At Tuesday’s Town Meeting, voters will be asked to approve 57 articles proposed by the selectmen and various town boards. Here’s a synopsis of each, including its fiscal impact, in plain English.
If you’re looking for legalese, you’ll find it in the Town Meeting booklet, which all residents should have received in the mail last weekend. The booklet contains the exact wording of all 57 articles, their cost, and the recommendations of the Finance and Capital Planning and Investment committees. Readers should be aware, however, that the final wording and exact dollar amounts of some items won’t be known until the motions for their adoption are read on the floor of Town Meeting. These motions can themselves be amended, so you need to stay on your toes.
ARTICLE 1: Hear Annual Reports of Town Boards and Committees
Inserted by Board of Selectmen
Requires majority vote
An annual housekeeping formality, this article asks voters to hear reports from the Board of Selectmen, School Committee, and any other boards with prepared reports to present. Written reports for virtually every town committee and department appear in either the 2016 Town Meeting booklet, which includes reports from the Finance and Capital committees, or the 2015 Annual Town Report, which includes everyone else. The School Committee typically provides a report of its own. All three reports will be available at Town Meeting.
Passage of this article opens the door for any board or committee to step forward and tell the town of its activities and accomplishments over the past year.
ARTICLE 2: Pay bills of prior fiscal years
Inserted by Board of Selectmen and recommended by Finance Committee
Amount: $2,828
Money source: Stabilization Fund
Requires four-fifths vote
At the close of fiscal 2015 on June 30 last year, two bills remained unpaid: a sum of $2,708 owed West Plumbing and Heating and $120 owed The Harvard Press for advertising in the paper. A vote for this article authorizes the town to withdraw money from its Stabilization Fund to pay those bills.
ARTICLE 3: Home-rule petition for a special act to pay bills of a prior fiscal year
Inserted by Board of Selectmen
Requires majority vote and enactment by the Legislature
Massachusetts law (MGL 44) requires a vote of Town Meeting to approve payment of any bills left unpaid from the “immediately prior” fiscal year (see Article 2). This article would allow the town to pay late bills without such Town Meeting approval, provided they are received before October 31 of the current fiscal year. Prior year bills received after that date would need the approval of nine-tenths of a special town meeting. Because this article is a home-rule petition, it must be enacted by the Legislature.
ARTICLE 4: Approve the Town’s Omnibus Budget
Amount: $23,548,412
Inserted and recommended by Finance Committee
Money source: 2017 tax levy
Requires majority vote
The omnibus budget shows the amounts taxpayers will pay for town services in the coming year. Although it takes months for the Finance Committee to assemble it, Town Meeting typically approves it in a matter of minutes, often without a single question asked or comment made. Its seven pages (see pages 29–36 in this year’s Town Meeting booklet) present the amounts the Finance Committee has recommended each department be authorized to spend next fiscal year. The document also shows how much each department spent in fiscal 2013 through 2015, as well as the amount budgeted for the current year, fiscal 2016 (actual spending won’t be known until late this summer).
The budget for fiscal 2017 totals $23.6 million (see the line titled “Grand Total Omnibus Budget” on page 36), a 3.89 percent increase over the current year’s amount.
The budget for Harvard’s schools (line 32) always accounts for the biggest chunk of town spending, totaling $12.6 million next year, a 2.71 percent increase over the current year.
Benefits and insurance paid on behalf of the town’s employees account for the second largest block, amounting to $4.2 million (the sum of lines 58 and 59). That total is up 4.6 percent, lower than last year’s 5.3 percent rise. The total includes the $450,000 that will be added to Harvard’s OPEB (other post-employment benefits) trust fund.
Other big budget categories include the following:
- General government, which includes salaries for the town administrator and assistant town administrator, finance director, and town clerk and pays for the operation of town buildings: $1.36 million (see Total General Govt. on page 31).
- Public safety, including spending for police, fire, ambulance, and inspectional services: $1.71 million, down slightly from last year (see Total Public Safety on page 30).
- Physical environment, most of which is for the Department of Public Works (see lines 34, 35, and 36), but includes the Transfer Station, Water Department, and cemeteries: $1.4 million (see Total Physical Environment).
Before a penny of this money can be spent next year, Town Meeting must give its assent. The Finance Committee recommends that Town Meeting pass the article in its entirety.
