There is no doubt it is budget season. Just a glance at posted public meetings and one quickly finds Mattapoisett’s Capital Planning and Finance Committees pushing towards the goal of assisting in the development of the FY22 budget that will ultimately be presented at Town Meeting.
But long before the committees began their work, Town Administrator Mike Lorenco was busy helping department heads with their individual budgets, expenses, and future needs, all data points that other boards and committees need for the final FY22 budget.
Once again chaired by Chuck McCullough, the Capital Planning Committee will also be sitting down with department heads as their immediate FY22 needs and long-range, big-ticket projects and items are taken into consideration.
On February 17, the committee members, which include Ellen Driscoll, Mike Dahill, Allan Apperson, Mike Rosa, and Robert Bergman, came together with McCullough for an overview discussion of the requests presented thus far by the department heads. New this year to the review process is the inclusion of proposed funding sources for each line item and additional line items previously not included on the committee’s spreadsheet.
First up for discussion was the Police Department’s vehicle purchases, an annual expense covering two new cruisers financed from a combination of free cash and tax-levy funds, listed at $55,000 each. Rosa asked about the cost of the vehicles. Lorenco, who was also in attendance, explained that the basic vehicle cost was approximately $37,000 but, with the additional equipment required by a police department, the cost came in as listed.
No other items were listed for FY22 from the Police Department. A quick look at subsequent years found $75,000 for the repaving of the parking lot in FY23 from free cash and solar panels for the station estimated at $20,000. A bit further out, pegged into FY24, was $100,000 for the repointing of the police station structure from the capital reserve fund.
The Fire Department’s requests were next to be examined with some discussion surrounding the need for a fire inspector’s sport-utility vehicle estimated at $42,500 from free cash and listed for FY22. Lorenco said Fire Chief Andrew Murray would need the opportunity to justify the request, saying, “I’m not in favor of the inspector’s vehicle.… Can we use an older pickup?” He said, however, that it was important to allow the line item to “go through the process.”
McCullough added to the discussion. “We’ve somewhat lost control of vehicles. We look at the sale of old vehicles to help defray costs and trim the fleet.” He wondered aloud at the values of retiring vehicles.
The only other item listed for the Fire Department for FY22 was $14,500 from free cash for pontoons for the SAFE boat. New to the department’s list but not scheduled for the immediate future were radio upgrades, new fire helmets, thermal imaging cameras, new fire apparatuses, and extraction tools. Lorenco had noted previously the importance of capturing all possible expenses from all departments for planning and funding purposes and eliminating the element of surprise.
The Highway Department’s need to replace a sidearm mower at an estimated cost of $85,000 funded by capital debit exclusion was considered. Highway Surveyor Barry Denham had explained during a recent meeting with the Finance Committee that it is a necessary piece of requirement. Also listed for the department in FY22 is a combination device for catch-basin cleaning and road sweeping for $249,000 from free cash. This line item was not discussed during the meeting but will be brought up at a later date. Four additional pieces of heavy equipment were listed for coming years as far out as 2031.
When asked about the manner in which road-improvement projects are funded, Lorenco said that the bulk of those had been paid for from debt. He then explained that the solar array planned for the transfer station would help offset those expenses. “When the landfill solar comes online, those monies will be used for road improvements,” he explained. Lorenco said that revenue generated from the sale of power would be split between different funds to be determined by the selectmen.
As the committee moved on to local schools, the subject of the Old Rochester Regional District school budget came up. Lorenco said that the towns would be receiving a list of capital needs from the district for the first time. McCullough said this was something all three towns had been requesting for some time. Lorenco added, “Capital items need to be part of the ORR assessment; as part of the regional agreement, we vote on one number.” Later in the meeting, McCullough suggested it might prove beneficial to hold a Tri-Town capital planning meeting with ORR to enact a 10-year plan. Lorenco said he would follow-up.
The Sewer Department was briefly examined with one line item of particular importance: the Eel Pond sewer pipe’s replacement running across the breach. Lorenco said that Sewer Superintendent Henri Renauld was “chasing a grant,” with the town’s portion anticipated to be $750,000. Lorenco noted that an April announcement is expected for the awarding of the grant and, failing that, the project would be “pushed off to another year.”
On the matter of what to do about the aging town hall and vacant classrooms, Lorenco said he has engaged UMass to do a school consolidation analysis, as well as an analysis on the operation of the transfer station. Dahill added, “At some point, we have to deal with the town hall, so the school study needs to get done.”
The following day the Finance Committee took up its budget-review process in a meeting with Harbormaster Jamie MacIntosh.
MacIntosh described a department that has been and will continue to be level-funded in FY22 but reported that as an enterprise fund, it is struggling. He said that the budget simply does not have the cash for the growth of waterfront services or capital projects. He said that between expenses and indirect costs, most of the retained earnings had been spent. Lorenco added, “Jamie is at the crossroads of needing a subsidy.”
MacIntosh then shared information he had previously brought to the attention of the Marine Advisory Board, saying that fees need to be raised across the board. Using Dartmouth as a comparison, MacIntosh said that fees charged to boaters are below surrounding towns. He said that while he appreciated that people on fixed incomes want to enjoy boating, fees are simply too low. “Wareham has a fully-funded department and fees,” he said.
MacIntosh said that a 20 percent, across-the-board increase is warranted. He doesn’t believe the increase would be too much for the boating community to bear. Lorenco said that presently the waterfront enterprise fund retained earnings stand at $25,184. Despite COVID-19, MacIntosh said the department has been very busy. He shared his hope that grant funding would be secured for the repairs and improvements needed on Long Wharf. The replacement of timber pilings on another wharf was pending state permitting, he said.
The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Capital Planning Committee is scheduled for February 24 at 6:00 pm. The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Finance Committee is scheduled for March 4 at 6:00 pm.
Mattapoisett Capital Planning Committee and Finance Committee
By Marilou Newell