Archive 2008 - 2019

Town Meeting, Part 1

by Nancy Farrell
5/5/2015

The meeting began with a moment of silence for the recent deaths of Nancy Norris,  Louis Paltrineri, and Cheryl Rudolph.

About 275 residents participated in the democratic process that is town meeting.

L to R: Bill Mayer, Town counsel, Diane Fitzgerald, Assistant Town Clerk, Liz Greendale, Town Clerk and Kevin Clancy, Moderator, prepare for the opening of town Meeting.

Overseeing the meeting were selectmen Jay Marsden, Jay Leary and Kevin Conley, Chairman. Paul LeBeau, far right, was ready for any questions that the selectmen could not answer.

Six members of the Finance Committee were present to answer questions related to their decisions and budget recommendations. L to R, Elizabeth Liberty, Bill Dowd, Brendan Shea, Dan Alfred, Michelle Zeamer and Ken Szajda, Chairman.

ARTICLE 1.             To hear and act on the report of the Selectmen.

Board of Selectman Chair Kevin Conley gave the Board's report. Conley talked about the successful implementation of the Department of Public Works, commending Sean Reese, director of the new department. He also reported on the promotions at Police Department, the purchase of new Fire Ladder Truck, the new management at golf course, and the elimination of the trash fee. He said that the Axton-Cross property had been dealt with, and the negotiations to purchase the remaining section of the Rail Trail had been completed.

ARTICLE 2.             To hear and act on the report of the Finance Committee.

Ken Szajda gave the report for the Finance Committee. He said that there was a 2-3% increase in local aid from the State for FY15, and that for the foreseeable future increases would be limited. On the expense side, health insurance costs were up all over. The overall increase for the FY16 budget was $580,000. He commended the addition of the Water Surcharge to solve a problem created by 40 years of underfunding. [Author's Note 5/5/15: please see Ken's comment below.] He pointed out the new lights in HHS auditorium which are saving the town $60,000. The Finance Committee is still working on a capital plan.

ARTICLE 3.             To see if the Town will vote to authorize the Town Treasurer, subject to the approval of the Selectmen, to sell property acquired through foreclosure of tax titles by the Town and other real estate, after first giving notice of the time and place of the sale by posting such notice of sale in some convenient place in the Town, by publishing such notice of such sale in a newspaper having general circulation in the Town and by posting such notice on a Holliston Cable Access Television (HCAT) bulletin board and on the Town’s website at least fourteen (14) days before the sale.  The Treasurer shall also give notice of such sale to the Executive Director of the Holliston Housing Authority, the Chair of the Holliston Housing Trust and the Chair of the Holliston Housing Committee or its subsequent equivalent by first class letter at least forty-five (45) days before the sale.  The Treasurer may hold a public auction and may reject any bid which s/he deems inadequate, and any such advertisement, notice or indication that real property is to be offered for sale by the Town of Holliston, or any department, commission, or other subdivision of the Town shall include the following statement: “Buyers should be aware that the Town of Holliston does not guarantee this property to be in conformity with existing zoning bylaws.”

Whenever the proceeds of the sale or other disposal of real estate, other than that acquired through tax title foreclosure, by the Town of Holliston exceed five hundred dollars, the same shall be applied to the payment of indebtedness incurred in acquiring such real estate or shall be added to the sinking fund, if any, from which said indebtedness is payable, or if no such indebtedness is outstanding will be applied to the Town’s Capital Expenditure Fund as established by Chapter 46 of the Acts of 1993.  The proceeds of a sale in excess of five hundred dollars of any park land by the Town shall be used only by the Town for acquisition of land for park purposes or for capital improvements to park land; or take any action relative thereto.  (Board of Selectmen)

Article 3 was approved.

