At Town Meeting Saturday, April 29, voters will be asked to approve 27 articles put forward by the Select Board and other town committees. The meeting’s agenda is devoted primarily to financial matters. A Special Town Meeting will convene in the fall to consider changes to the town’s bylaws and pressing financial decisions that can’t wait until spring 2024.
Here we explain each article on the warrant in everyday language, highlighting the amount of money involved, its source, who will manage its use, whether the article affects your taxes, and—when less than obvious—the consequences of voting “yes” or “no.”
You’ll find additional detail in the Town Meeting booklet, which will be distributed to attendees on Saturday when they register. The booklet is also available on the town website. To find it, go to www.harvard.ma.gov. Select “Annual Town Meeting & Election information.” When that page appears, select the word “here” at the end of the second sentence.
The booklet contains the town counsel-approved wording of each article, its cost, and whether it’s recommended by the Finance Committee. Readers should be aware, however, that the language of an article and sometimes its exact cost and source of funds can be altered when the motion for its adoption is read on the floor of Town Meeting. As long as they don’t expand the scope of an article, motions can also be amended, so you’ll need to pay attention.
For details on how to speak and legislate at Town Meeting, you might consult the brief guide to “Town Meeting Conduct and Procedures” prepared by the League of Women Voters of Harvard, available at the League’s website: Go to lwvharvard.org/town-meeting-conduct-and-procedures. A more detailed version of the LWV online guide is available on pages 33 and 34 of the Town Meeting booklet. Either document is recommended reading for anyone who plans to take part in the debate and the shaping of this year’s articles.
For help with specialized terms such as “General Fund” or “levy,” see our “Glossary of municipal lingo.”
Article 1 – Annual reports
Vote required to pass: Majority
This article, an annual formality, asks voters to hear reports from the Select Board, School Committee, and any other boards that wish to present. A “yes” vote opens the door for any board or committee to step forward and tell the town of its activities and accomplishments over the past year.
Select Board Chair Rich Maiore told the Press he will present a report on the state of the town, as required by the Harvard Charter. The charter asks that the annual report include progress made on goals set at the board’s annual strategic planning meeting, The charter also calls for “a summary of the town’s financial position, economic development, and capital projects, as well as any other items that will impact the town within the next several years.”
This article was requested and approved by the Select Board.
Article 2 – Pay bills of prior fiscal years
Vote required to pass: Majority
Accountable for implementation: Police Department
A vote of “no action” will be taken on this article as there are no outstanding bills from fiscal 2022.
Article 3 – Ayer Road title research
Amount: $60,000
Funding source: General Stabilization Fund
Vote required to pass: Two-thirds
In preparation for the estimated $12 million reconstruction of Ayer Road, which is scheduled to begin in 2026, the town must hire legal personnel to search for the titles of the 72 properties along the construction route, which stretches from the Route 2 interchanges to the Ayer town line. Determining who owns each property will allow the town to prepare appraisals for any easements to be granted by homeowners. According to DPW Director Tim Kilhart, some property owners will need to give the town temporary easements only for the duration of construction; others will need to grant permanent easements for utility poles and other permanent changes.
A grant from the federally funded Transportation Improvement Program will pay for about 80% of the project, with the remaining 20% coming from the state. Title search and design costs are borne by the town.
The Finance Committee recommended this article.
Article 4 – Town’s financial software (Munis) upgrade and training
Amount: $22,326
Funding source: General Stabilization Fund
Vote required to pass: Two-thirds
Munis is the financial software package that the town uses for all of its financial operations, such as tax collection, payroll, and tracking revenue and expenditures. The software’s last major upgrade was in 2019, and the current version is outdated and unsupported. Financial Director Jared Mullane said the upgrade must be done this year. About $7,500 of the requested amount will pay for the new Munis version, and the remaining amount will go toward hiring a consultant to train town and school personnel to use the new software. Mullane said the update is a four-month process that requires first creating a test environment, training users, testing the system, then “going live.” He also said the new version will receive “micro upgrades” quarterly, and he expects this to be the last time the town will need assistance with an upgrade.
This article was requested and approved by the Select Board; it was recommended by the Finance Committee. The funds would be spent by the finance director.
Article 5 – Tax title legal requirements
Amount: $75,000
Funding source: General Stabilization Fund
Vote required to pass: Two-thirds
There are a number of residents in town who have not paid their property taxes for years, some going back to the 1990s. The Finance Department needs to put some of those properties into tax title, essentially putting a lien on the property (see story). Others have already been in tax title for some time, and the town would like to notify those property owners of possible foreclosure. The town needs the assistance of a tax title legal expert to do that work.
This article was requested and approved by the Select Board; recommended by the Finance Committee. The funds would be spent by the finance director.
