chief Rafferty ended at approximately 7:56 p.m.
Article 7 Motion 1 —Town Clerk Salary -Vote
A motion made by Ms. Thomas to recommend that the salary and compensation for the Town Clerk be fixed at
$90,517 for the 2019 Fiscal Year beginning July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2019 was seconded by Ms. Gallagher.
Vote: 5-0-0.
MWRA Assessment for FY19 —Chairman Barker thanked Mr. Trotta for attending the Finance Committee meeting
even though Mr. Trotta did not have any budget changes for FY19. Mr. Trotta did not have any formal
presentation for the Committee.
• The MWRA water assessment is based on prior years' usage.
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• MWRA estimates the revenue needed for their operating budget and their debt service budget and
a pportions this amount to 61 cities based on the percentage of water used for calendar year 2017.
• The water assessment is down by approximately 25%. The Town did leak detections and repairs and the
Town was also under a water restriction. Mr. Trotta further stated that the Town would be under water
restrictions every year under the new water withdrawal permit. The Town is permitted to use 2.67
million gallons a day. Of that 2.67 million gallons, 2.43 is local sourcing. The Town is only using
approximately 1.8 million gallons.
• The sewer assessment is calculated differently than the water assessment. A formula is used based on
total population, total flow, suspended solids, etc. The sewer assessment for Canton is up
approximately 5%.
• Total water and sewer assessment is down approximately 6.3%. According to Mr. Trotta approximately
2/3 of the Town is on sewer.
• Article 25 —Acquire Property Rights for the Old Shepard Pond Dam Project — Mr. Trotta explained that
the Office of Dam Safety(ODS) has designated the Old Shepard Pond Dam as in poor condition. The dam
is inspected every five years. The dam was first designated as being in poor condition in 2007 and again
in 2011. The Town is under agreement with ODS to make repairs or to have a design in place to make
repairs before the end of the year. In order for this to take place there are four properties in which the
Town will have to acquire easements to do reinforcement work along the base of the dam, clean out
vegetation, regrade it and install rip rap (stones placed along slopes of embankments). According to Mr.
Trotta the new Town Engineer, Barbara Thissell, was scheduled to meet with the residents to go over the
project and help the residents understand the impact the project has on their properties. This is the
same article that was on last year's Town Meeting warrant that did not pass. If the Town fails to get the
work done, OSD will issue an order and start imposing fines on the Town until the work is completed.
The design work has been completed and the Town is going out to bid for the work to be advertised in
the next couple of weeks so the Town will have a bid in hand prior to Town Meeting.
• Capital Request for $700,000 for Repairing Old Shepard Pond Dam — Mr. Murgia stated that there was a
capital request for $700,000 for borrowing for the repair of this dam.
Article 61 —Disposition of Water Sewer Storage Building located on Pine Street — Mr. Trotta stated that
the DPW gave the Water Sewer Storage Building back to the BOS two years ago. Mr. Trotta further
stated that his department had no use for the 1880s building, the building is in need of repair, the roof
members are in rough shape and the building would need significant funding if it were to be reused. The
Town is in the process of having a red "X" marked on the building to help identify the building as unsafe
to the Fire Department.
• Articles 26 thru 36 -Street Acceptance Articles — Mr. Trotta informed the Committee that there are four
subdivisions with street acceptance articles on the Town Meeting warrant. The request for street
acceptance has been initiated by residents of three of the subdivisions. The fourth was requested by the
developer.
• There is still work to be done on all of the identified streets. The residents are seeking to have the Town
complete the work or to manage the completion of the work. Some of the work will be funded by bonds
that the developer has pledged to the Town,some through betterments to property owners. In the case
of the developer's request (Preserve at Canton) there is a punchlist of items that must be completed.
• There are three developments being assessed for street acceptance: Knob Hill Estates (approximately
$40,000 worth of work), Washington Commons(approximately $40,000 worth of work) and Colts
Crossing (approximately $100,000 worth of work to be completed).
• The goal is to have bids within the next two weeks and to get the work done before Town Meeting.