ARTICLE 5: Change composition of Warner Free Lecture Board of Trustees
Inserted by Warner Free Lecture Board of Trustees
Requires majority vote
Current Chairwoman Lisa Foley researched the Warner Free Lecture Series documents and found that Henry Warner, in establishing the trust, had stipulated that there be “three ladies and three gentlemen” trustees. Rather than reverting to what the board sees as an outdated policy that has not been followed in recent memory, the trustees would like to change the wording to “six registered voters, regardless of gender.”
ARTICLE 6: Reserve Fund for Fiscal 2017
Inserted and recommended by Finance Committee
Amount: $350,000
Money source: 2017 tax levy
Requires majority vote
Not all of the money spent by the town can be anticipated by the omnibus budget. There are always unforeseen expenses. The Finance Committee wants to set aside $350,000 for the town’s Reserve Fund this year, half for traditional emergencies, such as extra plowing and treatment of roads in an especially snowy winter, and half to cover unforeseen special education costs.
The money is raised through fiscal 2017 property taxes and other revenue. It is under the control of the Finance Committee and saves the town from having to hold numerous special town meetings to authorize the expenditures of small sums. The table, “FY15 Reserve Fund Transfers” on page 11 of the 2016 Town Meeting booklet shows how this money was used during the 2015 fiscal year, which ended June 30, 2015, with all of its dollars spent.
ARTICLE 7: Online Dog Licensing
Inserted by the town clerk; recommended by Finance Committee
Amount: $2,300
Money source: 2017 tax levy
Requires majority vote
This article would provide funding for an online dog licensing software package. The new system would allow for online license purchases, email reminders, and a database of licensed dogs that could be used by police, animal control, and dispatch. (See “Selectmen ask for money to upgrade computers, online services.”)
ARTICLE 8: Self-contained Breathing Apparatus Masks
Inserted by Board of Selectmen; recommended by Finance Committee
Amount: $6,650
Money source: 2017 tax levy
Requires majority vote
This article would provide each firefighter with a breathing mask and airpack that meet the new national standard, offering protection at much higher temperatures than before. According to Fire Chief Rick Sicard, masks are the weakest link in firefighters’ protective gear to prevent fatalities.
ARTICLE 9: Departmental Management Audit of Fire and Ambulance Departments
Inserted by Board of Selectmen; recommended by Finance Committee
Amount: $12,400
Money source: 2017 tax levy
Requires majority vote
Last year’s Town Meeting approved money to audit management and operations at the Department of Public Works. The selectmen were impressed with the resulting report from the Collins Center for Public Management and plan eventually to have all town departments audited. If this article passes, the Collins Center will next audit the Fire and Ambulance departments.
ARTICLE 10: Update of Town Website
Inserted by Board of Selectmen; recommended by Finance Committee
Amount: $12,000
Money source: 2017 tax levy
Requires majority vote
The town’s website is eight years old and lacks features that are now available from the company that designed the website. If this article passes, the old website will be redesigned, and will be easier to navigate and update. (See “Selectmen ask for money to upgrade computers, online services.”)
ARTICLE 11: Replace Municipal Servers
Inserted by Board of Selectmen; recommended by Finance Committee
Amount: $30,000
Money source: Stabilization Fund
Requires two-thirds vote
The two servers that host the town’s website, emails, and financial software packages are 15 years old. The town administrator would like to replace them with two new servers. Taking the money from the Stabilization Fund would allow the new servers to be installed in time for the move back into Town Hall. (See “Selectmen ask for money to upgrade computers, online services.”)
ARTICLE 12: Seasonal Mowing
Inserted by Department of Public Works; recommended by Finance Committee
Amount: $15,000
Money source: 2017 tax levy
Requires majority vote
The DPW wants to hire a part-time person for seasonal mowing. The DPW director said the mowing would be “along roads and other locations in town as needed.”
ARTICLE 13: Roadside Tree Maintenance
Inserted by Board of Selectmen; recommended by Finance Committee
Amount: $20,000
Money source: 2017 tax levy
Requires majority vote
The Department of Public Works wants to contract with an outside company to trim trees and brush along town roads. A similar article passed last year, but only after considerable discussion and an amendment asking the DPW to work in cooperation with the tree warden. As of mid-March, last year’s funds had not yet been spent because, the DPW director said, it was not yet the right time of year for the work.