 

ARTICLE 4.             To see if the Town will vote to amend the Consolidated Personnel By-law Section 29, Job Classification Plan, by reflecting those revisions, deletions and/or additions to be effective as of July 1, 2015; or take any action relative thereto.  (Town Administrator)

 

SECTION 29, JOB CLASSIFICATION PLAN (Full?time Permanent Positions)

POSITION                                         GRADE         POSITION                                    GRADE

Administrative Assessor                             400          Head Dispatcher                                    400

Assistant Clerk                                            200          Head of Circulation, Library                 400

Assistant Director, Library                         400          Library Page                                           100

Assistant, Town Clerk                                 400          Matron, Police                                       100

Assistant, Treasurer/Collector                     400          Outreach Manager                                 400

Cataloger, Library                                       300          Principal Clerk                                       300

Children’s Librarian                                    400          Reference Librarian                               400

Committee Clerk                                         100          Senior Clerk                                           300

Crossing Guard                                           100          Technician, Library                                100

Dispatcher                                                   200          Van Driver                                             100

Article 4 was approved.

 

ARTICLE 5.             To see if the Town will vote to amend the Consolidated Personnel By?law Section 30, Job Compensation Plan, to reflect the rates listed below, and the inclusion of any new rates resulting from reevaluation or new or revised positions to be effective as of July 1, 2015; or take any action relative thereto.  (Town Administrator)

 

SECTION 30, JOB COMPENSATION PLAN, PART I, SCHEDULE B, HOURLY RATES

GRADE      STEP 1      STEP 2       STEP 3      STEP 4      STEP 5      STEP 6      STEP 7    

-----------      ----------     ----------       ----------      ----------      ----------     ----------      ----------

    100              15.60         16.59           17.29          17.72           18.07        18.83       19.23         

    200              18.50         19.68           20.50          21.01           21.43        22.33          22.81

    300              19.08         20.30           21.15          21.66           22.11        23.03          23.52

    400              21.97         23.37           24.34          24.94           25.45        26.51          27.08

    500              23.85         25.36           26.42          27.07           27.62        28.77          29.39

Article 5 was approved.

 

ARTICLE 6.             To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate or transfer from available funds a sum of money for unpaid bills from prior years; or take any action relative thereto.  (Board of Selectmen)

Article 6 was approved.

 

ARTICLE 7.             To see if the Town will vote to transfer from available funds a sum of money for the purpose of supplementing various accounts of the Town’s fiscal year 2015 annual budget, previously voted by the Town under Article 14 of the Warrant for the 2014 Annual Town Meeting and under Article 2 of the Warrant for the October 27, 2014 Special Town Meeting; or take any action relative thereto.  (Board of Selectmen)

Article 7 was approved.

 

ARTICLE 8.             To see if the Town will vote to authorize the Board of Selectmen to hold a public auction for the purpose of disposing of surplus departmental equipment; or take any action relative thereto.  (Board of Selectmen)

Article 8 was approved.

ARTICLE 9.             To see if the Town will vote to authorize the Highway Department, with the approval of the Board of Selectmen, to use and expend sums received from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as reimbursements under the Chapter 90 State Aid to Highways program for further construction, reconstruction and improvements, including surface treatments of approved public ways within the Town; or take any action relative thereto.  (Board of Selectmen)

Article 9 was approved.

ARTICLE 10.           To see if the Town will vote, under the provisions of Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 44, section 53E1/2, as amended, to reauthorize the following revolving accounts for fiscal year 2016:

 

1.         an ambulance fee revolving account into which shall be deposited receipts received as payment of fees for ambulance services and from which account expenditures for labor, materials, supplies and equipment associated with the provision of ambulance services in the Town may be made in an amount not to exceed $391,812;

2.         a Council on Aging fee revolving account into which shall be deposited receipts received as payment of fees for the use of the Senior Center and from which account expenditures for Senior Center expenses may be made in an amount not to exceed $5,000;

3.         a Composting Kit revolving account into which shall be deposited receipts received from the sale of composting kits and from which account expenditures for purchasing composting kits may be made in an amount not to exceed $3,000;

4.         a Response and Recovery fee revolving account into which shall be deposited receipts received as payment of fees and reimbursements for response to natural and man-made emergencies and from which account expenditures for planning, response, recovery and mitigation efforts by Town departments may be made in an amount not to exceed $10,000;

