January 9, 2017 minutes

Chairman Crawford called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Chairman Crawford announced that the meeting was being recorded for transmission by cable television. He led those assembled in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Update on public records management law

Town Clerk Trudy Reid said that the law on public records changed effective January 1. The Town has purchased a software program that allowed residents to request public records via the Town website and allows the Town to track the requests and their fulfillment. She demonstrated how the requests could be entered through the website. Each department has a records access officer. As chief access officer, Ms. Reid can track the response and status. In cases here there will be a cost to the requester, they can pay through the web portal. She will also be working with Town Administrator James Boudreau and Town Counsel Thomas Mullen to develop policies and procedures and she will update department heads on changes to the law. One of the changes allows the Town to direct the requester to material on the website if it is already posted there. The vendor chosen is the same vendor that is used for dog licensing in Town.

Mr. Boudreau said Mr. Mullen will provide training to records officers once the software has been implemented. Ms. Reid also announced that nomination papers are available for the annual election. She said the annual census forms will be mailed out this week, and dog registration forms will be sent in the same mailing. Board members thanked Ms. Reid for her presentation.

Library Fiscal Year 2018 budget presentation

Library Director Holly Mercer and members of the Board of Library Trustees appeared before the Board for the library budget presentation. Ms. Mercer is in her first year as director and said this has been a year of transition for the library. The library seeks to create a collaborative learning environment, and the budget seeks to maintain and enhance its programming. After-school activities have been added for youth. Over 1,000 persons attend library programs per month, on average. The children’s room has been reorganized and enhanced, and programming will be expanded. New collections have been added, best-sellers are made readily available in a special “grab and go” section, music and art lesson databases have been added. Self-checkout will be introduced in the children’s room.

The budget includes a request for a part-time children’s room assistant at 11 hours per week. This will ensure that the room is staffed at all times when the library is open and will allow for children’s programming on Saturdays. The expense budget for that program has been increased to $5,000 for children’s programming. The budget would meet the requirements to remain eligible for state funding. Smaller increases such as for office supplies would bring them into line with actual costs. She thanked the Board for its support for the library.

Chairman Crawford commended Ms. Mercer and the trustees for their work, including the work on the library building project. He asked what type of person would be sought for the new part-time position. Ms. Mercer said she would look for someone who has a degree in library science. Selectman Barrett said he was happy to see the emphasis on partnering with the schools. He asked what opportunities would be available with a new library. Ms. Mercer said the additional space would allow the library to offer multiple programs at the same time, which is not possible now due to the limits of the current building. There will be dedicated spaces for activities.

Selectman Dalton said his concerns about budgets in general are the Town’s fiscal constraints, and the Town facing unavoidable increases in pensions and health insurance. Some line items in the library budget, such as technology, show double-digit percentage increases.

Library Trustees Chairman Robert Calamari said that the trustees are sensitive to the issue raised by Selectman Dalton. He said its chief goal is to meet contractual obligations and remain eligible for state funding. This year, the library is seeking renewed vitality and evidenced by increases in attendance that have not been seen in a very long time. He said this budget request seeks to meet this demand. He said new leadership has brought in a sense of new thinking about programs, to which the public has responded. Selectman Barrett said he has seen this enthusiasm. Board members thanked Ms. Mercer and the trustees.

Approval of new mileage rate for employees using personal vehicles on Town business

Mr. Boudreau said the Town’s reimbursement rate is set to match the Internal Revenue Service rate for business and government. The new rate is 53.3 cents per mile, down by half a cent.

On the motion of Selectman Barrett, duly seconded by Selectman Dalton, the Board voted unanimously to set the employee mileage reimbursement rate for personal vehicle use on Town business at 53.5 cents per mile.

Appointment to Memorial Day Committee

Ellen Lederman has requested appointment to the Memorial Day Committee. Her appointment has been recommended by Veterans Services Officer Bruce Siegel.

On the motion of Selectman Barrett, duly seconded by Selectman Dalton, the Board voted unanimously to appoint Ellen Lederman to the Memorial Day Committee.

Discussion of website improvements

Chairman Crawford said that work continues on the financial transiency portal that will be added to the website to allow citizens to access more information on Town spending and budgeting. Selectman Dalton provided some articles about communities building a social media program to better engage the public and meet the new ways of the public engaging via Facebook and Twitter. He said that this effort would help in recruiting new members for boards and committees. Residents can provide information and express concerns, and the Town can put out immediate notifications of emergencies and other timely notifications. He suggested forming a small committee to look at this effort. He also said the Board should discuss at some point the information technology support for the Town side of government. IT services are currently shared with the School Department.

Chairman Crawford said there will be great benefits to better engaging its citizens. He agreed that the Town has seen some changes in the IT department. One consideration for the discussion is whether the Town should outsource some of its IT needs. He said Mr. Boudreau can look into how other communities are addressing their needs. Selectman Barrett said that providing quicker access to information for more residents will be of great benefit. Selectman Dalton said one concern is making sure the Open Meeting Law is not inadvertently violated. He said that he would like to see some policies adopted and training offered before Town employees

Mr. Boudreau said in Norwell the Town IT support was outsources and the company did a great job. Mr. Boudreau said he maintains a town administrator Twitter account. Several Town departments have Facebook pages. The Town also provides notification for news announcements on its website, to which residents can subscribe.  He noted that many communities use Facebook; some are active, some do not use it often. He is discussing the matter with other town administrators to see how they handle it. Selectman Dalton said that the way to avoid burdening the town administrator’s office too much with this effort is to provide access to authorized personnel in each department.

Use of facilities

On the motion of Selectman Barrett, duly seconded by Selectman Dalton, the Board voted unanimously to allow the use of the South Fire lot for a car wash by the Lynnfield High School softball team on May 21, 2017.

Approval of minutes

On the motion of Selectman Barrett, duly seconded by Selectman Dalton, the Board voted unanimously to approve the minutes of September 12, 2016 as presented.

Proclamation

On the motion of Selectman Barrett, duly seconded by Selectman Dalton, the Board voted unanimously to approve a proclamation of January 5, 2017 as Molly Malone Day. The proclamation was presented at a ceremony on that day to recognize Ms. Malone’s courageous battle with cancer. Miss Malone’s mother thanked the community for its support of the family. The Cops for Kids with cancer program has also offered support to the Malone family and representatives of that organization were also on hand for the ceremony, which Selectman Dalton attended. He thanked Police Chief Breen and Patrolman Duzz for their work in connecting that organization with the Malone family. Selectman Barrett said that Molly Malone has become an inspiration to her fellow Lynnfield High School students and the community as a whole.

On the motion of Selectman Barrett, duly seconded by Selectman Dalton, the Board voted unanimously to adjourn at 7:57 p.m.