Article 6 – Bare Hill Pond algae bloom monitoring
Amount: $7,000
Funding source: General Stabilization Fund
Vote required to pass: Two-thirds
This article would authorize the Water Commission or the Board of Health to restrict nonessential water use for everyone, including private well owners, during droughts or other water
The Bare Hill Watershed Management Committee has asked for an additional $7,000 to pay for more frequent testing in more areas of the pond. As evidenced by cyanobacteria contamination–—also known as blue-green algae blooms—in the pond in 2020 and 2021, the pond committee’s $28,000 budget is no longer enough to properly track the conditions that can lead to blooms. More frequent testing could also improve the committee’s ability to assess how drawdowns are working to reduce eutrophication and invasive plant growth.
According to the pond committee’s chair, Bruce Leicher, the previous testing schedule of May, July, and August is not sufficient to track the risk of blooms. Instead of increasing the committee’s budget outright, the Select Board asked for the money to be transferred this year to the committee from the General Stabilization Fund.
Leicher said the pond committee’s budget has remained at $28,000 since 2008 and stood at $33,000 before that.
This article was recommended by the Finance Committee and approved by the Select Board.
Article 7 – Opioid settlement funds
Amount: $72,788.44
Funding source: Fiscal 2022 free cash
Vote required to pass: Majority
The town has received $72,788.44 in the first installment of a multiyear opioid settlement payout from opioid manufacturer Johnson & Johnson and opioid distributors AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, and McKesson. The money will be transferred from fiscal 2022 certified free cash to a separate account, where it can be spent on opioid use prevention, treatment, and recovery according to strict guidelines specified in the various settlement agreements. The money was received in fiscal 2023, but the state is allowing towns to take the money from fiscal 2022 free cash to allow the funding transfer to be voted on at spring town meetings. Moving future installments into the new account will require Town Meeting votes unless the Legislature passes a bill, currently under consideration, that will allow the transfer to take place without a vote.
The town is set to receive over $340,000 in the next 15 years from these two agreements, with the possibility of an additional $277,000 from proposed agreements with CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart pharmacies, and with opioid manufacturers Teva and Allergan.
Funds would be spent by the police chief and the fire chief with the approval of the Select Board and in conformance with the legal requirements of the settlements. Town Administrator Tim Bragan told the Press the schools (through the school resource officer) and the Board of Health would work with the police and fire chiefs to determine how the money should be spent, and the schools and Board of Health would also make recommendations to the Select Board.
This article was requested and approved by the Select Board, and was recommended by the Finance Committee.
Article 8 – Other post-employment benefits (OPEB) funding
Amount: $50,000
Funding source: Fiscal 2022 free cash
Vote required to pass: Majority
Harvard subsidizes the health insurance of its retired employees but like most towns in the state has not saved enough to cover the future cost of that obligation. The present cost of the town’s portion of retiree health benefits is included in the omnibus expense budget (see “Health insurance town share” on page 44 of the Town Meeting booklet). Eventually this “pay-as-you-go” approach to health benefits will become unsustainable.
For the past 10 years the town has set money aside annually in a trust fund to help defray the future costs of retiree health benefits. The fund, known as the other post-employment benefits (OPEB) trust fund, was established in 2013. Since then Harvard has gradually increased its annual contribution from $300,000 to $525,000. The fund’s balance as of March 31, 2023, was $6.5 million, according to Finance Director Jared Mullane. The total amount that Harvard needs to meet its obligations to retirees through 2122 is approximately $13.6 million, Assistant Town Administrator Marie Sobalvarro told the Press.
The Finance Committee has recommended that the OPEB contribution for fiscal 2024 be increased to $550,000, but to balance the budget, the committee and Select Board agreed to take some of that amount from Harvard’s General Stabilization Fund to reduce the amount appropriated by the omnibus budget.
Passage of this article transfers $50,000 from fiscal 2022 free cash to the OPEB trust fund. The remaining $500,000 is to be raised and appropriated by the town’s omnibus budget (see “OPEB trust funding” on page 44 of the Town Meeting booklet).
This article was recommended by the Finance Committee and approved by the Select Board. The treasurer will transfer the funds. The transfer has no impact on taxpayers.
Article 9 – Transfer from certified free cash to the stabilization account
Amount: $68,074
Funding source: Fiscal 2022 free cash
Vote required to pass: Majority
Harvard’s capital planning bylaw requires that whenever the balance of the town’s General Stabilization Fund, as of July 1, falls below 5% of the preceding year’s omnibus budget, free cash must be used to restore it. Finance Director Jared Mullane has calculated that a transfer of $68,074 from free cash is needed to bring the fund to the $1,675,578 balance the bylaw requires to start fiscal 2024. A portion of this transfer replaces the money withdrawn to pay for Articles 3 through 6 and Article 8.
This article was recommended by the Finance Committee and approved by the Select Board. The treasurer will transfer the money.
