It’s been seven years since Mattapoisett voters endorsed the establishment of a committee to review the needs of municipal departments facing projects costing at least $10,000 and to chart the course of those expenditures over a period of five to 10 years.
No small task; yet, the effectiveness of the process has been proven. For the committee’s chairman and the town administrator, it is now time to expand the view.
Coming together for the first time in many months, the Mattapoisett Capital Planning Committee (CPC) is once again chaired by Chuck McCullough. The committee membership, those who have held seats at the planning table for years, and those who are new to the local process, include Ellen Driscoll, John Jacobsen, Mike Rosa, Bob Burgmann, Mike Dahill, Alan Apperson, and Van Cantor. Also attending the December 16 meeting was Town Administrator Mike Lorenco.
After introductions, McCullough detailed the work the committee was charged with performing, namely the study of departmental requests, including meetings with department heads and the Finance Committee and developing long-range spending schedules to smooth out large finance hits with a measured approach. McCullough said it was also time to review the bylaw that established the committee back in 2004 to ensure that it meets up-to-date planning needs.
While this meeting was more of an overview, a roadmap for the group to navigate the process, there were plenty of solid ideas. For example, Burgmann thinks including operating expenses is vital to understanding the financial impact that something might have on the coffers over time.
“We need to work more closely with department heads,” McCullough stated.
Lorenco, whose financial background and previous experience in drafting such planning models were noted, said, “We need to capture everything out there.” He said that, during an earlier CPC meeting with the Board of Selectmen, Finance Committee members, and other Tri-Town officials, it became apparent that the CPC needs to expand the earlier formats, “capturing” all types of big-ticket expenditures such as road and culvert improvements.
Schools were also part of the discussion, and Driscoll was tapped to become the conduit between the technical upgrades that both local and district schools may need and the CPC, with Lorenco saying, “We have to get ahead of that.”
Lorenco went on to say that he wants to “dig deep,” and that includes facility needs and structural issues facing town-owned properties. “This may not be the year for a lot of capital plan requests,” he said, citing the economic impact of COVID-19 on local, state, and federal funding. “Capital planning needs will have to be dire if it’s to be funded.”
Lorenco said that presently free cash stands at $400,000, an $800,000 shortfall created by a delay in tax revenue due to extensions related to COVID-19. But he felt confident that, as economics improve, by the Fall of 2022, finances would be in better condition.
Fiscal Year 2020 accounting closed about a month ago, Lorenco said, with auditors beginning their oversight work. He also said he would finish meeting with department heads and then give a full report to the CPC in January. “Then we can start making decisions on the town’s budget; I want to build a full budget by then.”
Dahill asked about an existing list of capital requests. McCullough said that a list dated May 2019 needed to be reviewed and edited to remove items and projects no longer needed. Lorenco added that he had asked department heads to update the list.
Regarding projects and purchases for which grants were sought but required matching sums from the town, Lorenco said the town should establish a fund for such expenditures and added, “We are going to apply for every grant we can, so we need a reserve fund.” McCullough agreed that everyone should be aware of grants being pursued to avoid “panic” when a town match is required.
On the subject of pending large projects, Burgmann asked about the roadway improvements for Main, Water, and Beacon Streets, a project long in the making. Lorenco said that federal TIP (Transportation Improvement Program) funding was being sought but had been pushed to 2023 and that no matching funds are required.
Burgmann replied, however, that the town would be responsible for 100 percent of the engineering costs and that the engineering firm must be available at all times during the construction phases.
Lorenco assured him that local firm Field Engineering would be at the ready but added, “There will be costs, though,” likening the arrangement to the unplanned increase in insurance premiums for the new fire station building. “Those costs need to be part of the operating budget.”
In closing out the meeting, McCullough said the most important thing is communication between all parties and the need for everyone to be “plugged in.”
The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Capital Planning Committee is tentatively scheduled for January 13 at 6:00 pm.
Mattapoisett Capital Planning Committee
By Marilou Newell