ARTICLE 14: GIS Mapping of Water and Sewer Lines
Inserted by Water and Sewer Commission; recommended by Finance Committee
Amount: $7,800
Money source: 2017 tax levy
Requires majority vote
The town already has GIS mapping data, but the Department of Public Works and the Water and Sewer Commission would like to have a GIS map overlay that would identify town water and sewer lines to expedite locating lines that might need repair or replacement. (See “Selectmen ask for money to upgrade computers, online services.”)
ARTICLE 15: Local option meals excise tax
Inserted and recommended by Finance Committee
Requires majority vote
This article recommends the adoption of a local meals tax to help the town. Proceeds will go into the General Fund. The tax amount to be added is 0.75percent on gross receipts. The Massachusetts Department of Revenue estimates the annual revenue from a local meals tax in Harvard to be $25,000.
Not all food purchased in Harvard would be subject to such a tax. Only prepared meals already subject to the state tax would have the local tax added to the bill. Some of the common items in town that would be subject to such a tax are pizza from Sorrento’s, meals prepared and sold at the Harvard General Store, and food from Siam Pepper, Westward Orchards, Fruitlands, and Dunkin’ Donuts.
The process for collecting the tax is the same one used to collect the statewide tax on meals. The addition of such a tax would add approximately one cent to a $1.05 cup of coffee, 13 cents for a $16.95 pizza, and 8 cents to the turkey, bacon, tomato, and avocado panini at the General.
If a local tax is accepted, it will raise the tax on prepared meals in Harvard from 6.25 percent to 7 percent.
ARTICLE 16: GASB 45 OPEB Actuarial Valuation
Inserted by Board of Selectmen; recommended by Finance Committee
Amount: $10,000
Money source: 2017 tax levy
Requires majority vote
An actuarial valuation is a forecast of how much the town will need to save each year in order to cover the future health benefits of its retirees. The last estimate was done in 2014. It recommended an annual contribution to Harvard’s OPEB trust fund of $600,000 in order to meet the town’s future obligations.
ARTICLE 17: Other post-employment benefits
(OPEB) funding
Inserted by Board of Selectmen and Finance Committee; recommended
by Finance Committee
Amount: $150, 000
Money source: Overlay surplus account (see glossary)
Requires majority vote
Since fiscal 2014, the town has made regular deposits to its state-managed OPEB trust fund to the tune of $450,000 per year. This year the Finance Committee, acting on the advice of Finance Director Lorraine Leonard, voted unanimously to recommend that the entire $150,000 in Harvard’s overlay surplus account be used to top off this year’s contribution, bringing the total amount to $600,000, the amount that the last actuarial valuation said the town should be contributing each year.
ARTICLE 18: Capital Planning and Investment Committee funding
Inserted by Finance and Capital Planning and Investment committees; recommended by Finance Committee
Amount: $40,000
Money source: 2017 tax levy
Requires two-thirds vote
The $40,000 requested by this article is an amount of money that is deposited each year to the Capital Planning and Investment Fund specifically to cover the unexpected capital expenses of the Department of Public Works. Originally this money was included in the annual DPW budget and was under under the control of its director. Requests for use of this money must now be made to Capital Planning and Investment Committee.
ARTICLE 19: Bond anticipation
note payoff
Inserted by Finance and Capital Planning and Investment committees; recommended by Finance Committee
Amount: $282,250
Money source: 2016 free cash
Requires majority vote
This is the first of four articles that specify how this year’s $1.36 million in free cash will be allocated. If approved, $282,250 of that total will be used to pay off four bond anticipation notes (BANs), money that was borrowed to pay for the schematic designs done for Town Hall (authorized at the 2011 Annual Town Meeting), the purchase of a forestry fire truck (authorized at the 2012 Annual Town Meeting), and the paving of the Pond Road parking lot at Bromfield School (authorized at the 2013 Annual Town Meeting). BANS are taken out to cover the expenses of a project before a final cost is known. Once the final cost is known, the amount is typically rolled into a long-term municipal bond. For the three projects listed here, which are complete, it’s easier just to pay off the BANs taken out to finance them and be done with it. The net impact of this article and Article 20 is to reduce next year’s total debt, which helps keep next year’s tax increase in check.