Former Selectman Stu Sklar counts votes during February’s Special Town Meeting. (Photo by Lisa Aciukewicz
Article 10 – Transfer from certified free cash to the Capital Stabilization and Investment Fund
Amount: $1,485,891
Funding source: Fiscal 2022 free cash
Vote required to pass: Majority
The Capital Stabilization and Investment Fund is Harvard’s savings account for capital projects that cost less than $500,000. The fund gets its dollars from free cash, which is money left unspent and unrestricted from the prior fiscal year. Harvard’s capital planning bylaw, passed in 2010, requires the Select Board to place an article before Town Meeting at the end of each fiscal year to transfer whatever remains of the prior year’s free cash to the capital fund. The current fiscal year is 2023; the prior fiscal year—the source of this year’s free cash—is 2022.
Article 10 fulfills the capital bylaw’s requirement for fiscal 2023. If it passes, the finance director will transfer the balance of fiscal 2022 free cash to the Capital Stabilization and Investment Fund.
Once free cash has been transferred to the capital fund, it takes a two-thirds vote of Town Meeting to expend it. Paying for capital projects with capital savings reduces the amount the town must borrow, which helps restrain the growth of property taxes. Article 14 lists the 14 projects that the Capital Planning and Investment Committee has approved for fiscal 2024 with a recommendation they be paid for with money in the capital fund.
As of March 31, 2023, the balance of the capital fund was $3,112,382. Passage of Article 10 will increase the CSIF balance to $4,598,273.
This article was requested by the Finance Committee, which recommends its passage. The Select Board approved it.
Article 11 – Omnibus budget
Amount: $32,426,405
Funding source: General Fund
Vote required to pass: Majority
The vote to approve Harvard’s annual omnibus budget is arguably the main event of Town Meeting. It’s when voters decide how their tax dollars and other town money will be spent to deliver vital municipal services in the coming fiscal year, from classrooms and snowplows to roads and buildings, from police officers and teachers to librarians and senior outreach workers.
Yet it is often approved in a matter of minutes, sometimes without a single question or comment.
The budget details the spending that the Select Board, with the advice of the Finance Committee and Town Hall administrators, recommends for each town department and committee. Details are spelled out on pages 39 through 45 of the Town Meeting booklet. (See also our Guide to the fiscal 2024 budget.)
The grand total of the fiscal 2024 omnibus budget is $32.4 million—a 2.7% increase compared to the amount appropriated for fiscal 2023, which ends June 30. But fiscal 2024 expenditures are balanced by expected revenues and offsets from other sources, leaving a $1,000 surplus.
In preparing their fiscal 2024 requests, departments and committees were advised to hold increases to 2½ percent, but to ask for enough money to sustain current levels of service and support some growth in staff, services, and equipment. There was concern that the rate of inflation, the highest in years, would drive costs higher—and it did. The cost of fuel, sand, salt, tree work, along with contractual increases in wages and benefits, pushed all budgets higher. “No expense category was spared,” the Finance Committee observed in its report (see pages 2 through 18 of the Town Meeting booklet).
These increases are visible in the 67 personnel and expense lines of the omnibus budget. Larger one-time purchases and projects are located among the small warrant articles, capital requests, and community preservation grants described elsewhere in the Town Meeting booklet.
The omnibus budget was recommended by the Finance Committee and approved by the Select Board, which has ultimate responsibility for presenting a budget to Town Meeting.
If the article passes, the money will be spent by department heads and committee chairs, with the approval of the Select Board and town administrator, and paid for with fiscal 2024 tax dollars and other town revenues. If it fails, the Select Board must return to Town Meeting before July with an alternative proposal, or ask the state for authority to continue operating at a monthly rate one-twelfth that of the current year’s budget.
Article 12 – Performance-based wage adjustments
Amount: $21,129
Vote required to pass: Majority
The omnibus budget includes only cost-of-living increases for the town’s 38 employees who are not covered by union or individual contracts. So the Personnel Board recommends this amount as a pool of money to provide merit raises for those employees. Most of these employees work for the library, Town Hall, and the Council on Aging. If the article passes, each department head will be able to allot merit raises to employees who met or exceeded performance goals in the past year. Since 2018, this merit-pay system has replaced the step-and-grade pay scale for these employees.
This expenditure was requested by the Personnel Board and would be paid for with fiscal 2024 tax dollars.
Article 12 was recommended by the Finance Committee and approved by the Select Board.
Article 13 – Approve new DPW collective bargaining agreement and funds to pay for FY 2024
Vote required to pass: Majority
A vote of “no action” will be taken on this article as contract negotiations between the town and the Department of Public Works are ongoing.