• Mr. Trotta suggested that if it is not bid and not in progress that the BOS may want to consider
withdrawing the articles for acceptance.
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• Mr. Trotta stated that it is common for developers to "walk away" from a project prior to completion of
the street. If a street is accepted by the Town usually or 100% of the time the street has been inspected
and is complete as per the Planning Board and Public Works.
• There are approximately 160 streets that have not been accepted by the Town. If a street has not been
accepted by the Town and the sewer breaks or the water breaks the Town has no obligation to fix it.
• There is an ordinance on the books that the DPW can spend up to $500 a year to make a repair on an
unaccepted street. Unaccepted streets are plowed if three houses are located on that street.
• Work to complete the streets is contracted out. Engineering does the work but Public Works will not
physically do the work.
• In response to Ms. Thomas' inquiry about who makes the decision of the size of the bond required by a
developer Mr. Trotta stated that it is the Planning Board that requires the bond from the developer. Mr.
M urgia stated that the developers for all three developments has been non-responsive when contacted
by the Town.
• Mr. Trotta explained that a few years ago the residents of Historical Way approached the Town about
completing their street and they were advised that they would have to pay for the cost of street
completion.
• Ms. Thomas pointed out that if you look at the value of the real estate versus the level of betterment
required (under $500 per year) it is not surprising that you have agreement from the residents to pay for
a betterment.
• In the older neighborhoods where there may be no bond money available and the roads are so old and
poor condition the cost is $1 million plus (Palmer Drive as an example)the financial burden would be
significantly higher. It is hopeful that going forward the Planning Board is addressing this.
• The Public Works policy is that any street that is going for acceptance at Town Meeting should be
completed and inspected by December 31 of the preceding year. If the streets are not completed the
motions would be withdrawn.
• Mr. Trotta stated that the fluctuations in temperatures this winter has had a negative impact on road
conditions.
• The last pavement conditions survey was completed in 2015. Another survey will be completed soon
because of the winter.
• The Town receives approximately $770,000 through Ch. 90. There is approximately $24 million of back
log for street repairs. Canton does not borrow for street repairs.
• Mr. Trotta estimates that the Town could handle about 15-16 miles of road repairs per year but only if
the funding were in place. Washington Street from High Street to Cobbs Corner would cost
a pproximately $2 million to replace. The Town has applied to some state funding programs but have not
been successful. The state looks at the proximity of roads to train stations or the creation of jobs when
considering grants.
• Ms. Thomas does not think that from a financial point of view that there is a sustainable plan in place to
keep the streets in good condition on an on-going basis for the long term through no one's fault but
because of a lack of funds.
• Road projects unfortunately compete with capital projects such as the $700,000 Old Shepard Street dam
repair project.
The discussion with Mr. Trotta ended at approximately 8:44 p.m.
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D. Other Business/Open Issues
The Finance Committee voted on the following articles:
Article 7 Motion 2 —Set Salaries of Elected Officials -Vote
A motion made by Mr. McKenna to recommend the salary and compensation for all part-time elected officials
for FY19 be as follows:
Board of Assessors $2,400.00, for each member
Board of Health $600.00,for each member
Board of Selectmen $1,400.00, for each member, with an additional
$200.00 to chairperson
Planning Board $0.00
School Committee $0.00
Library Trustees $0.00
was seconded by Ms. Thomas. Vote: 4-1-0. Chairman Barker abstained from the vote.
Article 8 —Pay Bills of Prior Fiscal Year -Vote
A motion made by Ms. Holcombe that the subject matter of Article 8 be indefinitely postponed was seconded by
Ms. Gallagher. Vote: 5-0-0.
Article 9 Motion 1 —Adjust Fiscal'18 Accounts —Hansen Window Project -Vote
A motion made by Mr. McKenna that $26,680 be appropriated to the Lt. Peter M. Hansen Elementary window
project by transfer from Free Cash (Undesignated Fund Balance) in the Treasury of the Town thereby increasing
the appropriation voted in Article 27 of the 2012 Annual Town Meeting of Three Hundred Forty Two Thousand
Dollars ($342,000) and the appropriation voted in Article 32 of the 2013 Annual Town Meeting of $681,295 from
$1,023,295 to $1,049,975 was seconded by Ms. Holcombe.