ARTICLE 20: Amend funding sources for Town Hall renovation project
Inserted by Finance and Capital Planning and Investment committees; recommended by Finance Committee
Amount: $720,000
Money source: 2016 free cash
Requires majority vote
This is the second of four articles that specify how this year’s $1.36 million in free cash will be allocated. Article 20 proposes to use $720,000 of that amount as a down payment on the amount that will need to be borrowed to pay for the Town Hall renovation project. As the anticipated expense is $2.97 million, this prepayment will reduce the amount of debt to $2.25 million. The Finance Committee estimates that paying off the schematic design BAN (see Article 19) and prepaying a part of the cost of construction will save the town approximately $1.25 million in principal and interest payments over the 20-year life of the bonds taken out to pay for it. The estimated impact on next year’s tax rate is to reduce it by 13.4 cents per thousand dollars, which equals a savings of about $71 for the average taxpayer.
ARTICLE 21: Capital Planning and Investment Committee debt payment
Inserted by the Capital Planning and Investment Committee; recommended
by Finance Committee
Amount: $82,213
Money source: 2016 free cash
Requires majority vote
This article, the third dealing with free cash, proposes to use $82,213 of the available $1.36 million to pay principal and interest on money borrowed by CPIC to pay for a number of smaller capital projects. Using free cash to pay this year’s debt service helps preserve fund money for another day. This payment has no effect on the tax rate.
ARTICLE 22: Fiscal year 2015 certified free cash
Inserted and recommended by Finance Committee
Amount: $295,599
Money source: 2016 free cash
Requires two-thirds vote
This final article dealing with free cash transfers the money that remains in free cash after passage of the previous three articles to the Capital Stabilization and Investment Fund. This is required by the town’s bylaw. The fund can be used to help pay for future capital projects.
ARTICLE 23: Hildreth Elementary School Feasibility Study and Design
Inserted by School Committee; recommended by Finance and Capital Planning and Investment committees
Amount: $500,000
Money source: Bond anticipation note (BAN)
Requires two-thirds Town Meeting vote and majority approval at Town Election
This article asks for money to cover the full estimated cost for a feasibility study both to eliminate the mold problems in the 1950s kindergarten wing of the elementary school and to bring the 1980s section of the building up to current standards for fire suppression, energy efficiency, and wheelchair accessibility. The study would produce full construction plans for the project, with options at a range of costs. The capital committee ranked this project as its highest priority.
Mold problems in the K-wing came to light in 2003, and in 2005 the Board of Health ordered the wing closed until the mold was sealed behind the walls and regular air-quality checks were in place to assure safety. However, the K-wing’s 60-year-old electrical, ventilation, and plumbing systems can’t be repaired because opening the walls would again release the mold.
The Massachusetts School Building Authority has voted to reimburse Harvard for 44.7 percent—about $225,000—of the cost of this study, leaving about $275,000 as a cost to the town. But the MSBA requires the town to vote for the full amount as an indication of support.
If voters approve this measure at both Town Meeting and Town Election, the feasibility study will take place in 2016 and 2017. The resulting proposal for construction would come before the 2018 Town Meeting, again with state aid for a similar share of the cost. Construction would be complete by 2020.
ARTICLE 24: Purchase new light-duty pickup truck with plow
Inserted by Board of Selectmen and Capital Planning and Investment Committee; recommended
by Finance Committee
Amount: $45,200
Money source: Capital Stabilization and Investment Fund
Requires two-thirds vote
The current light-duty pickup truck with plow is 12 years old and has 120,000 miles on it. It has sustained significant wear and tear as a result of snowplowing, and it is ready to be replaced. The DPW maintains a four-vehicle light-duty fleet, in which the pickup truck with plow plays a key role. The current light-duty pickup truck is no longer reliable and has been retired from use.
ARTICLE 25: Wide-area Mower
Inserted by Board of Selectmen and Capital Planning and Investment Committee; recommended by Finance Committee
Amount: $49,600
Money source: Capital Stabilization
and Investment Fund
Requires two-thirds vote
The wide-area mower is for field maintenance, including mowing recreational fields and the Common. The width of the wide-area mower is 11 feet, as opposed to the more standard 6-foot-wide mower, which will make mowing more productive, according to DPW Director Richard Nota. The previous wide-area mower was no longer repairable and has been on the schedule to be replaced this year.
