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February 13, 2019, Finance Committee Meeting. Minutes
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Meeting of the Canton Finance Committee Minutes voted on: 2/25/19
Meeting Minutes vote: 7-0-1
Wednesday, February 13, 2019
Finance Committee Members Present:
Christos Arsondiadis, Rob Barker, Dan Cole, Cynthia Holcombe, Emilio Mauro, Tim McKenna, and Wai Wong.
Finance Committee Members Absent: Cindy Thomas and Barbara Saint Andre.
Guests Present:
Andrea Capone, Director, Library
Liz Francis, Director, Parks &Recreation
Ellen Jones, Finance Committee Secretary
Louis Jutras, Manager of Information Systems, Finance Department
Jim Murgia, Finance Director
Glen Shane, Resident
Mike Trotta, Superintendent, Department of Public Works
Opening: A meeting of the Canton Finance Committee was called to order by Chairman Barker at 7:03 pm. on
Wednesday, February 13, 2019 in the Salah Meeting Room of Town Hall.
A. Approval of Agenda
Chairman Barker reviewed the items on the agenda.
B. Announcements
There were no announcements.
C. New Business
Ms. Francis provided the following information regarding the Parks &Recreation FY20 budgets:
Parks &Recreation FY20 Budget Request —
• A request for increases to the salary budget line items for playground programs, recreation part time
workers' and lifeguards is mainly due to an increase in the state minimum wage rate.
• A request for an increase to the overtime budget is due to the anticipated additional park responsibilities
for the Paul Revere Heritage site.
• A decrease from $3,300 to $2,800 for in-state budget travel has been requested because Ms. Francis
stated that this line item had been over budgeted and that some of training expenses had been charged
to this budget line item in the past and should not have been.
• Increases to the heating fuel (gas), gasoline &oil and diesel fuel budgets are being requested to cover cost
i ncreases. The William Armando Recreation Center and the Pine Street Garage fall under the Parks &
Recreation Department's responsibility for heating.
• Mr. Cole noted that the request for the total budget increase from $724,515(FY19 original budget) to
$757,482 (FY20 dept. request) represents an approximately 4.6%budget increase.
M r. Murgia reminded the members of the Committee that the FY20 Base Budgets for salaries and wages for
departments already include increases for contractual obligations for those contracts already settled, COLAs (cost
of living adjustments) equity adjustments and step increases. The expenses for the base budgets were level
funded for the budget worksheets sent to departments. He further stated that department managers would be
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meeting with the Board of Selectmen prior to "trimming" budget requests because the Town would be unable to
sustain the nearly $879,000 increases being requested for FY20.
Paul Revere Heritage Site FY 20 Budget Request
• Ms. Francis stated that the PRHS budget is a "moving object" because of the unknown costs for electric,
irrigation, landscaping and maintenance workers' salaries etc.
• Canton Holdings would be purchasing garbage barrels for the site.
• In response to Chairman Barker's question as to the delta between outsourcing maintenance costs for the
site versus using in-house labor for the site, Ms. Francis stated that it was unknown at this time and could
only be determined once the site is in use and the Town is incurring costs for the up keep of the property.
• She further stated that maintenance of the dams and the channel would have to be outsourced because
of the expertise required to maintain them.
• Mr, Murgia stated that if the site is maintained in-house there could be significant equipment costs which
would have to be purchased through the capital request process.
• Snow removal costs for the site are unknown but equipment would have to be dedicated if handled in-
house.
• Weed control would most likely be outsourced because the Town may not hold the appropriate licenses
for this type of maintenance.
• Ms. Francis stated that the Parks &Recreation department would be using seasonal help/college students
to help with the maintenance of the site, such as fall leaf removal.
• In response to Mr. Mauro's inquiry about the PRHS budget line items, additional budget line items would
be added to the PRHS budget to accommodate various expenses incurred in the future.
Metropolis Rink FY 20 Budget Request
• The total FY20 budget request ($13,250) is less than the FY19 original budget request ($15,430) but
slightly more than the FY20 base budget of $9,250.
• An increase is being requested to the Building Maintenance Supplies line item to cover anticipated costs
needed for supplies for the start-up of the rink.
• There is no FY20 budget for debt service expenses because the debt service for the rink will be paid off in
FY19.
Ms. Francis stated that the estimated opening of the rink will be in March 2020.
M r. Murgia informed the Committee that FEMA reimbursement for the rink collapse had not yet come
through. The Town is waiting for a letter from FEMA regarding the reimbursement but that it was not
looking very favorable for the Town. If the Town receives a letter stating that they do not qualify for
FEMA reimbursement the Town could appeal the ruling.