Article 14 – Capital Planning and Investment Committee recommended expenditures
Amount: $1,510,000
Vote required to pass each expenditure: Two-thirds
Funding source: Capital Stabilization and Investment Fund
Each year the Capital Planning and Investment Committee reviews requests from departments and committees for purchases of equipment or studies that cost more than $20,000 or that have a useful life greater than five years. Large projects, such as the new elementary school, are typically paid for with excluded debt, but small projects can be paid for with savings in the Capital Stabilization and Investment Fund.
The 14 projects listed below will be paid for with money in the capital fund, which had a balance of approximately $3.1 million in March. Passage of Article 10 would add about $1.5 million in free cash to the account. If all 14 capital projects were to be approved, the capital fund would be left with a balance of approximately $3.1 million. If Article 15 (debt payment from the capital fund) passes, this amount would be lowered to about $2.8 million.
The Finance and Capital Planning and Investment committees and the Select Board recommended all 14 projects be funded in fiscal 2024.
Article 14-1 – Renovate girls locker room
Amount: $150,000
The Bromfield School girls locker room is in need of a full renovation, which would include new partitions, plumbing fixtures, and flooring. Last year the town voted $150,000 to renovate the boys locker room, and the schools are asking for the same amount for the girls locker room. The work will be done in house by the school facilities director and his staff.
This expenditure was requested by the superintendent of schools. If it passes, the money will be spent by the superintendent of schools with School Committee approval.
Article 14-2 – Passenger van for schools
Amount: $30,000
The schools are requesting $30,000 for a 12-passenger van to transport small groups of students to after-school sports and other extracurricular activities. The van would reduce the need for Dee Bus Service, which charges high fees for after-school transportation. The school currently has some older eight-passenger vans, but two vans must frequently be used to take groups to events. Keeping the van capacity below 16 passengers means no special licensing would be required for the driver.
This expenditure was requested by the superintendent of schools. If it passes, the money will be spent by the superintendent of schools with School Committee approval.
Article 14-3 – Bromfield School flooring
Amount: $130,000
The schools are asking for $130,000 to continue the project to replace the old floors in Bromfield, which started last year. The old tiles are cracking and coming loose from the subfloor, and the new floors do not require regular waxing, so they will save the town money. Work will be done in house by the school facilities director and his staff. The flooring work is expected to continue in fiscal 2025.
This expenditure was requested by the superintendent of schools. If it passes, the money will be spent by the superintendent of schools with School Committee approval.
Article 14-4 – Bromfield School gym: painting, curtain, basketball hoops
Amount: $125,000
The schools are asking for $125,000 to paint the gym’s walls and ceiling, to replace the dividing curtain, and to replace the basketball hoops. The curtain mechanism no longer works; the basketball hoops have aging mechanisms and lack the safety features of more modern and efficient hoops.
This expenditure was requested by the superintendent of schools. If it passes, the money will be spent by the superintendent of schools with School Committee approval.
Article 14-5 – Council on Aging building solar panels
Amount: $170,000
The Permanent Building Committee is requesting $170,000 to install solar panels on the roof of the new building for Council on Aging offices and the senior center on Lancaster County Road. The roof is flat and faces southwest. The Energy Advisory Committee recommended installing as many panels as possible on the roof. The panels will generate enough electricity for the building, and any extra electricity can be used to offset the electric bills of other municipal buildings under the state’s virtual net metering program. The federal Inflation Reduction Act will provide a 30% reimbursement to the town when the job is finished.
This expenditure was requested by the Permanent Building Committee. If it passes, the money will be spent by the Permanent Building Committee with Select Board approval.
Article 14-6 – Library fire alarm
Amount: $50,000
The fire alarm system in the library is old, and parts, including smoke detectors that work with the system, are no longer available. The fire chief recently had to purchase replacement smoke detectors on eBay. The system is also proprietary, which means only an employee of the company that manufactures the system can touch the control panel. The system is sometimes down for extended periods while the town is waiting for the company to send someone to fix it.
This expenditure was requested by the Fire Department chief. If it passes, the money will be spent by the Fire Department chief with Select Board approval.
Article 14-7 – Painting of municipal buildings
Amount: $185,000
Facilities Manager Jeff Hayes is asking for $185,000 to paint the exteriors of the Public Safety Building, Town Hall, and the library trim. The cost to paint these buildings is high because lifts are required.
This expenditure was requested by the facilities manager. If it passes, the money will be spent by the facilities manager with Select Board approval.
Article 14-8 – Public Safety Building elevator
Amount: $150,000
Facilities Manager Jeff Hayes is asking for $150,000 to replace the electronics in the 21-year-old Public Safety Building elevator. The manufacturer, Otis Elevator Company, told the town a few years ago that the model was obsolete and parts were no longer being made for it. This year’s state inspection revealed some electronic issues that needed to be fixed. Repairs were made, but Hayes said upgrading the electronics now would extend the life of the elevator another 20 years and get ahead of any future difficulties obtaining parts. He said the structural components are not that old and a new elevator would cost on the order of $750,000.