M r. Murgia explained to the Finance Committee the reason the appropriations for the Hansen School window
project and the Galvin Middle School window project required adjustments to the FY18 accounts. Both projects
received appropriations at ATM 2012 as well as additional appropriations at ATM 2013. Both projects were
completed and finished within budget. The MSBA (Massachusetts School Building Authority) provided estimated
a mounts of the reimbursements the Town would receive for the projects (which is typically around 40% of the
total project cost). The Town borrowed and issued bonds for both of these projects. At the May 2017 Annual
Town Meeting unused borrowing authorizations for both of these projects were rescinded. The MSBA issued the
final reconciliation for the reimbursement of these projects. Unfortunately, the reconciliations indicated that both
the projects were approximately $26,000 short. If the Town had received the MSBA reimbursement amount prior
to the borrowing being done, the Town would have known the exact borrowing amounts needed. Mr. Murgia
recommended that both of these shortages be funded with free cash. Vote: 5-0-0
Article 9 Motion 2 —Adjust Fiscal'18 Accounts —Galvin Middle School Window Project -Vote
A motion made by Ms. Gallagher that $26,362 be appropriated to the William H. Galvin Middle School window
project by transfer from Free Cash (Undesignated Fund Balance) in the Treasury of the Town thereby increasing
the appropriation voted in Article 28 of the 2012 Annual Town Meeting of $411,950 and the appropriation voted
in Article 33 of the 2013 Annual Town Meeting of $919,322 from $1,331,272 to $1,357,634 was seconded by
Ms. Thomas. Vote: 5-0-0.
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Article 10 —Transfer Unexpended Prior Year Appropriations -Vote
A motion made by Ms. Gallagher that the subject matter of Article 10 be indefinitely postponed was seconded
by Mr. McKenna. Vote: 5-0-0.
Article 14 —Approval of Funding for the Annual 4`h of July Community Celebration
A motion made by Ms. Holcombe that $35,000 be transferred from Free Cash (Undesignated Fund Balance) to be
expended by the Finance Director as Chief Procurement Officer, with the approval of the Board of Selectmen,
for the July 4th community celebration in 2018 with the intent that said funds shall be available in FY18 in
anticipation of July 4, 2018 was seconded by Ms. Gallagher. Vote: 5-0-0.
Article 15 —Insurance Proceeds —Vote — Mr. Murgia explained that any insurance proceeds the Town receives in
excess of $150,000 must be voted for appropriation at Town Meeting before the Town may spend any of the
proceeds.
A motion made by Ms. Thomas that the sum of $500,000 be appropriated to be spent by the Chief Procurement
Officer with the approval of the Board of Selectmen in connection with losses suffered by the Town and that the
sum of $500,000 be transferred from the Insurance Reimbursement Fund #173 to the Rink Enterprise Capital
Account Fund #701 was seconded by Mr. McKenna. Vote: 5-0-0.
The Finance Committee discussed and voted the following Community Preservation Committee Article.
Article 19 —Recommendations of the Community Preservation Committee -Vote
Article 19 Motion 1 —Vote — A motion made by Ms. Gallagher that $30,000 be appropriated from the FISCAL
YEAR 2019 Community Preservation Fund revenues for the administrative expenses of the Community
Preservation Committee in FISCAL YEAR 2019 was seconded by Mr. McKenna.
Vote: 5-0-0.