ARTICLE 26: Replace DPW Septic System
Inserted by Board of Selectmen and Capital Planning and Investment Committee; recommended by Finance Committee
Amount: $40,000
Money source: Capital Stabilization
and Investment Fund
Requires two-thirds vote
The DPW’s septic system, which is 35 years old, went into total failure last year and currently has to be pumped every three to four weeks to prevent raw sewage from backing up into the DPW highway garage. The town is obligated by the Board of Health to address this issue.
ARTICLE 27: Pond Road Hazard Mitigation Drainage Project
Inserted by the Water and Sewer Commission and Capital Planning and Investment Committee; recommended
by Finance Committee
Amount: $69,000
Money source: Capital Stabilization and Investment Fund
Requires two-thirds vote
A fracture in the bedrock above town wells 2 and 5 next to Pond Road is allowing contaminants to seep into the wells. A vote for this article will provide the funds to install a pipe and transfer channel to divert a Whitman Road stream away from the wells, and a berm along Pond Road to keep road salt and possible petroleum spills from reaching the wells.
ARTICLE 28: Replacement of Playground Eqipment
Inserted by Parks and Recreation Commission and Capital Planning and Investment Committee; recommended by Finance Committee
Amount: $25,000
Money source: Capital Stabilization
and Investment Fund
Requires two-thirds vote
The play structure and swing set at the town beach are not up to current standards. The commission wants to have structures that are safe and more fun for children by installing new equipment suitable for children up to 6 years old and other equipment appropriate for children up to 12.
ARTICLE 29: Tractor with Front-end Loader and Snowblower
Inserted by School Committee and Capital Planning and Investment Committee; recommended by Finance Committee
Amount: $31,000
Money source: Capital Stabilization
and Investment Fund
Requires two-thirds vote
The capital committee’s report points out that the school maintenance department now relies on a decade-old, rusted tractor that needs more repairs than it is worth. This article would allow the School Committee to buy a new tractor/front-end loader that also includes a snowblower to clear areas around the schools after a storm.
ARTICLE 30: Bellevue Cemetery Road Paving
Inserted by Cemetery Commissioners; recommended by Finance Committee and Capital Planning and Investment Committee
Amount: $40,000
Money Source: Sale of Cemetery Lots Fund
Requires two-thirds vote
The Cemetery Commission has identified 1,400 linear feet of road that need to be repaved in Bellevue Cemetery. The project will be managed by DPW Director Rich Nota and completed by contractors. The Finance Committee recommends that the money come from the fund containing the proceeds from the sale of gravesites and lots in the cemetery. The fund’s purpose is to maintain the cemetery in perpetuity. According to Nota, the roadways in question have multiple ruts and heaves in them and are generally in quite poor condition.
ARTICLE 31: Amend Chapter 17 of the Code of Harvard
Inserted by the Capital Planning and Investment Committee
Requires majority vote
This article amends Chapter 17 of the town bylaws to clarify the nature, size, and scope of projects CPIC is authorized to consider. The existing bylaw states that the committee is to consider capital involving the purchase of land or an expenditure of $20,000 or greater and/or having a useful lifetime of 5 years or greater. The proposed change drops the ambiguous “or” from the language of the bylaw, narrowing the scope of CPIC responsibilities to capital purchases that cost $20,000 or more and a have a useful lifetime greater than 5 years. In the past, the vetting process was slowed by long-lasting capital items of $5,000 to $10,000 that could have been covered by departmental budgets.
ARTICLE 32: Home-rule Petition to Encourage Small-business Participation and Private Funding on Local Projects
Inserted by Board of Selectmen
Requires majority vote and enactment by the Legislature
Passage of this article would direct the selectmen to file a home-rule petition with the Legislature that would exempt Harvard from provisions of state law governing procurement practices for small municipal projects. If enacted, it would allow Harvard to avoid going out to bid and/or paying the prevailing wage set in Boston for projects with an estimated cost of $50,000 or less. The current state law sets the limit at $25,000. This article would also exempt public improvements funded by private donations and allow Harvard to award a bid to a contractor that is not necessarily the lowest qualified bidder.
ARTICLE 33: Charter Committee to Prepare “Home-rule Petition” Charter, AKA “Special Act Charter”
Inserted by citizen petition
Requires majority vote. If ballot Question 3 passes at Town Election, this article will be nullified.
This article would create a nine-member committee to draft a charter for the town of Harvard. The members would be appointed by the town moderator and would serve until such time as the charter is adopted, or deemed by the committee unable to be adopted.