This expenditure was requested by the facilities manager. If it passes, funds will be spent by the facilities manager with Select Board approval.
Article 14-9 – Paving public safety building parking lot
Amount: $100,000
The parking lot at the public safety building has not been repaved since it was installed in 2002, and although it has been patched many times over the years, it needs to be stripped and repaved, according to Police Chief James Babu. In addition, the driveway between the upper and lower lot has drainage and icing issues that need to be addressed.
This expenditure was requested by the police chief. If it passes, the money will be spent by the police chief with Select Board approval.
Article 14-10 – Hybrid fire command car
Amount: $65,000
Fire Chief Rick Sicard is asking for $65,000 to replace one of the command cars. Typically one vehicle is replaced every five years and lasts for 10 years. The two current cars are 10 years old and 4 years old. The new car would be a hybrid and would save the town money in fuel. Sicard said the new vehicle could replace the 4-year-old car, which has a higher trade-in value. The older car has less than 100,000 miles, he said, and is still running well, so it could last another five years.
This expenditure was requested by the chief of the Fire Department. If it passes, the money will be spent by the Fire Department chief with Select Board approval.
Article 14-11 – Self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) air compressor
Amount: $60,000
Fire Chief Rick Sicard is asking for $60,000 to replace the SCBA air compressor, which is used to fill the air tanks used by the town’s firefighters. The old compressor is 32 years old, past its life span, and if it fails there is no backup.
This expenditure was requested by the chief of the Fire Department. If it passes, the money will be spent by the Fire Department chief with Select Board approval.
Article 14-12 – Field rotation and restoration
Amount: $25,000
Parks and Recreation Commission Chair Bob O’Shea is requesting $25,000 to repair one of the town’s athletic fields. The commission has a plan to allow one field per year to be repaired and rested. O’Shea said each repair should last at least five years. The work to be done includes slice seeding, addition of loam, grading, and aeration, as well as any necessary upgrades to items associated with the field such as fences, irrigation systems, and signs.
This expenditure was requested by the Parks and Recreation Commission. If it passes, the money will be spent by the recreation director with the approval of the Parks and Recreation Commision.
Article 14-13 – Road maintenance
Amount: $200,000
Director of Public Works Tim Kilhart said $200,000 is needed to cover a cost overrun on the design work for the Ayer Road reconstruction project, scheduled to begin in 2026. The town has already committed to pay for the design, he said, and if this article does not pass, he’ll need to use Chapter 90 highway money to make up the shortfall. A grant from the federally funded Transportation Improvement Program will pay for about 80% of the project, with the remaining 20% coming from the state.
This expenditure was requested by the director of public works. If it passes, the money will be spent by the DPW director with the approval of the Select Board.
Article 14-14 – Town Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone system
Amount: $70,000
Town Administrator Tim Bragan has requested $70,000 to install a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone system in Town Hall, the library, the Department of Public Works, Hildreth House, and the new Council on Aging building on Lancaster County Road. He said the existing phone system is more than 30 years old and does not meet current technological needs. There is a limit to how many people can use the phones at one time, and calls are regularly dropped.
This expenditure was requested by the town administrator. If it passes, the money will be spent by the town administrator with the approval of the Select Board.
Article 15 – Capital Planning and Investment Committee debt payment
Amount: $263,088
Fundiing source: Capital Stabilization and Investment Fund
Vote required to pass: Two-thirds
The Capital Planning and Investment Committee assumed debt payments for money borrowed to purchase a fire truck and DPW equipment in fiscal 2011, and later for a $340,000 municipal water system upgrade. Principal and interest due on those two projects in fiscal 2024 is $63,088. In addition, the capital committee recommends contributing $200,000 from its fund to reduce the cost to taxpayers of the money borrowed to build the new elementary school. It plans a final contribution to school debt of $100,000 in fiscal 2025
This article was requested by the Finance Committee and the Capital Planning and Investment Committee and was approved by the Select Board. The funding source would be the Capital Stabilization and Investment Fund and would be spent by the town treasurer.
The Select Board casts its votes at a previous town meeting. From left: Kara Minar, Don Ludwig, Rich Maiore, and Erin McBee. (Photo by Lisa Aciukewicz)
Article 16 – Capital Planning and Investment Committee debt recommendations: Heavy-duty dump truck
Amount: $240,000
Voted required to pass: Two-thirds
Department of Public Works Director Tim Kilhart is requesting $240,000 to replace a 24-year-old Mack dump truck that is at the end of its useful life. He said the department’s large dump trucks play a critical role in keeping the roads open during winter storms, and this one has rust on the body and the frame from working in road salt. Kilhart added that it breaks down frequently, and parts are getting difficult to find.
