During the April 28 meeting of the Mattapoisett Finance Committee, Town Administrator Mike Lorenco shared that one of his many objectives is to provide fiscal planning for large improvement projects facing the community in the now and into the coming years.
Lorenco’s comments came as Capital Planning Chairman Chuck McCullough reviewed with the Fincom members the recommended expenditures for FY23, expenditures listed in warrant Article 11 of the May 9 Spring Town Meeting warrant.
As McCullough pointed to the importance of funding highway-improvement projects, Lorenco said, “A lot of things were delayed because of Covid. It behooves us to take a break and see where we are going.”
Lorenco then called attention to the number of multimillion-dollar projects facing the town, everything from culvert and roadway repairs to wharf repairs, from the completion of the bike path to the need to relocate Town Hall. Lorenco said that in order to pay for the myriad of big-ticket projects, fiscal planning is critical to try to avoid a Proposition 2.5 override. “We are going to have to borrow,” he said. Even with some debt rolling off the books by 2026, Lorenco said that 2026 is also when the borrowing to pay for the new Fire Station rolls on with a $600,000 payment due.
Another expense Lorenco discussed was repairs and improvements to the town’s Highway Department building on Mendell Road. “That project now is estimated at $1.2 million,” he said. “I want to balance it all out and look at all the projects.” Lorenco said the town is facing as much as $55,000,000 in major projects in the next few years and that he wants a plan to try to avoid an impact on the taxpayers.
Capital expenses in Article 11 are: road improvements $250,000, mechanical systems in municipal buildings $96,651, telephone systems $40,000, police tasers $50,000, Center School infrastructure master clock $12,500, library outside lighting $25,000, library security cameras $10,000, flooring repairs Old Hammondtown School $25,000, Police Department motorcycle $25,000 and Police Department cruiser $50,000. Water and Sewer Enterprise Fund capital expenses include improvements to freshwater wells at $30,000 and $50,000 ($25,000 from each fund) for new building-design costs and $70,000 ($35,000 each fund) for a new truck.
McCullough also discussed the Community Preservation Act grants. He stated that although a grant in the amount of $120,000 is earmarked for continued design work for the bike path phases 2a and 2b. “We’ve contributed enough.” He said that the need for spending in the category of housing had not been done at all with the exception of a small grant ($12,000) given some years ago for a study of the town’s affordable housing needs. He said he asked the former town administrator for the report, but that was not forthcoming. He said that the CPA housing category currently holds $256,000.
Earlier in the meeting, Town Counsel Matt Thomas met with the committee to explain two new P.I.L.O.T. (payment in lieu of taxes) programs, one for Bowman Road Next Grid Solar Article 19 and another for Brownell Boat Yard Article 20. Thomas explained that Mattapoisett’s new Home Rule petition, which went into effect in July, allows the town to negotiate a 20-year payment plan with commercial energy-producing entities giving, both them and the town a dependable payment schedule. The FY23 schedule shows a P.I.L.O.T. combined total for these two sites of $270,726 for Year 1 of the plan.
The full Spring Town Meeting warrant may be viewed along with supporting narratives and spreadsheets at Mattapoisett.net.
The work of the Finance Committee is now concluded for the FY23 budget. The Spring Town meeting is scheduled for Monday, May 9, at 6:30 pm in the Old Rochester Regional High School Auditorium.
Mattapoisett Finance Committee
By Marilou Newell