Article 19 Motion 2 —Vote -following fund transfers be hereby made in FISCAL YEAR 2019 as recommended by
the Community Preservation Committee:
A. Sixty Thousand Dollars ($60,000) be transferred from FISCAL YEAR 2019 receipts of the
Community Preservation Fund into the Fund Balance Reserved for Open Space;
B. Sixty Thousand Dollars ($60,000) be transferred from FISCAL YEAR 2019 receipts of the
Community Preservation Fund into the Fund Balance Reserved for Historic Resources;
C. Sixty Thousand Dollars ($60,000) be transferred from FISCAL YEAR 2019 receipts of the
Community Preservation Fund into the Fund Balance Reserved for Community Housing; and
D. Three Hundred Ninety Thousand Dollars ($390,000) be transferred from FISCAL YEAR 2019
receipts of the Community Preservation Fund into the Undesignated Fund Balance Reserved for
Community Preservation Act was seconded by Mr. McKenna. Vote: 5-0-0.
Article 19 Motion 3 —Vote —This motion is to increase by $325,500 the $1.74 million approved at STM 2015 to
$2,065,500 for the 6.85 acres of open space land at the Paul Revere Heritage Site. Irrigation improvements and an
electric conduit have been added to the site since the Town approved the purchase of this open space at STM
2015.
A motion made by Ms. Thomas that $325,500 be appropriated from the Community Preservation Fund
established pursuant to Chapter 44B of the General laws to be spent by the Chief Procurement Officer with the
approval of the Board of Selectmen to be added to and increase the appropriation already voted pursuant to
Article 6 of the 2015 Special Town Meeting thereby increasing such appropriation from $1,740,000 to $2,065,500
and to meet this appropriation the Town Treasurer with the approval of the Board of Selectmen be authorized
to borrow pursuant to Chapter 44B of the General Laws the sum of $2,065,500 to acquire an approximately 6.85-
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acre portion of the property located off Revere Street and Neponset Street sometimes known as 104 Revere
Street was seconded by Mr. McKenna. Vote: 4-0-1. Ms. Gallagher abstained.
Article 19 Motion 4 —Vote
A motion made by Ms. Nichola that the sum of $63,500 be appropriated to be spent by the Parks and Recreation
Director with the approval of the Board of Selectmen for restoration of the Ponkapoag Playground and to fund
this appropriation $60,000 be transferred from the fund Balance Reserved for Open Space and Recreation and
$3,500 be transferred from the Undesignated Fund Balance Reserved for Community Preservation Act was
seconded by Ms. Holcombe. Vote: 5-0-0.
Article 19 Motion 5 —Vote —Motion 5 is a request for $300,000 for the Bolivar pool resurfacing and deck
replacement. Ms. Thomas would follow up for further information on this request. The Finance Committee did
not take a vote on Motion 5.
Article 19 Motion 6 —Vote -Motion 6 is a request for $173,500 for the construction of bathroom and storage
facilities at the Kennedy Elementary School. Ms. Thomas would follow up for further information if the Canton
Little League funds would offset the construction costs for the project. The Finance Committee did not take a vote
on Motion 6.
Article 19 Motion 7 —Vote —Motion 7 is a request for $150,000 for lights at the Walsh Field. Ms. Thomas raised
concern about the level of support from the abutters to this project because she had recently read an article in the
Canton Citizen about the lack of support.
Article 19 Motion 8 — Vot
A motion made by Ms. Gallagher that the sum of $80,000 be appropriated to be spent by the Canton Housing
Authority for the purpose of installing exhaust fans at the Rubin Court Senior Housing Complex and to fund this
appropriation $80,000 be transferred from the Fund Balance Reserved for Community Housing was seconded by
Mr. McKenna. Vote: 5-0-0.
Article 19 Motion 9 —Vote
A motion made by Mr. McKenna that the sum of $362,697.50 voted pursuant to Article 19 Motion 5 of the 2015
Annual Town Meeting for the purpose of funding major portions of the Phase One restoration of the Tilden
House be transferred from the original spending authority of Historic Commission and Building Renovations
Committee to be spent by a third party lessee with the approval of the Board of Selectmen was seconded by Ms.
Holcombe. Vote: 5-0-0. This project would go through the Request for Proposals (RFP) process. A third party
lessee is supposed to be provided to the Finance Committee prior to Town Meeting.