At the time the paper went to Press, the plan was to pay for this truck with excluded debt, which would require passage of this article as well as a majority vote for Question 2 at the ballot box on May 9. However, Town Administrator Tim Bragan told the Press the Select Board is considering funding the truck purchase from the Capital Stabilization and Investment Fund. Borrowing would cost about $66,000 in interest over 10 years, Bragan said, which is a steep premium to pay. The Select Board is expected to discuss the funding source for this article at its April 26 meeting.
This expenditure was requested by the director of public works. If it passes, the money will be spent by the DPW director with the approval of the Select Board. Approved by the Select Board, recommended by the Finance Committee and the Capital Planning and Investment Committee.
Article 17 – Amend use of prior articles and extend sunset dates
Amount: Appropriated at previous town meetings
Vote required to pass: Majority
The town voted $150,000 toward replacing the 40 HVAC units at the Bromfield School at each of the three previous town meetings (2020, 2021, and 2022). The units are between 22 and 25 years old, past their life expectancy of 20 years. The schools attempted to use the money to replace three or four units each year, but few contractors were willing to bid on replacing so few units, and the bids that did come in were high. Instead, the schools are proposing using the remaining money ($27,000 was spent on maintenance) to do an engineering study that will determine the cost of replacing all of the units at one time, which will hopefully save the town money.
Passage of this article will allow a portion of the remaining $423,000 to be used to pay for that study, and it will also allow the sunset dates of the articles passed in 2020 and 2021 to be extended to June 30, 2025. The sunset date of the article passed in 2022 is already June 30, 2025.
Requested by the Capital Planning and Investment Committee and approved by the Select Board.
Article 18 – Community Preservation Committee report
Vote required to pass: Majority
This article invites the Community Preservation Committee to report on the state of Harvard’s Community Preservation Fund and the grants it has approved for fiscal 2024. The report is typically delivered by the CPC chair, currently Beth Williams. A copy of the report appears on pages 30-32 of the warrant booklet.
This article was requested by the Community Preservation Committee. If it passes, the chair of the CPC will present the report. The Finance Committee takes no position on this article; the Select Board supports it.
Article 19 – Community Preservation Committee
Vote required for each expenditure: Majority
Funding source: CPF unrestricted reserves
Article 19 was submitted by the Community Preservation Committee and lists 14 projects the committee has voted to fund in fiscal 2024. The funding source for all of these projects is Harvard’s Community Preservation Fund. The fund is fueled by a 1.1% property tax surcharge with matching money provided by the state.
By law, the money a town collects for its community preservation fund must be used to preserve open space and historic sites, and create recreational facilities and affordable housing. At least 10% of the money the CPC receives in a given year must be spent or reserved for each of those uses.
The balance of the CPF as of February 2023, according to Finance Director Jared Mullane, was $393,717. Harvard’s 1.1% CPA surcharge is expected to raise $289,357 in fiscal 2023, Mullane told the Press. The state is expected to kick in an additional $100,105 in matching funds. However, the final amount won’t be known until July 1.
The Community Preservation Committee recommends that the 14 projects listed below be supported in fiscal 2024. The Finance and Capital Planning and Investment committees do not comment on CPC articles, but the Select Board voted unanimously to support the CPC’s recommendations.
Article 19-1 – ADA playground upgrade
Amount: $50,000
This grant will be used to make the playground located at the northwest corner of the McCurdy Track more accessible. Because of its location at the foot of a hill, the playground floods in heavy rain. Fixing drainage to divert water away from the area is the most immediate problem the commission hopes to solve with this grant, says Parks and Rec Chair Bob O’Shea. The commission wants to pave the path on the north side of the track equipment storage house that descends from the McCurdy parking lot to the playground. A walkway is badly needed inside the enclosed play area as well.
These changes will finally make the playground and its equipment wheelchair accessible. With any money that remains, the commission would like to purchase an ADA-compliant picnic bench and an ADA-compliant swing.
The commission has $10,000 remaining of an earlier grant that must be spent by June 30. That money can be used to begin work before the start of fiscal 2024 when the money in this article, if approved, would become available.
This expenditure was requested by the Parks and Recreation commissioners. If it passes, the money will be spent by Parks and Rec.
Article 19-2 – Baseball and softball field improvements
Amount: $35,404
The money in this grant will be used to improve player safety and playing conditions at the Ann Lees Road and Ryan Land 1 mixed-use fields as well as the Ryan Land 2 softball field. Ryan 1 and 2 are located on Depot Road.
Thanks to a contribution by the Harvard schools, the field on Ann Lees Road has received a number of upgrades over the past year, including an equipment shed, new outfield fence, and a bullpen. To improve player safety at all three fields, the Parks and Recreation Commission and Harvard Youth Baseball and Softball Association want to add fenced-in batting cages at each of them to protect players from the practice swings of on-deck batters. “It’s a wonder no one has been injured,” HYBSA president James O’Leary told the Press.
