At Tuesday evening’s Special Town Meeting in Cronin Auditorium at the Bromfield School, town voters will be asked to consider nine articles put forward by the selectmen and other town boards. Some ask for money, some set money aside, one proposes a change to a town bylaw, and another asks attendees to listen to a report on the Hildreth Elementary School project. The largest money item is a request to transfer the remaining $1.4 million in fiscal 2017 “free cash” (available funds) to the town’s Capital Stabilization and Investment Fund, a savings account that is used to pay for future projects.
Following is a synopsis of each article, including its fiscal impact, in plain English. If you’re looking for legalese, you’ll find it in the Town Meeting warrant, which will be available at the meeting. The booklet contains the exact wording of all nine articles, their cost, and the recommendations of the Finance Committee and Capital Planning and Investment Committee. Readers should be aware, however, that the final wording and exact dollar amounts of some articles won’t be known until the motions for their adoption are read on the Town Meeting floor.
ARTICLE 1: TRANSFER FUNDS TO STABILIZATION FUND
Inserted at request of Finance Committee
Amount: $6,400
Money source: Free cash
Requires a two-thirds vote
Recommended by selectmen and Finance Committee
Harvard’s capital planning and investment bylaw (see see Section 17-4 of the Bylaws of the Town of Harvard) requires the town to maintain a General Stabilization Fund balance equal to 5 percent of the current year’s omnibus budget. Because Harvard’s budget grew between fiscal 2016 and fiscal 2017, money is needed to top off the fiscal 2017 fund balance.
ARTICLE 2: AMEND ARTICLE 6
OF THE 2016 ANNUAL TOWN MEETING
Inserted at request of Finance Committee
Amount: $250,000
Money source: Free cash
Requires a two-thirds vote
Recommended by selectmen and Finance Committee
Snow and ice removal expenses ran higher than expected this past winter, and money had to be drawn from the town’s Reserve Fund to cover them. This article transfers money from certified free cash to the Reserve Fund to restore it to its previous value.
ARTICLE 3: TRANSFER FUNDS FOR GASB 74/75 REPORTING
Inserted at request of Finance Committee
Amount: $2,500
Money source: Free cash
Requires a two-thirds vote
Recommended by selectmen and Finance Committee
Two new Governmental Accounting Standard Board rules (GASB 74 and 75) require the town to report its total post-employment benefits (OPEB) liability on this year’s balance sheet. Money to pay for this work was not included in the omnibus budget passed by this year’s Annual Town Meeting; this article adds it.
ARTICLE 4: FISCAL YEAR 2016 CERTIFIED FREE CASH
Inserted at request of Finance Committee
Amount: $1.4 million
Money source: Free cash
Requires a two-thirds vote
Recommended by selectmen and Finance Committee
As required by Harvard’s bylaw, this article transfers what is left of fiscal 2017 free cash to the town’s Capital Stabilization and Investment Fund for use in funding future projects. The balance of free cash that is available depends on how much of the original $1.67 million certified by the state remains after action on Articles 1, 2, and 3, or other actions taken by Town Meeting attendees.
ARTICLE 5: AMEND FISCAL YEAR 2018 TOWN BUDGET
MULTIPLE LINES
Inserted by Board of Selectmen
Amount: See individual items
Recommended by selectmen and Finance Committee
The following items, A–D, amend four lines of the fiscal 2018 omnibus budget to cover the cost of items omitted from the budget passed by the 2017 Annual Town Meeting. Each of these items will be paid for with money in the town’s General Fund, which had a $72,363 surplus at the time it was approved at Annual Town Meeting.
A. Pay for 2018 audit
Amount: $3,500
Money source: General Fund
Requires a majority vote
This item adds $3,500 to line 2 (town audit) of the fiscal 2018 omnibus budget as printed on page 31 of the April 2017 Finance Committee Report and Town Meeting Warrant. The money is needed to determine the town’s net OPEB liability and to include that amount in the town’s balance sheet. The work is required by GASB standards 74/75, which take effect this year.
B. Add to money available to selectmen
for hiring professional services
Amount: $12,200
Money source: General Fund
Requires a majority vote
This item adds $12,200 to line 3 of the fiscal 2018 omnibus budget. The selectmen have said they need the money to hire professional services, throughout the fiscal year.
C. Pay for HCTV personnel and expenses
Amount: $27,280
Money source: HCTV receipts reserved for appropriation
Requires a majority vote
At Annual Town Meeting, money to pay for a cable TV director was omitted from the omnibus budget. This article transfers $27,280 from the HCTV Receipts Reserved for Appropriation Account to the Harvard Cable TV budget and adjusts line 51 (Personnel) from $0 to $44,178. and line 52 (Expenses) from $44,178 to $27,280.
D. Pay debt service for Hildreth renovation
Amount: $18,646
Money source: General Fund
Requires a majority vote
Passage of this item will add $18,646 to line 60 (non-excluded debt) to pay debt service associated with the recently completed renovation of Hildreth House. The additional money brings total debt service for the project in fiscal 2018 to $32,571.
ARTICLE 6: AMEND ARTICLE 22, FIRE PONDS RESTORATION,
OF THE APRIL 2017 ATM
Inserted at request of Capital Planning and Investment Committee
Amount: $100,000
Money source: Capital Stabilization and Investment Fund
Requires a two-thirds vote
Recommended by selectmen and Finance Committee
After reviewing their options for paying for the restoration of town fire ponds over the next two years, members of the Capital Planning and Investment Committee voted last month to fund the project using money in the Capital Stabilization and Investment Fund. The 2017 Annual Town Meeting approved CPIC’s request earlier this spring to borrow the money with a short-term loan. Passage of this article changes the money source for the project from debt to the Capital Stabilization and Investment Fund.
ARTICLE 7: AMEND CHAPTER 17,
CAPITAL PLANNING AND INVESTMENT COMMITTEE BYLAW
Inserted at request of Finance Committee and Capital Planning and Investment Committee
Amount: None
Requires a two-thirds vote
Recommended by selectmen and Finance Committee
Harvard’s Capital Planning and Investment Committee bylaw requires a two-thirds Town Meeting vote to add money to the town’s Capital Stabilization and Investment Fund, Harvard’s savings account for future building projects and large equipment purchases. Passage of this article will allow money to be added to the fund by a simple majority vote of Town Meeting, a change permitted by a recent change to state law; withdrawals to pay for capital projects will still require a two-thirds vote.
ARTICLE 8: PLANNING BOARD PRE-FUNDING OF GRANT
Inserted at request of Planning Board
Amount: $8,000
Money source: Stabilization Fund
Requires a two-thirds vote
Recommended by selectmen and Finance Committee
The Planning Board has asked for seed money for a grant that would be used to review and recommend changes to the town’s Open Space Design Bylaw. The money will be spent only if the grant is approved, in which case the town will be reimbursed for 60 percent of its investment ($6,400).
ARTICLE 9: HILDRETH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
FEASIBILITY STUDY AND DESIGN REPORT
Inserted at request of School Committee
Amount: None
Requires a majority vote
Superintendent of Schools Linda Dwight, the School Committee, and the School Building Committee have asked for time on the agenda to explain to Town Meeting attendees their plan for renovating or rebuilding the Hildreth Elementary School. The building committee was scheduled to choose one of two options at its Thursday, June 8, meeting. Passage of this article grants the school officials time to speak.
