This Tuesday, the selectmen had their first look at this year’s list of spending requests, bylaw changes, and other actions that voters will be asked to debate and vote on at Annual Town Meeting April 1.
So far, the 2017 warrant includes 51 articles, a number that is sure to change over the next two weeks, according to Town Administrator Tim Bragan. Voters will be asked to consider and approve each article at Town Meeting, and then, three days later, to approve four ballot questions and fill seats for 14 boards and offices at the April 4 Town Election.
There are few surprises. As always, the largest item is the fiscal 2018 omnibus budget, an eight-page document that spells out line-by-line how the town proposes to spend town funds, consisting mostly of taxpayer dollars, but also fees and state money, expected in the coming year. At the Feb. 2 Finance Committee meeting, Bragan reported that proposed spending for next year totals $26.6 million, a roughly 4.7 percent increase over this year’s estimated amount. But that number will change. It does not yet include planned cost-of-living increases in the salaries of town employees nor any provision for a new contract being negotiated with Harvard teachers. The total amount of aid Harvard can expect next year from the state is also unknown—the governor’s fiscal 2018 budget is now before the Legislature—but recently proposed legislation threatens the state dollars that come from lottery sales (see “Legislation threatens millions in future local aid”).
The largest budget increases are due to a nearly 6 percent jump in the cost of benefits and insurance (to $4.44 million) and a 2.3 percent rise in the school budget (to $12.9 million), which accounts for more than half of the town’s spending.
Large capital items
In addition to approving the omnibus budget, an item that is rarely challenged at Town Meeting, attendees will be asked to approve a variety of spending requests that are not part of the ongoing budget. The largest of these are for the purchase of a new DPW dump truck ($182,000), upgrade of one Bromfield School science lab ($175,000) (a second will be paid for with tuition paid to Harvard by MassDevelopment for educating Devens students), and the repair of the town’s two dozen fire ponds ($100,000 to be spent over two years).
The Capital Planning and Investment Committee has recommended that the $457,000 needed to fund all three be paid for with a short-term loan, most likely a five-year bond. This requires the approval of voters at the ballot box because principal and interest on the loan will be paid for with an increase in taxes.
The remaining two dozen spending articles in the warrant, often referred to as “small warrant articles” by the finance and capital committees, address a range of needs beyond the “level service” budgets of departments and committees. These range from an upgrade to the town’s fire alarm system ($40,598) and the purchase of four solar-powered, radar speed signs for the police ($20,000) to new boats for the beach ($14,900), more seasonal mowing of town roadsides ($15,000), and reconstruction of a portion of the Bromfield stone wall ($80,000, to be paid for with money from the Community Preservation Fund).
Two new staff positions and money for review of Harvard’s personnel policies are on the warrant as well. Town Meeting will be asked to approve the creation of a director of parks and recreation position and the salary of the new DPW director (see “Selectmen choose new DPW director,” Page 1). Money is also being requested to hire a part-time town planner to support the land-use boards, as has been done for the past three years. The selectmen, on the advice of Bragan, are asking for a review of Harvard’s personnel system, in particular the pros and cons of converting from a graded step system to one in which pay increases are based on merit.
A citizen petition
Of note are two nonfinancial articles on this year’s warrant. One is a citizen petition submitted just last week that asks the town to commit “to showing that we are a caring and supportive community for all.” The article instructs the Board of Selectmen to appoint a “Town Equity Officer, responsible to review all bylaws, operations, regulations, procedures, budgets, and capital plans” and to recommend changes “to remediate observed inequities.”
A second article asks Town Meeting to affirm for a second time that it favors creation of a municipal light plant (MLP) for the purpose of providing broadband internet service to residents. State law requires a second vote before the town’s Broadband Committee can file papers to create the MLP.
Finally, Devens is back on the ballot. But this time the question is one posed by the selectmen, not MassDevelopment, the state entity that governs and oversees development at the former U.S. Army base. The selectmen want to know whether voters want them to spend time and resources to develop a plan, in conjunction with Shirley, Ayer, and MassDevelopment, for taking back jurisdiction over the Devens land that was historically part of Harvard. This question will appear on the Town Election ballot, but not in the warrant. Selectmen Ron Ricci and Lucy Wallace are planning an outreach campaign to alert residents to the question.
Assembly of the warrant is the culmination of a process that began last fall with the submission of budgets by town departments and boards, followed by their vetting by the finance and capital committees, and, ultimately, the Board of Selectmen. The selectmen will vote their recommendations on each article at their Feb. 27 meeting. The official warrant is to be mailed to residents Feb. 28. And voters will have the final say.