To improve the fields on Depot Road, Parks and Rec wants to replace the existing irrigation system on Ryan 2 and install spigots on Ryan 1. The new irrigation system would encourage the growth of grass in the Ryan 2 outfield and be used to suppress infield dust prior to practice or a game. The spigot on Ryan 2 would be used to hand-water the infield to suppress dust when conditions are exceptionally dry. HYBSA also wants to equip both fields with new scoreboards and bleachers. Other improvements could include the purchase of a portable pitcher’s mound so Ryan 2 can be used as a baseball field from time to time.
This expenditure was requested by the Parks and Recreation Commissioners with the support of the Harvard Youth Baseball and Softball Association. If it passes, the money will be spent by the commissioners.
Article 19-3 – Littleton County Road conservation restriction
Amount: $200,000
With the support of the Conservation Commission, the Open Space Committee applied to the CPC for this money. The Conservation Commission will add it to other funds, previously approved, to purchase a conservation restriction on 39 acres of farmland, forest, and wetlands on Littleton County Road. The restriction would protect the land in perpetuity for farming and open space.
The Conservation Commission hopes to lease the land already under cultivation—about 20 acres—to Gaining Ground, a Concord-based nonprofit organization that grows organic produce and donates it to area meal programs and food pantries.
The town is currently applying for a Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness grant from the state for this same project. If Harvard is awarded the grant, the money would be used to reimburse the town for 75% of the expense.
This expenditure was requested by the Conservation Commissioners. If it passes, the money will be spent by the commissioners.
Article 19-4 – Fire reports preservation
Amount: $5,760
This grant will be used to continue the preservation of call record volumes of the Harvard Fire Department. Last year the CPC granted the Fire Department $11,495 to pay for the preservation of records from 1964 to 1990.
The project was proposed by former Fire Chief Peter Warren in 2019 and aims to preserve 15 volumes of paper records. The oldest volume, described as “a small red book,” contains records of calls made between 1918 and 1924. The most recent volume, a stenographer’s notebook, covers the years 2004-2005. The volumes are to be de-acidified and resewn, then scanned and photographed. The preservation of historical town documents such as these is required by state law.
This expenditure was requested by the Harvard Fire Department; the funds would be spent by the Harvard Fire Department. The Historical Commission supports this use of community preservation funds.
Article 19-5 – Affordable housing reserves
Amount: $36,100
This expenditure is mandated by the Community Preservation Act. Towns that adopt the law must allocate at least 10% of their available community preservation funds in any given year to an entity that creates affordable homes. In Harvard, that’s the Municipal Affordable Housing Trust.
As in recent years, the trust asked that its fiscal 2023 allotment be transferred to its reserve fund. Finance Director Jared Mullane told the Press this week that the balance of the MAHT reserve as of March 31 was $336,496. That money can be spent by MAHT to subsidize projects that increase the amount of affordable housing in town. The trust has an outstanding agreement to pay the developer of Emerson Green at Devens $140,000 upon completion of the 46-unit apartment building planned for the neighborhood. The payment will subsidize 10 of those units to ensure they are offered at affordable rental rates, a move that by a quirk of state law will count all 46 units toward Harvard’s total affordable housing stock.
The grant was requested by Harvard’s Municipal Affordable Housing Trust, which has authority to spend money in its reserves.
Article 19-6 – Debt payment on Town Hall
Amount: $45,938
In 2012, the Community Preservation Committee voted to pay the annual principal and interest due on $1 million of the $3.7 million 20-year bond issued by the town that year to pay for the renovation of Town Hall. This year’s payment is $45,938.
This expenditure was requested by the Finance Department. If it passes, the funds will be spent by the finance director.
Article 19-7 – Community Preservation Committee administrative expenses
Amount: $2,000
The Community Preservation Committee requires a small amount of money for administrative expenses, including Community Preservation Coalition dues and necessary legal fees.
This expenditure was requested by the Community Preservation Committee. If it passes, the funds will be spent by the committee.
Article 20 – Lease of land for installation of solar array at the DPW
Vote required to pass: Two-thirds
The old landfill behind the Transfer Station on Depot Road has not been in use for almost 40 years. The state is now requiring that it be properly closed, and engineers are working with the Department of Environmental Protection to determine exactly what will need to be done. Once that work is complete, the Select Board wants permission from Town Meeting to lease the landfill area to a business or organization interested in installing a ground-mounted solar array there. Ground-mounted solar arrays may legally be installed on landfills because they do not require digging into the soil. (See story )
This article was requested by the Select Board.
Article 21 – FY2024 Enterprise Fund budgets
Amount: Sewer Enterprise Fund: $232,574; Ambulance Enterprise Fund: $269,429
Funding sources: Self-funded
Vote required to pass: Majority
This article sets the budgets of two enterprise funds: the Town Sewer Enterprise Fund and the Ambulance Enterprise Fund, both created at 2021 Town Meeting. Each budget is an estimate of the amount each fund will spend in the coming fiscal year.