A related measure appears as Question 3 on this year’s Town Election ballot. Its passage would nullify Article 33 and instead elect a nine-member commission to draft a charter. The nine members would be elected from among the 16 nominees whose names appear on the ballot.
Passage of either measure provides a means of creating a town charter. Their similarities and differences are spelled out elsewhere in this paper. (See “Approaches to a town charter” and the table that accompanies it.)
ARTICLE 34: Town Administrator Additional Authority Special Act Inserted by Board of Selectmen
Requires majority vote and
enactment by the Legislature
This article directs the selectmen to file a home-rule petition asking to delegate more authority to Harvard’s town administrator. Specifically, the town administrator would be empowered to appoint all town employees under the selectmen’s jurisdiction, including the heads of most town departments such as the finance director, police chief, fire chief, and others. However, the selectmen would keep the power to confirm those top departmental positions.
The administrator would also have the authority to hire and discipline all employees within those departments, but he or she could delegate that power to the department heads, subject to the administrator’s approval. (The only exception would be Fire Department employees below the rank of chief, who would still be hired solely by the fire chief because of a provision in state law.)
The act would also allow the town administrator to approve payroll and vendor warrants as well as budget and capital requests for departments and boards under the selectmen’s control. Only after the administrator’s approval would the budgets go to the selectmen and then on to the finance or capital committees.
ARTICLE 35: Change Mode of Selection of Town Clerk
Inserted by Board of Selectmen
Requires majority Town Meeting vote and majority vote at Town Election
An elected official must be a town resident. But as the duties of town clerk have become more complex, the selectmen have said it may be difficult in the future to find a resident who is qualified. If the office is appointive, the selectmen and town administrator could draw on a wider range of candidates for the job.
ARTICLE 36: Change Mode of Selection of Constables
Inserted by Board of Selectmen
Requires majority vote
Unlike the town clerk’s position, the office of constable has become more limited over the years. It is now a volunteer position, and the constable’s regular duty is posting the warrant for town meetings. The constable can also serve a range of civil papers, which is why a resident who is also a private investigator has asked to become an appointed constable.
ARTICLE 37: Community Preservation Committee Report
Inserted by Community Preservation Committee
Requires majority vote
The Community Preservation Committee (CPC) oversees the town’s Community Preservation Fund and reviews applications from town organizations for its use. The committee must allocate at least 10 percent of the money it receives each year to historic preservation, 10 percent to the development of affordable housing, and 10 percent to acquisition and restoration of open space and recreational assets. The money for a given category must go to a specific project or be deposited into a reserve fund for that category. Money left over goes into an unspecified reserve fund for use at a later time. CPC money comes from a 1.1 percent surcharge on town property taxes and from matching state money. The report of the CPC can be found in the 2015 Annual Town Report (not to be confused with the Town Meeting warrant booklet that came in the mail), which will be distributed at Town Meeting on Tuesday evening.
ARTICLE 38: Community Preservation Committee: Extend Sunset Date
Inserted by Community Preservation Committee
Amount: $66,600
Requires majority vote
The Hildreth House window replacement project will not be entirely completed by June 30, 2016, when its original funding article expires. This warrant article extends the funding authorization for another year, to June 30, 2017. If passed, it will allow new windows in the upcoming Hildreth House renovation to be funded by the original Community Preservation Committee article.
ARTICLE 39: Fund Community Preservation Committee Administrative Expenses
Inserted by Community Preservation Committee
Amount: $2,500
Money source: Community Preservation Fund
Requires majority vote
The CPC’s administrative expenses include necessary legal fees and Community Preservation Coalition membership. Funding for this article would come from the Community Preservation Fund.
ARTICLE 40: Add to the Harvard Municipal Affordable Housing Trust Fund
Inserted by Harvard Municipal Affordable Housing Trust and Community Preservation Committee
Amount: $26,100
Money source: Community Preservation Fund
Requires majority vote
The Municipal Affordable Housing Trust requested 10 percent of available fiscal 2017 community preservation funds to be added to its Affordable Housing Trust Fund. The CPC projected that the 10 percent figure would amount to $26,100, and allocated that.
