December 8 2022 Meeting

Chair Dalton called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. He announced that the meeting was being recorded for cable television and led those in attendance in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Moratorium on presale of cemetery plots

Chair Dalton said that even with the recent addition of 30 lots at Forest Hill Cemetery, an increasing number of Lynnfield families purchasing cemetery plots has the Town facing a potential shortage of plots available for those in immediate need. The Town bylaws allow for pre-purchase of lots and any revision to this bylaw must be approved by town meeting. As the Town studies potential changes to the bylaw and seeks to identify ways to expand the number of available plots for purchase, Town Administrator Robert Dolan and Public Works Director John Tomasz are recommending a temporary moratorium on advance sales of cemetery plots.

MOTION by Mr. Connell, duly second by Mr. Crawford: I move that the Board vote to impose a temporary moratorium on the advance sale of cemetery plots, effective immediately, and director the Town Administrator and Public Works Director to review the bylaw governing sale of cemetery plots and research options for increasing the number of plots available for purchase. Vote was unanimous.

Letter of support for Lynnfield Center Water District Water Management Act grant for Wakefield/MWRA Connection

Mr. Dalton explained that the Lynnfield Center Water District is seeking a grant that would assist the District in its plans to connect with the Town of Wakefield’s water supply. The Town of Wakefield is an MWRA community.

This connection with the Wakefield/MWRA water supply is a major step in the District’s effort to ensure access to water for drinking, fire suppression and all other uses in cases of emergency and water shortages and restrictions. A letter of support has been prepared for the Board’s consideration.

MOTION by Mr. Connell, duly second by Mr. Crawford: I move that the Board vote to endorse the Lynnfield Center Water District Water Management Act grant application regarding the Wakefield/MWRA Connection and execute a letter in support of the application. Vote was unanimous.

Annual budget summit

Mr. Dalton said there is a never an easy budget, even in the best times. He said priorities must be established by each department and then for the Town as a whole. He asked department heads and board chairs to advocate for their departments and examine ways to better serve the Town. He thanked all participating for what they have done during this difficult year.

Town Administrator – FY 22 Budget Overview, FY 23 Revenue and Expenditure Forecasts

The primary responsibility, the primary charge of every individual in this room tonight, above all else, is the fiscal health, both short term and long term of this town. Some may say, well, I manage the library, my responsibility is protecting the needs of the library, or schools, or public safety. That is your charge on a day-to-day basis but I state again... the primary charge and responsibility of everyone in this room is the overall fiscal health both long and short term of this town. That philosophy, this team focused / holistic approach to municipal management, if embraced, will maintain and advance all of our departments and our town well into the future in good and challenging times. I want to reaffirm this philosophy tonight.

Three years ago, the Select Board asked for a three-year budget analysis FY 20-22. It was based on the spending trends of the previous few years continuing on... and the Market Street build out coming to an end. The town had seen the incredible fruits of the Market Street project in terms of new growth and new local receipts, fruits that turned into incredible investment in all areas of our community. It also acknowledged that these year-to-year unprecedented revenue increases were over.  This analysis predicted a trend of staggering operating deficits and increased needs and shrinking capital budgets. The charge of maintaining the fiscal health of our community, our primary responsibility, was at a legitimate crossroads.

After three years of working together, making hard choices, managing differently we have not only avoided these deficits, we have advanced our town and schools in every way, we have an unprecedented plan of infrastructure improvement, and in a pandemic with significant challenges our town is strong. In fact, as we examine a new three-year budget analysis going out to FY 25 we see challenges but strong performance in coming years.

Unfortunately, that success does not result in some great reward of going back to Market Street levels of spending, in fact it means the opposite. It reaffirms a belief that there are needs in our community that must be acknowledged and invested in, but in order to meet our charge and responsibilities, every budget must be sustainable, there must be careful spending, contracts must be fair and fiscally responsible, reform and innovation before budgetary requests., conservative revenue assumptions, maintain capital budgets, avoid one time money for ongoing operating expenses, responsible debt management, keeping a keen eye on fixed costs like insurances, save for a rainy day, and avoid destabilizing budget surprises!

The State of the Town Report presented by the Select Board on Monday shows that many exciting projects can and will still happen while maintaining a conservative responsible budget. ARPA (stimulus money) and additional investments from the federal infrastructure bill, as well as strong capital budgeting means that the town has one-time local, state and federal money that, although highly regulated with use restrictions, will advance our community in many ways! Under The leadership of the Select Board this money will be used wisely and responsibly.

It must be acknowledged, as we begin this process, that the challenge remains the ability of this town to create new revenue under the restraints of proposition 2/12, decreasing new growth numbers, little appetite for large scale development, minimal state aid under any formula, slowly improving local receipts under this pandemic and there is a new challenge. Inflation is a concerning challenge that will affect every department, and it is clear that COVID is not over.

In closing, local government is the only level of government in the United States that by law must approve a balanced budget and that balanced budget must be audited both by the state department of revenue and an independent auditor. Our new leadership team and our dedicated employees that have performed incredibly during this pandemic are prepared to once again develop a budget that speaks to our community priorities and values and first and foremost...ensures the sustained fiscal health of the Town of Lynnfield.