The town collects usage and connection fees from users of the town center sewer system to pay for its upkeep and maintenance. That money gets added to the enterprise fund to pay for maintenance and repairs as well as debt service on the system. Unspent money from prior years must be moved into the enterprise fund for the current fiscal year, where it is used to cover system expenses. The budget for fiscal 2024 is $232,574, 35% higher than the $172,195 budgeted for fiscal 2023. Finance Director Mullane told the Press the higher amount is due to the transfer of expenses from the taxpayer-funded omnibus budget to the self-funded Sewer Enterprise Fund.
A similar arrangement exists for the Ambulance Enterprise Fund, which bills health insurance companies and MassHealth for its calls. This income is used to pay ambulance service expenses. Next year’s budget is $269,429, a 5½% increase over fiscal 2023. Some of that money is used to pay the salary of a full-time firefighter and EMT.
This article was requested by the finance director, is recommended by the Finance Committee, and is supported by the Select Board. The activities of this fund have no impact on taxes.
Article 22 – Harvard Parks and Recreation nonbeach revolving fund
Amount: Up to $120,000 (see Article 23)
Funding source: Self-funded
Vote required to pass: Majority
This new Parks and Recreation revolving fund would be used to collect revenues and pay the expenses of programs sponsored by the Parks and Recreation Commission that are not related to the operation of the town beach and its swimming and boating offerings. The fund would be credited with the fees received for its non-beach programs. These would include, for example, fees charged for the wintertime rental of snowshoes at the beach kiosk, the winter ski program for Harvard students, or for the rental of town fields by Harvard’s youth and adult sports league. The commission hopes that the new Parks and Recreation director will expand the number of programs available in town, including a renewal of community education.
The fund would be managed by the Parks and Recreation director, who is authorized by this article to spend fund money to pay for the programs that provide its income.
This article was requested by the Parks and Recreation Commission, recommended by the Finance Committee, and approved by the Select Board.
Mike Derse speaks at a town meeting in February. (Photo by Lisa Aciukewicz)
Article 23 – Revolving funds
Amounts: See list below
Vote required to pass: Majority
This article re-authorizes the following revolving funds and, for each, sets a not-to-exceed dollar limit for fiscal 2024.
- Council on Aging, $35,000
- Fourth of July Committee, $40,000
- Fire Department, S.A.F.E. Program, $15,000
- Application review advertising and professional service cost, $1,000
- Harvard Community Cable Access Committee, $25,000
- Parks and Recreation beach, $80,000
- Parks and Recreation field maintenance, $65,000
- HES electric vehicle charging station, $20,000
- Parks and Recreation revolving fund (new), $120,000
No money is appropriated by this article, but it does provide necessary authorization for owners of the accounts to collect and disburse funds through them.
The article was added by the Finance Committee. FinCom recommends its passage and the Select Board supports it.
Article 24 – Amend Chapter 39, Firearms and Explosives, of the Code of Harvard
Vote required to pass: Majority
The proposed amendments would extend the bylaw about firearms and explosives to cover hunting and trapping. Unlike many nearby towns, Harvard currently has no bylaw about hunting and trapping. Those activities are covered here only by state law and enforced by the Massachusetts Environmental Police.
The amendments would require anyone hunting or trapping on public or private land in Harvard to get written permission, to carry that permission with them, and to show it to a law enforcement officer if asked. The Select Board would have authority to grant permission for hunting on public land. Hunters on private land would need permission from the property owner. (At present, people can hunt on private property without permission unless the land is posted with No Hunting signs.)
Local police would have authority to enforce the bylaw, and the town could levy a civil fine of $250 to $500 against a violator without having to bring charges in criminal court.
Article 24 was requested by the chief of police; supported by the Select Board. (See story)
Article 25 – Citizen petition: State flag and seal
Vote required to pass: Majority
This article is a resolution in support of changing the state flag and seal of Massachusetts.
Supporters of the petition for change see the current emblem on the flag and seal of the commonwealth as an outdated symbol of violence and oppression that celebrates exploitation. Those opposed to change see the emblem as part of our heritage and say it pays tribute to the Native Americans and that rather than suggesting violence, it evokes the idea of protection. (See story)
Article 26 – Acceptance of gifts of property
Vote required to pass: Majority
A vote of “no action” will be taken on this article as there are no gifts of property this year. The Finance Committee, however, encourages residents to consider a tax-deductible donation of land to the town and thanks those who have donated in the past. This article is included every year at the request of the Select Board.
Article 27 – Acceptance of highway funds
Amount: $353,148
Vote required to pass: Majority
This vote is required by state law to accept Chapter 90 funds that the state Department of Transportation provides each year for the repair and improvement of the town’s roads. If existing state formulas for apportioning highway money remain unchanged in fiscal 2
