The Marion Finance Committee voted on April 10 to rescind a prior recommendation that taxpayers vote at the May 13 Annual Town Meeting to split the financing of the town’s new patrol boat between $400,000 from debt and $400,000 from free cash. The committee then voted to recommend that the $800,000 boat be purchased entirely on debt that would be funded by the town’s Waterways Account.

            Finance Committee Chairman Shay Assad’s motivation in bringing the decision to the members stems from the Select Board’s decision to add a second option for voters to the Town Meeting warrant, one that came at Assad’s urgent recommendation because he insists that should the town allocate from free cash to pay for the harbormaster’s new patrol boat, a promise will have been broken. He has repeatedly expressed concern that the much-needed boat might fail at Town Meeting.

            A third unanimous vote was taken to recommend that the town form an independent commission, including members of the FinCom, the Marine Resources Commission, Town Counsel and other potential members to thoroughly examine the town’s Waterway’s Account and provide a report to the Select Board.

            In speaking to the FinCom, Assad said that until March 27, the town had planned to fund the boat entirely out of the Waterways Account, the revenue-driven account that thrives on harbor-related fees. That plan changed at the 11^th hour, said Assad, at which point he felt the town was treading in a dangerous direction.

            Assad said that while the town turned down the schools’ request for money to fund teachers they said they need, the town somehow was going to come up with money to fund a patrol boat.

            “That doesn’t quite seem to make sense, right?” asked Assad to the committee. “Certainly not to the school committee, who thought the town didn’t have any money. But it turns out we did.”

            The question, Assad said, came up how to fund the patrol boat, noting that there was no disputing the need for the boat. He made sure to compliment the Harbormaster Department and said “It was never an issue of we versus them.”

            Assad asserted that until March 27, all stakeholders were in agreement that the town would buy the patrol boat on debt.

            “That changed at the last minute, and we said to (Town Administrator) Geoff (Gorman), ‘Look, we’ve got the cash so it’s not like we can’t do it. But this is going to be on heck of an issue at Town Meeting because there are a number of taxpayers who … are passionate about who should be funding the needs of the Waterways (Account),’” said Assad. “And the reality is that anybody who has a mooring knows that a town mooring is an absolute steal” compared to a retail mooring which he says costs 25 times the price of a public mooring.

            For that reason, Assad said he does not have a lot of sympathy for boaters when fees increase.

            Assad reported that the Select Board decided to add a second article to the warrant for the May 13 Annual Town Meeting, giving the voters the original option of paying for the boat via debt funded by the Waterways Account. An article already existed in which the town would use $400,000 of Waterways funds and $400,000 of free cash.

            With that, he tasked the Finance Committee to rescind its recommendation of the original article and then, in a second step, vote on either an all-debt scenario or the split as outlined above.

            Committee members asked why not split between debt and Waterways, but Assad said the Select Board had already closed the warrant so that option is not on the table.

            Assad said he understands the Select Board’s position and agrees that depleting the Waterways Fund is not a good idea.

            Vin Malkoski, the chairman of the Marine Resources Commission, was invited to speak and referenced prior discussion with Assad over the MRC’s ongoing contention that the town has “inappropriately taken Waterways funds and put them in the General Fund.”

            Malkoski said the fact of that matter, though lost over time, has been legally proven to have occurred.

            Assad argued that the town has made it known for years that all departments will share in expenses that go across the entire town. Malkoski sought to clarify that Assad has been made aware of the MRC’s position.

            “That’s the position that the town took. Whether it’s legal or illegal, I haven’t talked to anybody who has told me, legally, … that what the town did over the last 10 or 15 or 20 years was illegal,” said Assad. “I think what the town did was they thought they were doing the appropriate thing to assess all of those costs that couldn’t be attributed to a specific department to be allocated across all those departments. That makes perfect accounting sense.”

            “Unfortunately, it does not comply with state law,” said Malkoski.

            Assad insisted they not talk about the legality of the matter until Town Counsel weighs in.

            “The town can’t afford to report it, you can’t afford to fix the problem,” replied Malkoski, arguing that most town departments do not generate revenue. “The reason the law exists is for this exact purpose.”

            Assad said the only way to fix the problem is to create an enterprise fund for the Waterways Department, something Malkoski said is not necessary. Assad said the decision would necessarily come from the Select Board with a recommendation from the Finance Committee.

            Assad asserted that the creation of an enterprise fund would put the dispute to bed.

            He then attempted to steer the committee back toward the decision at hand, to recommend the town fund the patrol boat entirely with debt or to fund it halfway with free cash as prescribed by the other article on the Town Meeting warrant.

            Assad asked Malkoski which scenario suits the MRC, but the two could not reach an accord in the conversation due to the lack of resolution over what the impact should or will be on the Waterways Account.