M r. Wong questioned the $1,875 FY20 budget being requested for the lease of the rink building. Under
the lease arrangement with the state the Town was required to pay the state 1% of the rink revenue.
Because there is no rink revenue at the present time Mr. Murgia stated that the $1,875 budget line item is
u nnecessary. Since the collapse of the rink Ms. Francis has not seen any lease invoices from the state but
believes once the rink reopens the Town will begin to receive the lease invoices again.
Article 14 —Funding for the 4`h of July Community Celebration — Ms. Francis stated that she is requesting the
same amount of funds for the 4`h of July Community Celebration ($35,000) for FY20 as she did for FY19. Mr.
M urgia confirmed that the source of funds for this appropriation would be free cash.
The discussion with Ms. Francis ended at approximately 7:40 p.m.
Library FY20 Budget Request — Some of the highlights from the discussion with Ms. Andrea Capone, the Library
Director, included the following:
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• The FY20 budget includes increases so that the Library could be open on Saturdays for the summer. Ms.
Capone stated that Saturday hours would be offered first and then Sunday hours may be added in the
future.
• In response to Ms. Thomas' inquiry if a survey had been done to determine the need for weekend hours,
Ms. Capone stated that along-range survey had been conducted last year through various means — at
ATM, in the Library surveys and via email.
• Mr. Mauro inquired if meeting space rentals at the Library would offset the cost of additional hours. Ms.
Capone thought that rentals would help.
• The FY20 budget includes an $82,000 request for an additional building maintenance foreman. The
budget includes the highest rate of pay on the wage schedule for the position in case an internal
candidate fills the position. Ms. Capone stated that an additional building maintenance foreman is
needed even without expanded hours and that because of the age of the building there is a constant need
for upkeep and repair.
• The FY20 Library budget also includes increases to building maintenance &supplies, uniform rental,
custodial supplies, books &periodicals, library supplies, other charges and meetings. Some of these
i ncreases are due to the request of the expansion of Saturday hours.
• The E-Books budget request for FY20 is $14,000 which is a $7,000 increase from the FY19 budget of
$7,000. Ms. Capone stated that the E-Books budget for FY19 will be overspent and that the expenses for
FY19 could exceed $30,000. The cost for E-Books is higher than the purchase price of books. Publishers
set the limits for E-Book lending. As the pool of books is expanded the demand is expanded.
• Donations from the Friends of the Library is not used for operating expenses including E-Book purchases.
The donations are used to fund special items for the Library.
• An increase to the Meetings budget line item from $600 to $1,500 would be to cover expenses to attend
the Massachusetts Library Association conference on Cape Cod.
The discussion with Ms. Capone ended at approximately 7:55 p.m.
MIS FY20 Budget Request — Mr. Jutras provided detailed FY20 budget information as follows:
• The total budget increase being requested for FY20 is $56,500 which is an 11.7% increase from a base
budget of $482,854(base budget) to $539,354(FY20 total budget request).
• A reduced budget request of $14,000 would represent a 2.9%increase but it would only cover the cost of
contractual items and some software purchases.
• The $14,000 is comprised of a $9,300 request for software maintenance increases for financial software,
website, on-line request module, permit application &antivirus software; $600 for support coverage for
Virtual infrastructure; $3,150 for contractual items and $950 for Internet connect cost increases.
• The remainder of the $56,500 not included in the $14,000 would include such items as: $13,000 for HVAC
software to cover equipment at the Library, Police Station and Council on Aging. In FY19 $23,000 had
been approved to upgrade the existing HVAC software but there was no maintenance plan with it.
Locations could not be added to the software because it is out of date. Site improvements for website
software/maintenance renewals for the Police, Library and Town website would cost $5,800. An
additional $3,700 would cover the yearly maintenance consolidation for the Library and Police websites.
The software for Office 365 will need to be updated in the near future with a cost of $20,000
• Items not included in the operating request this year may have to be included as a capital request for next
year.
• With regard to the budget line item (#11552-52434)for Software Maintenance, Mr. Jutras explained that
any remaining funds left in the budget at year end are encumbered through a purchase order at year end
close and carried over to the following fiscal year.
• The School Department manages MIS expenses separately. This arrangement allows them to receive
educational discounts from vendors.
The discussion with Mr. Jutras ended at approximately 8:13 p.m.
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Department of Public Works FY20 Budget Request, Water &Sewer FY20 Budget Requests
• Mr. Trotta stated that he was looking fora $64,500 increase over his base budget of $2,983,879 to
$3,048,379.