5.         an abutter’s list fee revolving account into which shall be deposited receipts received as payment of fees for abutter’s lists and from which fund expenditures for preparing and issuing abutter’s lists, including technologies, may be made in an amount not to exceed $5,000;

6.         a Building Inspection revolving account into which shall be deposited receipts received as payment of all fees received by the Building Inspection department for plumbing, gas and wiring permits and from which account expenditures reasonably related to inspectional services for plumbing, gas and wiring may be made in an amount not to exceed $70,000;

7.         a Town Hall revolving account into which shall be deposited receipts received as payment of all fees for rental of the Town Hall facility and from which account expenditures reasonably related to maintaining the Town Hall for purposes of rental may be made in an amount not to exceed $25,000;

8.         a Senior Center Van Services revolving account into which shall be deposited receipts received as payment of all fees, reimbursements and contracted receipts for use of the Senior Center van and transportation program and from which account expenditures reasonably related to maintaining the Senior Center van service and transportation program may be made in an amount not to exceed $10,000;

9.         an Agricultural Commission programs revolving account into which shall be deposited receipts received as payment for all programs and activities of the Agricultural Commission and from which account expenditures reasonably related to the programs and activities of the Agricultural Commission may be made in an amount not to exceed $10,000;

10.       a Sealer of Weights and Measures revolving account into which shall be deposited receipts received for Sealer of Weights and Measures services and from which account expenditures related to the services of the Sealer of Weights and Measures may be made in an amount not to exceed $5,000;

11.       a fluorescent bulb recycling revolving account into which shall be deposited receipts received from recycling fluorescent bulbs and from which account expenditures for recycling fluorescent bulbs may be made in an amount not to exceed $3,000;

12.       a banner revolving account into which shall be deposited receipts received as payment of fees for banners over Washington Street and from which account expenditures for placing the banners may be made in an amount not to exceed $5,000;

13.       an accident fee revolving account into which shall be deposited receipts received as payment of fees for motor vehicle accident investigations and from which account expenditures for investigating motor vehicle accidents may be made in an amount not to exceed $5,000;

14.       an inoculation revolving account into which shall be deposited receipts received for reimbursement for inoculations and from which account expenditures for inoculations may be made in an amount not to exceed $20,000;

15.       a cost of prosecution account into which shall be deposited receipts received as payment of fees for court imposed penalties and from which account expenditures for the costs of prosecution may be made in an amount not to exceed $30,000; and

16.       a nutrition revolving account into which shall be deposited receipts received for nutrition programs at the Senior Center and from which account expenditures for nutrition programs at the Senior Center may be made in an amount not to exceed $10,000; provided that expenditures from said accounts shall require the approval of the Board of Selectmen and expenditures in excess of the amounts stated shall require the approval of the Board of Selectmen and the Finance Committee; or take any action relative thereto.  (Board of Selectmen)

Article 10 was approved.

ARTICLE 11.           To see if the Town will vote, under the provisions of Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 44, section 53E1/2 as amended, to authorize the creation of a Wetlands Application Filing Fee account into which shall be deposited receipts received as payment of filing fees for wetlands determinations and from which account expenditures for the costs of wetlands determinations may be made with the approval of the Board of Selectmen in an amount not to exceed $30,000 during fiscal year 2016, except that expenditures from said account in excess of said $30,000 may be authorized by vote of the Board of Selectmen and the Finance Committee; or take any action relative thereto.  (Conservation Commission)

Article 11 was approved.

ARTICLE 12.           To see if the Town will vote, under the provisions of Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 44, section 53E1/2 as amended, to authorize the creation of a False Alarm Fee account into which shall be deposited receipts received as penalties for false alarms and from which account expenditures for the costs of monitoring alarms may be made with the approval of the Board of Selectmen in an amount not to exceed $15,000 during fiscal year 2016, except that expenditures from said account in excess of said $15,000 may be authorized by vote of the Board of Selectmen and the Finance Committee; or take any action relative thereto.  (Police Chief)

Article 12 was postponed.