AAA Bond Rating by S&P —February 15, 2018 — Mr. Murgia stated that before bonds are issued, rating agencies
review a Town's stability and assigned a rate. On February 15, 2018 S&P assigned a AAA bond rating. This rating
also applies to all outstanding debt as well as new issues. The Town is issuing general obligation bonds for $4.7
million for the Hansen School Roof, a fire engine, a street sweeper and Fire Department air packs as well as
refinancing $3.1 million of bonds that are outstanding from 2010. The Town received 10 bids with Eastern Bank
being the low bidder at 2.36%. The highest bidder was at 2.49%. Mr. Murgia further stated that by including the
2010 bond issue, the Town will save over $200,000 in debt service savings over 12 years. The savings will be seen
mostly by the Water Enterprise Fund because these bonds were originally borrowed for DPW items. Mr. Murgia
further stated that the BOS will be asked to approve the awarding of this bond issue to Eastern Bank at their
6tn
meeting on March
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E. Approval of Minutes
A motion made by Mr. McKenna to approve the minutes for October 10, 2017 as written was seconded by Ms.
Holcombe. Vote: 4-0-1. Ms. Gallagher abstained as she was not present at the meeting on October 10, 2017.
A motion made by Mr. McKenna to approve the minutes for January 22, 2018 as written was seconded by Ms.
Thomas. Vote: 5-0-0.
A motion made by Mr. McKenna to approve the minutes for January 29, 2018 as written was seconded by Ms.
Thomas. Vote: 4-0-1. Ms. Holcombe abstained as she was not present at the meeting on January 29, 2018.
A motion made by Mr. McKenna to approve the minutes for February 13, 2018 as written was seconded by Ms.
Holcombe. Vote: 4-0-1. Ms. Thomas abstained as she was not present at the meeting on February 13, 2018.
F. Next Meeting Date: The next meeting date would be March 1, 2018 at 7:00 p.m. in the Salah Meeting
Room of Town Hall at which members of the Capital Planning Committee would be in attendance to discuss the
M unicipal Department and School Department capital requests for FY19.
Chairman Barker requested that the members should continue to notify the Finance Department Secretary of
meeting schedule conflicts for the Finance Committee meetings so that a quorum could be met for the meetings.
Adjournment: A motion made by Ms. Gallagher to adjourn the meeting at 9:34 p.m. was seconded by
Mr. McKenna. Vote: 5-0-0
Minutes reviewed by: Rob Barker
Resp ctfully submitted,
~ ~~~~ ~
Rob Barker
Chairman, Canton Finance Committee
FINCOM 20180226 Minutes Page 10 of ll 02/28/18Source page 11
Canton Finance Committee Meeting
Monday, February 26, 2018
Meeting Documents
Please note: These meeting documents may also be found on the Town's website under the Posted Minutes
section (Laser Fiche).
Some of the budget or Annual Town Meeting documents referred to in meetings may be found on the Finance
Committee page of the Town's website.
Agenda (1 page).
FY19 Budget Request —MIS Department (9 pages).
FY19 Budget Request —Police Dept. &Animal Control (8 pages).
FY19 Budget Request —Parks &Recreation &Youth Services including $50,000 budget request for maintenance of
Paul Revere Heritage Site (9 pages).
FY19 Budget Request —Town Clerl< &Elections &Registrars (6 pages).
FY19 Budget Request —Department of Public Works(22 pages).
FY19 Budget Request —Enterprise Funds — Rinl<, Sewer and Water (13 pages).
FY19 Budget Request —Enterprise Funds —Summary Revised on 2/21/18 (1 page).
FY19 Proposed MWRA Assessment(1 page).
Article 7 —Draft(1 page).
Article 8 —Draft(1 page).
Article 9 —Draft(1 page).
Article 10 —Draft(1 page).
Article 14 —Draft(1 page).
Article 15 —Draft(4 pages).
Article 19 —Draft(4 pages).
AAA Bond Rating — S&P —Feb. 2018 (7)
FINCOM 20180226 Minutes Page 11 of 11 02/28/18