ARTICLE 41: Continue Efforts to Control Invasive Plants on Conservation Land
Inserted by Conservation Commission and Community Preservation Committee
Amount: $26,100
Money source: Community
Preservation Fund
Requires majority vote
The Conservation Commission requested $23,900 in community preservation funds to continue its efforts to control invasive plants such as Oriental bittersweet and black swallowwort on conservation land. The CPC voted to allocate $26,100 to the project.
ARTICLE 42: Continue Efforts to Preserve
Historic Town Documents
Inserted by town clerk and
Community Preservation Committee
Amount: $26,100
Money source: Community
Preservation Fund
Requires majority vote
The town clerk requested $29,200 in community preservation funds for the ongoing, professional preservation and restoration of town documents, some of which date back to 1732. The documents are disassembled from their bindings, cleaned, repaired if necessary, de-acidified, and rebound. The CPC voted to allocate $26,100 for this year’s work.
ARTICLE 43: Reduce the Amount to Be Borrowed for Town Hall Renovation
Inserted by Community
Preservation Committee
Amount: $300,000
Money source: Community
Preservation Fund
Requires majority vote
A $300,000 payment of renovation bills from community preservation funds will reduce the amount CPC voted to contribute to the renovation of Town Hall from $1 million (as approved by the 2012 Town Meeting) to $700,000. This one-time payment will reduce future principal and interest payments, making more CPC money available in coming years.
ARTICLE 44: Pay Debt on
Town Hall Renovation
Inserted by Community
Preservation Committee
Amount: $63,000
Money source: Community
Preservation Fund
Requires majority vote
The CPC requested $63,000 to service the debt on a 20-year Town Hall renovation bond, as approved by the 2012 Annual Town Meeting.
ARTICLE 45: Reauthorize
Existing Revolving Funds
Inserted and recommended
by Finance Committee
Requires majority vote
This article re-authorizes revolving funds for the Council on Aging (not to exceed $35,000 in fiscal 2017), Fourth of July Committee ($25,000 maximum), Harvard Ambulance Service ($50,000), the Fire Department’s S.A.F.E. Program ($15,000), and two town accounts, one for collecting fees from applicants and one for tax title collections. No money is appropriated by this article, but it does provide necessary authorization for owners of the accounts to collect and disburse funds through these accounts.
ARTICLE 46: Amend Article 29 of May 2010 Annual Town Meeting
Inserted by Board of Selectmen and supported by a vote of Planning Board
Requires majority vote
Passage of this article would disband the Economic Development Committee, created in 2010 by a Town Meeting vote. The selectmen and the Planning Board voted this year to dissolve the committee, which in their view has outlived its usefulness. During its lifetime it published a whitepaper on the feasibility of a grocery store in the commercial district and recommended changes in town government and bylaws to encourage a more business-friendly environment. Harvard’s town planner, Bill Scanlan, now handles most requests for information from businesses interested in locating in the C-district.
ARTICLE 47: EMT
Per-Call Stipends
Inserted by Board of Selectmen;
recommended by Finance Committee
Amount: $60,000
Money Source: Ambulance Receipts Reserve Account
Requires majority vote
The Harvard Ambulance Service is all-volunteer and unpaid, with significant staffing deficits during weekday working hours, specifically 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The article seeks to implement a per-call stipend for EMT responders who transport the patient to a facility for medical care. Co-director Jason Cotting said that stipends will help current volunteers avoid burnout by improving morale and are one aspect of a multipronged plan to improve staffing of the ambulance service, which may ultimately include paid, professional staff. (See “EMS directors say pay-per-call stipend could ease staffing shortage“.)
ARTICLE 48: Harvard Cable Television Station Manager
Inserted by Board of Selectmen
Requires majority vote
Harvard’s cable television station hired a part-time station manager earlier this year as an independent contractor, and is now asking the town to officially create a cable TV station manager position. The duties of the manager include working with Bromfield students in the school’s cable TV studio and overseeing station operations. Salary and any future benefits would continue to be paid with revenues that the town receives from Charter Communications.
ARTICLE 49: Town Planner
Inserted by Planning Board; recommended by Finance Committee
Amount: $52,000
Money Source: 2017 tax levy
Requires majority vote
This article appropriates $52,000 to continue the position of town planner for another year. The amount is $8,000 less than the amount requested by the Planning Board due to a determination by the Personnel Board that the $60 per hour rate paid by the town in previous years was too high. The hourly rate for the next fiscal year will be reduced to $40 per hour, but in a compromise agreed to by FinCom and the Planning Board, the total number of hours of work has been increased.