ARTICLE 13.           To see if the Town will vote to accept Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 60, section 15B as amended, and authorize the creation of a Tax Title revolving fund into which shall be deposited any fees, charges and costs incurred in the process of redemption of tax titles and sales of real property acquired through foreclosure of tax titles and from which account expenditures for the costs of tax titles and tax takings may be made with the approval of the Board of Selectmen; or take any action relative thereto.  (Treasurer/Collector)

Article 13 was approved.

ARTICLE 14.           To see if the Town will vote to accept the provisions of Chapter 73 of the Acts of 1986, as amended by Chapter 126 of the Acts of 1988, authorizing the Board of Assessors to grant an increase of twenty percent (20%) to all exemptions from property taxes excluding those granted under clause 18 of section 5 of Chapter 59 of the Massachusetts General Laws for the fiscal year commencing July 1, 2015; or take any action relative thereto.  (Board of Assessors)

Article 14 was approved.

ARTICLE 15.           To see if the Town will vote to amend the interest rate per annum from 8% to 6% under the provisions of Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 59, section 5, clause 41A, which regulates tax deferral for homeowners 65 years or older, pursuant to the authority contained in Chapter 136 of the Acts of 2005, thereby amending said clause 41A; or take any action relative thereto.  (Board of Assessors)

Article 15 was approved.

ARTICLE 16.           To see if the Town will vote to accept the provisions of section 51 of Chapter 184 of the Acts of 2002, amending the income requirements under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 59, section 5, clause 41C; or take any action relative thereto.  (Board of Assessors)

Article 16 was approved.

ARTICLE 17.           To see what money the Town will vote to raise and appropriate or transferfrom available funds to meet expenses and outlays to Town departments, salaries of Town Officers, sundry and miscellaneous but regular expenditures, for a Reserve Fund, Conservation Fund, Stabilization Fund, and to appoint trustees or caretakers or authorize the Selectmen to appoint caretakers of the cemeteries of the Town not otherwise provided for, for the ensuing year; or take any action relative thereto.  (Omnibus Budget)

Gary Dunn questions the increase of 33% in benefits budget for school. Ken Szajda clarified that this represents the inclusion of OPEB in the school budget.

Kathy Snyder proposed an amendment to preserve the position of English Language Learners (ELL) Coordinator by moving the $33,000 salary from Stabilization Fund to the Personal Services in school budget.  She argued that the position was important for the 55 students in the federally mandated program which has had a 133% increase in students in recent years.

Ken Szadja cautioned that this would not be a one time occurrence; it will be an ongoing cost.

Brad Jackson, above, said that he recommended that this position be reduced. Saying that the position is administrative; that the increase has leveled off; and that there is a reality that has to be faced, he had reluctantly made the decision.

Bill Mayer, Town Counsel, advised that the vote was on a line item, which after voted in, would be in the purview of the school to decide how to use the funds.

The proposed amendment failed with a vote of 264 opposed, 13 in favor.

Ashland resident Todd Barber presented an objection to the loss of the in-school drama program. He argued that students in the program on IEPs got a lot out of these classes without which the costs could be a lot more. Participation in this program reduces number and cost of kids in other programs. How did the Drama program move from a priority to being recast as not funded, he asked.

Ben Rutberg, senior at HHS, told of his valuable experience in the program. He spoke about how important the current drama teacher's role was in the school life of his students and listed the real-world skills he and his fellow drama students had acquired. Ben argued that at least half the position should be maintained.

Carol Emmons said that there would be no change to the after-school, stipend-based program, which has a high enrollment indicating that the high need is in the after-school program and not on the in-school program.

David Allen spoke in favor for funding the position for the drama teacher, saying that it would be unlikely to get a good teacher for the reduced position.

John Varga expressed his appreciation for the appeal of the program but said that this is a dollars and cents issue.

Beth Greeley asked how do we get the programs we want.

Ken Szadja said that getting the programs in schools that you want is a question of democracy, vote for school committee members who share your values.