• An increase of $22,000 for HVAC service contracts is being requested for the 19 buildings that the
Department of Public Works department assumed during the reorganization of the Buildings &
Maintenance division.
• A Software Maintenance budget of $12,000 is being requested for CitiWorks software. The total cost of
this software is being split among the Public Works Administration budget ($12,000), Water Enterprise
($12,000) and Sewer Enterprise ($14,000).
• Mr. Trotta requested $5,500 for the Engineering Department to cover contractual costs such as gym
reimbursement, eye glass reimbursement and clothing allowance that had been previously covered under
the Department 910 budget(Employee Contract Benefits).
• The total budget increase being requested for the Highway Maintenance division (#420) is $25,000. The
majority of the $25,000 increase ($10,000) is to help cover the costs of the annual MS4 storm water
management reporting requirements (Purchase of Services). The Storm Water Permit was renewed and
went into effect July 1, 2018. As part of the permit the Town is required to do an annual report. In the
past the Town has been able to prepare this report themselves. This new permit allows the Town to
discharge its storm water drainage into navigable waters of the United States. Mr. Trotta is anticipating a
$20,000 engineering cost to produce the report as required by the federal government. The report is
based on what the Town actually did during the year. There are six main components required under the
report: public education, public involvement, good housekeeping, post construction inspection, illicit
discharge detection and one other item. Under those six components there are many activities that the
Town is required to do. The progress report is not based on flow but the report must contain detailed
information about the catch basins, street address, pole #etc.
• Mr. Trotta stated that the equipment budget (Tools &Hardware) budget for the Highway Maintenance
division is too low so he has requested an increase of $5,000 to this budget.
• Because of changes to the law regarding licenses Mr. Trotta has requested an increase of $4,000 to the
Heavy Equipment Licenses budget.
• Mr. McKenna inquired about the effect on road conditions with the recent temperature changes. Mr.
Trotta stated that the temperature shifts were extremely tough on the roads. When the weather is too
cold the asphalt plants either reduce production or shut down completely making it difficult for the DPW
to keep up with road patching and repairs.
Water &Sewer Enterprise Budget Requests for FY20 — Mr. Trotta is seeking the following budget requests for the
Water and Sewer Enterprise budgets:
• Mr. Trotta is seeking an FY20 $154,500 budget increase from $4,386,417 to $4,522,573 for the Water
Enterprise budget. MWRA is $1.8 million or 43-44% of the Water Enterprise budget.
• Of the $5.6 million Sewer Enterprise budget $43 is for MWRA.
• An additional $15,000 for the Prof. Serv. Water Testing budget line item.
• An additional $22,000 for the Hydrants &Valves budget for hydrant replacement.
• An additional $80,000 for the Repair/Maint. Equipment for water treatment plant maintenance.
• The budget for the MWRA budget has been level funded for FY20. The Town will not be receiving
information about the MWRA costs until the middle of February.
• For the Town's MWRA water assessment, the MWRA Advisory Board uses the amount of water the Town
took from MWRA in CY18 to figure the FY20 assessment to the Town. The sewer assessment is figured
through a more complicated formula.
• Mr. Murgia stated that the most recent MWRA report provided to the Town shows three calendar years:
calendar 2016, 2017 and 2018. The assessment in FY18 MWRA was $2.6 million because it was based on
CY16 which was a high water purchase year for the Town. The current FY19 assessment dropped to $1.9
million which the Town was not surprised because the water treatment plants were back in operation.
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The Town does not have an on/off valve between the MWRA and the Town. The valve is a pressure valve.
As the pressure changes in the Town of Canton it affects how much the Town takes from the MWRA. Mr.
Trotta said that the way the valve works is a bit backwards. As the Town reduces pressure to turn water
over we inadvertently end up taking more water from the MWRA. The Town is working on changing the
pressure valve around for the inflow of water from MWRA. The valve has been skewing the results
because of the back flow into the system.
I n 2016 the Town had found a leak in the water system in the York Street area in the middle of a field. This
helped to reduce water usage.
M r. Trotta mentioned that there had been calcium problems at the Neponset Street Water plant. The
calcium has been causing unusual wear and tear on the filter system at the plant, causing it to wear out at
a higher rate. ATM 2018 approved $2 million to replace an old transmission line for the Neponset Street
water plant. This is going out to bid in mid to late February. The carbon tanks at the plant have been
wearing out in 5-6 years versus the normal expectancy of the tank of 10 years.
Chairman Barker invited a member of the audience to join the discussion.