ARTICLE 50: Create Procedure to Dismiss Chronically Absent Appointed Board Members
Inserted by Board of Selectmen
Requires majority vote
Members of appointed (but not elected) boards who miss more than 30 percent of their regularly scheduled meetings could be dismissed from their committees and replaced by a new volunteer should this article pass. Article 50 adds a new chapter (Chapter 10) to the town’s bylaws. The bylaw would require the chair of the committee in question to report members’ absences to the appointing authority. The appointing authority would be empowered, but not required, to remove the absent member and appoint a replacement.
ARTICLE 51: Amend the Protective Bylaw 125-3, Existing Lots, Structures, and uses
Inserted by the Planning Board
Requires two-thirds vote
The Planning Board is proposing the insertion of additional text onto a diagram to better clarify setback requirements for pre-existing, nonconforming structures. The diagram is included in the warrant article. Suggested text additions are underlined.
ARTICLE 52: Amend Protective Bylaw 125-2, 125-13, and 125-52, Assisted-Living Facilities
Inserted by the Planning Board
Requires two-thirds vote
The Planning Board proposes an amendment to the bylaw to allow for development of assisted-living facilities in the commercial district through a special permit process. Included in the amendment is a new definition of assisted-living facility that mirrors the state’s existing definition. Additionally, the article contains structure and lot-size requirements, as well as setback restrictions.
This article was covered in depth in a March 18 Harvard Press article, in which Planning Board members noted that assisted-living facilities could meet a growing need for an aging population, as well as bring in additional revenue to the town.
ARTICLE 53: Amend Protective Bylaw 125-30E and 125-39C, Commercial Development
Inserted by Planning Board
Requires two-thirds vote
At the suggestion of the Commercial Design Standards Task Force, the Planning Board is proposing revisions to the town’s bylaw that would change existing setback restrictions in the commercial district, which is located north of Route 2 on Ayer Road. The goal of these changes, according to members of the Planning Board, would be to create a more attractive, functional, and cohesive commercial district.
Suggested text additions are underlined in the article, while suggested deletions are struck through.
ARTICLE 54: Amend the Protective Bylaw 125-32C, Sewage and Other Potential Sources of Contamination—Setbacks
Inserted by Planning Board
Requires two-thirds vote
The Planning Board is asking voters to accept proposed revisions to the sewage bylaw in order to prevent triggering any unnecessary ordinances. The revisions would also update the bylaw to comply with the most recent version of the state’s environmental code. Suggested text additions are underlined, while suggested deletions are struck through.
ARTICLE 55: Erosion
Control Bylaw
Inserted by Conservation Commission
Requires majority vote
This article asks voters to amend the town code to include a chapter on controlling erosion wherever it might become a problem in town, as is now done for buffer zones around wetlands. The new law would require anyone grading or clearing 30,000 square feet of land or more, or land that has a slope greater than 25 percent, to apply for a permit from the Conservation Commission. If the commission finds that erosion would be a problem on the site, it will require the applicant to put measures in place to control the erosion. The commission can post a stop-work order at a site where its erosion-control measures are not being met.
Because this is a new chapter, rather than an amendment to an existing bylaw, it includes a long list of purposes, definitions, exemptions, regulations, and standards by which compliance with the law will be judged. Some examples of its exemptions: No permit is needed to cut wood for personal use, to remove a hazardous tree, or to control fire danger.
ARTICLE 56: Accept
Gifts of Property
Inserted by Board of Selectmen
Requires majority vote
This vote is required to accept land donated to the town. It is inserted annually by Board of Selectmen and has the support of the Finance Committee, which every year encourages residents to consider tax-deductible donations of land to the town. At the time the paper went to press, Town Administrator Tim Bragan said no such gifts were anticipated.
ARTICLE 57: Accept
State Highway Funds
Amount: To be determined
Inserted by Board of Selectmen
Requires a majority vote
This vote is required by state law to accept so-called Chapter 90 funds that the state Department of Transportation (DOT) provides each year for the repair and improvement of the town’s 64 miles of roads. It has the support of the Finance Committee, which says it is “pleased these funds continue to be distributed.” The amount that Harvard will receive in fiscal 2017 has yet to be determined. For the current year, according to DOT, the town received $510,206.