Marty Lamb said, "This is deja vu all over again." "How many years do we have to see this position on the chopping block?"  "Beth [Greeley] is right," he said, "vote for it this year. Moving forward, we can elect school committee members."

John Varrell asked about enrollment in AP courses, how many unique students in these classes? How much does the lack of drama program impact the AP classes? He expressed the importance of the drama program to the community.

Carol Emmons said that the after-school program would still be presenting plays to the community. It is the in-school program that is the problem. Requests for this program are low, 12 sections can not be justified. Classes are back-filled. Filling the current drama teacher's class assignments is difficult.

Town resident Lisa (?) described her experience as a college professor seeing the stress that students are feeling. She questioned the need for an increase in AP classes, arguing for a balanced selection of classes

Carol Emmons said that there is a robust selection of elective classes, but that the increased request for AP classes needs to be addressed. Requests for drama classes have been dropping.

Ken Szadja opposed the motion to move $61,000 from Stabilization Fund to Personal Services.

The motion failed -- 94 in favor, 168 opposed.

Beth Greeley put forward a motion to reduce the position to one-third, roughly a $20,000 salary.

Parashar Patel said that the demand for the class is equivalent to a .020 FTE. "Our kids are voting with their feet," he said.

Doug Foss, expressing surprise at the school committee's refusal of the offer of money, suggested that the discussion should be more about the $31million that they are asking for.

Nancy Baron expressed frustrations with the description of the situation presented by the School Committee.

Mary Beth Numbers of the Teachers Union said that she was uncomfortable about the private, personal issues being discussed in a public forum.

Brad Jackson said that the whole conversation had gotten out of control. We are talking about a teacher who is extraordinary, and about the school committee who had worked hard to make these difficult decisions.

Lisa Kocian asked whether we have used the stabilization fund like this before?

Ken Szajda said that the Stabilization Fund is for short term crises. It is unwise to use it for this reason.

The motion failed -- 60 in favor, 202 opposed

School Budget was approved.

The next budget in the Omnibus was for the Department of Public Works. The discussion turned to comments about the new Water Surcharge, which was not part of the Town Warrant. It was approved by the Board of Selectmen at a previous meeting. HollistonReporter.com will report on this discussion in a separate article. 

Town Meeting continues tonight, at 7:30, at the Holliston High Auditorium. See you there!

Comments (4)

Ken, Thank you. I appreciate that you're keeping an eye on me and accept my apologies for the errors. You set a high standard for clarity; I'm still working on it.

Nancy | 2015-05-06 15:29:00

Nancy, One more correction I discovered this morning. Under Article 17 you wrote "Ken Szajda clarified that this represents the inclusion of OPEB in the school budget." The correct statement is that the change represents the inclusion of OPEB in the Employee Benefits budget (not the school budget). Prior to establishment of the OPEB trust we had a separate warrant article to set aside the $1.5 mil for OPEB. With the trust now established we no longer need a separate vote so the $1.5 mil OPEB allocation is included in the overall benefits budget. In other words, $1.5 million of the increase in the benefits budget does not represent an actual increase in benefits costs over FY15, it reflects the inclusion of $1.5 mil that used to be voted separately.

Ken Szajda | 2015-05-06 06:48:41

Nancy, I don't mind being mildly misquoted, but you "credited" me with something I absolutely did NOT say, namely: "He commended the addition of the Water Surcharge to solve a problem created by 40 years of underfunding." The water surcharge was something the Fincom had nothing to do with directly so I didn't comment on it at all other than to say "we were not a part of it." Officially the committee has never discussed it so we have no formal position on it.

Ken Szajda | 2015-05-05 15:40:02

Thanks for the great summary. Every budget hurts and upsets somebody. The comment that the kids are voting the cut in the drama position with their feet is logical. If kids are not signing up for the class, it makes no sense to offer it. Just like if not enough kids signed up to field a soccer or football team, those coaching positions would be eliminated

John | 2015-05-05 11:44:26