M r. Shane introduced himself as a resident at 27 Carey Circle. He stated that he had two major questions
regarding water:
1) Mr. Shane is under the impression that irrigation affects the MWRA usage. In the non-peak months does
Canton hit the 80%local well sourcing? Mr. Trotta stated that this was tied into the on/off valve. If the
on/off valve and the plant is running at its capacity and other factors are working out well, in January and
February half of March and most of December the Town should be able to meet most of its needs on local
source. Starting in April, May, June it becomes problematic. July August and beginning of September no.
High usage is somewhere between the middle ofJuly and middle of August. Mr. Trotta complemented
the residents of the Town for the last two summers for cutting back on outside watering. As part of the
Town's permit the Town institutes the water restriction starting in May.
2) Is Canton doing anything preventively to avoid pesticides from going into the water system and what is
Canton doing to test for pesticides and herbicides in the water especially given the high number of golf
courses in Canton that could be leaching pesticides into the drinking water? Mr. Trotta stated that the
Water Department has worked with Brook Meadow Golf Course and Blue Hills Golf Course because these
are the two courses that have the biggest impact on the local water supply sources. Mr. Trotta stated
that these courses sit in a reasonable distance from where the Town is taking its local water from. The
Town has to own everything within 400 feet of the wells. Except for a very small piece of Blue Hills the
Town owns the 400 feet buffer zone. Zone 2 extends up to %mile depending upon flows and pumping
rigs. Those golf courses are definitely within the Zone 2 area. Westwood, Dedham and Sharon are using
groundwater sources in the Neponset Valley Water region. Stoughton, Millis, Medfield and Norwood are
all using groundwater sources. The Town has worked with the golf courses to get them to use more
water friendly products and to do less fertilization. The MS4 permit will impact phosphorous that is going
i nto the Neponset River. The Town tests for those items that are prescribed by DEP and also does
groundwater testing for various chemicals. Groundwater monitoring is being done before the water gets
to the plant and samples are taken every day for adjustments as needed.
M r. Shane is concerned that the main purpose of pesticides and chemicals are to Kill things and that the Town is
not testing for this. Mr. Shane requested that a budget of between $5,000 to $10,000 be in place to provide for at
least the preventative testing of pesticides and herbicides in the water.
Chairman Barked thought that a prescribed list of what should be tested would need to be identified and a process
i n place to add these to the list of items being already tested and at what level is this dictated at —the state. Mr.
Shane stated that the federal government and the state does not mandate the testing and that it is up to the local
towns to do the testing. Mr. Shane would like to see the Town take on its own testing for pesticides. Chairman
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Barker stated that this would be a great citizen's initiative to work on identifying the compounds etc. behind the
testing. Chairman Barker suggested to Mr. Shane that a citizens group be formed to identify specific items on a list
to be tested and why to test for them.
M r. Trotta made a final statement that the Town of Canton's water is safe and that the Town is meeting all the
current requirements with regard to testing.
D. Other Business/Open Issues
There were no pending or open issues discussed.
E. Approval of Minutes
The minutes for December 12, 2019 and February 11, 2019 were not ready for approval by the Committee. The
minutes for January 17, 2019 had already been approved at the meeting on February 11, 2019.
Next Meeting Date: The next Finance Committee meeting would take place on February 25, 2019.
Adjournment: A motion made by Ms. Holcombe to adjourn the meeting at 9:12 p.m. was seconded by
Mr. Mcl<enna. Vote: 7-0-0.
Minutes reviewed by: Christos Arsondiadis
R ~Gtfully submitted,
Rob Barker
Chairman, Canton Finance Committee
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Canton Finance Committee Meeting
Wednesday, February 13, 2019
Meeting Documents
Please note: Some meeting documents may be found on the Town's website under the Posted Minutes section
(Laser Fiche).
Some of the Municipal and School Department budgets or Annual Town Meeting documents referred to in
Finance Committee meetings may be found on the Finance Committee page of the Town's website.
Agenda for February 13, 2019. (1 page).
Please refer to the Finance Committee website for budgets that were discussed for the departments:
Parks &Recreation (#630)
Paul Revere Heritage Site (#650)
Rink Enterprise Budget(#700)
Article 14 —Fund for the 4`h of July Community Celebration
Library (#610)
MIS/Information Systems(#155)
DPW —Property Maintenance (#192)
DPW — Pequitside Farm (#632)
DPW —Administration (#400)
DPW —Engineering (#410)
DPW —Highway (#420)
DPW —Street Signs(#425)
DPW —Gas &Oil (#426)
DPW —Highway Equipment(#427)
DPW —Cemetery (#491)
DPW —Tree Dept.(#492)
Water Enterprise Fund (#602, 642)
Sewer Enterprise Fund (#600, 640)
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