            Assad reminded Malkoski that the Select Board promised the voters that the patrol boat would be paid for out of the Waterways Account and asked him if he wants the town not to honor its commitment to the taxpayers. Malkoski retorted that he would like the town to honor its commitment “to the rate payers.”

            Malkoski contended that the MRC’s plan to increase fees, something it did twice, was designed to bring back approximately $70,000 into the Waterways Account but said the town’s accounting has illegally limited that revenue to approximately $10,000 “because it was being siphoned out to pay for town hall maintenance.”

            Citing the existence of $441,000 in the Waterways Account, Assad asked how the MRC accrued that much revenue under insufficient circumstances. Devoid of documented confirmation from Town Counsel, Assad characterized Malkoski’s assertion that the town has acted inappropriately as “an absurdity.” Malkoski stuck to his position that the Waterways Account has been mistreated by the town.

            Assad apologized at the end of the meeting for getting “frosty” about the matter but hopes that a joint effort will end the long-standing disagreement between the MRC and the town government at large.

            No date was set for the next meeting of the Marion Finance Committee.

Marion Finance Committee

By Mick Colageo

            Reviewing the warrant for the May 13 Annual Town Meeting, Rochester’s Select Board Monday paused longest over the one article it voted against recommending.

            That article proposes approving a $12,000,000 debt exclusion for the Old Rochester Regional School District to make capital improvements around the school campus.

            Select Board member Brad Morse motioned to not recommend this article, explaining, “The reason being it’s just an estimate,” he said. “I don’t know what it really funds.” Select Board member Adam Murphy elaborated that he has pressed the school superintendent to present to the board the study of the school district’s capital needs that has been prepared, but he has yet to see it.

            “This is a 20, 22-year decision we have to make,” Murphy said. “A decision that will affect our grandchildren. Questions need to be answered: Who will be in charge of this work? Is it in a five, 10-year capital plan? Has there been public comment? The superintendent had explained the projects when he was here but without documentation.”

            Even a member of the ORR School Committee, Joe Pires, said he had his doubts.

            “It’s all in good intentions,” Pires said. “The school is old. Once we researched things, we found there was not enough substantial information for this plan. I’ve asked specific questions; I couldn’t get an answer. I voted no on this plan.”

            Before the Select Board voted unanimously against recommending the article, Town Counsel Jay Talerman of Mead, Talerman, and Costa, LLC, explained that the article, however, must remain on the warrant because of the peculiar rules of membership in a regional school district. If all three towns in the district did not entertain this article on their town meeting warrants but “wash over it” instead, the measure would automatically be approved, he said. Only if the three towns actively disapprove the article would it be a dead issue.

            Talerman added that was also true of the related question to approve the ORR debt exclusion that will be asked at the Town Election. That measure must also remain on that ballot.

            In other warrant changes, the Select Board altered the proposed amount that would be spent for Capital Planning. Murphy recommended shaving $49,800 that would have been spent by the Rochester Memorial School for “asphalt repair and new sealant.” He suggested putting that expense on hold until after the installation of the solar canopy that is being proposed for the school’s back lot. His fellow Select Board members agreed to that deletion, leading to a new Capital Planning total of $121,180.

            Elsewhere across the 21-article warrant, the Select Board recommended the proposed FY25 budget of $22,022,613. The Public Safety Stabilization Fund will receive an additional $140,000. The Road Improvement Stabilization Fund will gain an additional $100,000, the Capital Improvement Fund $300,000 and a Rochester Memorial School emergency Special Education funding account $300,000.

            The board also recommended the Town Meeting proposal to spend $15,000 on repairing the Plumb Library roof after Town Administrator Glenn Cannon explained to Murphy why this expense was not a Capital Planning funding measure. Cannon said the request came late; the roof was damaged by a storm on March 19.

            In other action, the board approved Building Commissioner Paul Boucher’s request to raise and add Commercial Building Permit Fees. Changes include a rise in the permit fee for new commercial structures and additions to $6 per $1,000 of cost, $150 for a mechanical inspection and $150 plus $1 per $1,000 of cost for fire sprinklers and fire alarms. Under electrical and plumbing inspections, the change is to $150 plus $1 per $1,000 of cost.

            Boucher explained that new commercial development is coming to town. “We want to get ahead of the curve,” he said, adding that these changes are not to make more money for the town but to cover the increasing cost of inspection services.

            The board then rescinded its vote of two weeks ago axing early voting hours for the Annual Town Election. Town Clerk Marjorie Barrows said the earlier proposal wasn’t worded correctly. It would be better to rescind the decision and allow early voting, she said.

            The Select Board will meet next on Monday, April 29, at 6:00 pm at the Rochester Senior Center, 67 Dexter Lane. Cannon said this meeting will be for signing the Town Meeting Warrant.

Rochester Select Board

By Michael J. DeCicco