Department Head and Board/Committee Remarks

SCHOOLS: Finance Director Thomas Geary said the FY22 budget is on target and that Federal funding for COVID has assisted with providing classroom support. He said special education, social/emotional and other costs have risen but can be accommodated within the current funding levels. Kristen Vogel, Superintendent of Schools, said work on the FY23 budget has just begun and will be guided by the District’s strategy, including collective bargaining, class sizes and staffing, special education students and out-of-district tuition and transportation, and technology infrastructure. Capital costs may also include new textbooks and an upgrade to school auditoriums.

CABLE: Executive Director Eric Hamilin reviewed the work of Lynnfield Media Studios. He said he worked closely with the Emergency management Team to pout out timely information due to the pandemic and worked with Town departments on remote meetings and communications. He said the budget for FY22 is on target and in FY23 will look to upgrade equipment. The operation is funded through revenues received from the cable television providers.

VETERANS: Director Bruce Siegel said the FY 22 budget is on track and next year’s budget will be similar to past years.

PEVENTION SERVICES: Director Margaret Sallade discussed grant funding of her operations from the federal government. She said her department works to support Town government and community entities on programming and services. She said she expects the level of federal support will not change.

INSPECTIONAL SERVICES: Building Inspector Joseph O’Callaghan said his current budget is on track and that he expects no major changes for the coming fiscal year. He reviewed the activities of the department.

HEALTH: Director Kristin McRae reviewed the work conducted by the department. She said the current fiscal year budget is in order and that she does not expect any changes for the FY23 budget, but that it will be supplemented by grants. She said the department collects fees. Title V reports are now available online.

LIBRARY: Acting Director Abigail Porter said the current budget is on target except for the director salary due to the payout of the accruals of the past director. She discussed updating technology to provide greater access to various groups and said she would like to expend hours for the children’s librarian on Saturdays. She said the budget would also be affected by

TOWN CLERK: Linda Emerson said next fiscal year will see more elections, which will affect the budget. She said any changes to in-person early voting could impact the budget.

TREASURER/COLLECTOR: Leslie Davison said she sees no major changes in next year’s budget.

PLANNING AND CONSERVATION: Director Emilie Cademartori said this fiscal year budget has been aided by grants received, and said she will continue to pursue grants next year. She said some may require Town matches. She said she expects a transition with two department clerk positions being vacated by retirement.

RECREATION: Director Julie Mallett said programming is starting to get back on track as the pandemic eases. She expects no change to the budget.

POLICE: Chief Nick Secatore says he expects a slight surplus in the salary line as one position has been vacant. He said he hopes the department will be at full staff as FY23 opens. He said he is exploring a request for additional staff, for investigations, administrative duties, and or traffic enforcement. He said that he will be seeking new cruisers in his capital budget.

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AND FIRE: Chief Glenn Davis said it has been a busy year for Emergency Management and discussed how the Town has worked to offer vaccine clinics. He said the current fiscal year budget is one track and said grants for COVID protective gear and radio upgrades have been received this year. Grant funds will also be used to replace the inflatable boat for water rescues. COVID affected ambulance revenues as people were going to the hospital les on non-COVID issues. He said the biggest challenge is operation of a hybrid department in which career firefighters are augmented by call firefighters. He said recruiting and retention of call firefighters has been difficult with COVID and with more demanding training requirements.

GOLF: Director Donald Lyons said golf activity and revenues were increased during COVID but that recently bad weather has hurt revenues, as both Town courses are located near the Reedy Meadow marsh and are susceptible to water issues. He said that his employees deserve credit for working with customers through COVID. The golf program is funded by golf revenue. He said that some course work should be considered for drainage work.

COUNCIL ON AGING: Director Linda Naccara said the current fiscal year budget is on line, expect for the meals program, due to the cost of food. Asa result, the price for lunch was increased from $2 to $4. She said she has heard no negative feedback. She said next year’s budget would be similar.

PUBLIC WORKS: Director John Tomasz said it has been a busy year with paving and stormwater work ongoing as well as work done to assist department with COVID need. He said obtaining snow plow contractors is very competitive. He said along with the usual capital requests, the Town will see a much higher cost for rubbish collection and disposal due to the new contract and market forces.

TOWN ACCOUNTANT: Julianne McCarthy said the budget is on track for next year and no increases are expected. A new contract with the Town’s financial software provider will not result in an increase.

She reviewed budget submission procedures and deadlines.

Finance Committee Chair Christopher Mattia said he will set up a schedule for departmental budget reviews.

Mr. Connell thanked those in attendance for their efforts.

Mr. Dolan said he will propose to the Board a May 16 date for the annual town meeting in order o have a better idea of available revenue from the state.

MOTION by Mr. Connell, duly seconded by Mr. Crawford: I move that the Board adjourn. Vote was unanimous.

The meeting was adjourned at 6:52 p.m.