Category Archives: Budgets

Mailbox knock downs

Posted on February 17, 2015 | 2 comments

The issue of whether the town should pay for mailboxes our DPW plows knock down is probably a current concern of several residents.  One resident did recently email me about it, and since other residents may be wondering these days during this endless snow February about the town policy on the matter, I thought I should post my email response to that resident.

I did get your email about your mailbox being knocked down by a town plow. Please know that I rarely look at my Gmail account, and that it is better to get to me via Osler.Peterson@OslerPeterson.com.

First, let me apologize if it was in fact a town DPW truck that knocked down your mailbox.

Second, let me explain that the town used to pay for mailboxes that got knocked down, then first limited the amount paid from memory to about $50, and then even later about ten years ago the Board of Selectmen opted not to pay at all, on advice of the town administration, because:

  1. A survey of other towns showed that most did not pay
  2. the prices varied so much, and some were expensive
  3. liability was never certain (it could have been done by the driveway plow people), and
  4. the mailboxes are generally placed on the town’s property (the public way).

The Board of Selectmen just made a policy decision about how to spend our tax money. If the residents of the town want the town to pay for those mailboxes, they are free to have it done. Anyone can submit an annual town meeting (ATM) warrant article asking to have it done.

2 Comments

Posted in Budgets, DPW, Select Board matters

New state-municipal partnership

Posted on February 11, 2015 | Comments Off on New state-municipal partnership

Letter today from the new Lt. Gov. –

February 9, 2015
Dear Municipal Leaders,
As the Baker-Polito Administration’s liaison to local officials, I am excited to write to you about some early actions our Administration has taken to support municipalities and local officials. On our first day in office, we released $100 million in Chapter 90 funds, for a total $300 million annual commitment to local roads and bridges. Second, Governor Baker signed his first ExecutiveOrder creating a Community Compact Cabinet (Cabinet) during the Massachusetts Municipal Association’s Annual Meeting. Third, the Baker-Polito Administration elevated the Division of Local Services within the Department of Revenue, and we’re thrilled that your colleague, Brookline Deputy Town Administrator Sean Cronin, has agreed to become Senior Deputy Commissioner for the Division of Local Services.
As chair of the Cabinet, I will champion local government issues throughout the Administration and will work with you to create a true partnership between the state and cities and towns. Together,we will work to identify best practices and innovations that provide better, more effectivegovernment both at the local and state level. The Baker-Polito Administration will use the Cabinet to bring together the relevant high-level state officials to develop and execute our commi
tments to municipalities. One task I will highlight is that we are working to identify unfunded mandates, onerous regulations, and bottlenecks in state government that inhibit the success of your cities and towns. In March, the Division of Local Serviceswill circulate a survey to seek your input.
To hear directly from local leaders, I’ve already started a statewide tour to meet with municipal officials and I hope to be able to connect with you soon. I am eager to hear your ideas about how we can help y
ou grow the economy, provide a quality education for every child, and responsibly manage your community’s budget.
I have attached a summary of the Executive Order, and I look forward to working with you to create a great Massachusetts.
Sincerely,
Karyn E. Polito
Lieutenant Governor
 Elevating the Municipal Partnership
Baker-Polito Administration
The Baker-Polito team is committed to elevating its partnership with Massachusetts cities and towns. The Administration’s first act was to release $100 million in new Chapter 90 funding for local roads and bridges. In addition, we have pledged to hold harmless local aid accounts as we deal with a $765 million budget gap in FY15, and
we will increase local aid in a way that tracks state revenue growth.
Both Governor Baker and Lt. Governor Polito served as selectmen and
intimately understand the challenges facing municipalities.  Therefore, today we are elevating municipal concerns directly into the Governor’s Office.
Via Executive Order, we are empowering Lt. Governor Polito to be a champion for municipal issues across state government; we
are restructuring the Department of Revenue to include a new Senior Commissioner for the Division of Local Services, reporting directly to the Commissioner; and we are creating a Community Compact Cabinet that will work toward mutual accountability, work to reduce red tape, promote best practices, and develop specific “community compacts” with local governments. Community compacts will create clear, mutual standards, expectations, and accountability for both the state and municipalities as we seek to create better government for our citizens.
Executive Order 537
The Municipal Affairs Coordinating Cabinet
September 2011
Leadership:
Agency: Exec. Office of Admin. & Finance
Chair: The Deputy Commissioner for Local Services; Department of Revenue

 

Membership:
State Purchasing Agent
State Chief Information Officer
Commissioner of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance
Executive Director of the Group Insurance Commission
Personnel Administrator
Chairman of the Civil Service Commission
Any member of the Governor’s Cabinet or their designee and any other person whom the Secretary of ANF may designate
Charge:

1.to implement policies and coordinate activities throughout the executive branch that are designated to enhance the partnerships between local and state government;

2. to assess ways in which state government may provide assistance to local government in the provision of services, including, but not limited to, technology, procurement, construction, employee benefits and other areas where the assets of state government may be utilized to assist local governments;
3. to assist in the interpretation and implementation of the various municipal partnership bills signed into law over the past five years in order to assist cities and towns in reducing costs, streamlining operations and generating revenue
New Executive Order
The Community Compact Cabinet
January 2015
Leadership:
Agency: Office of the Governor
Chair: Lieutenant Governor
Vice Chair: The Senior Deputy Commissioner, Division of Local Services; DOR
Membership:
Secretary of the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development
Secretary of the Executive Office of Education
Secretary of Transportation
Secretary of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
Assistant Secretary for Operational Services
Chief Information Officer
Any other person whom the Lieutenant Governor
may designate from time to time.
Charge:
1. to champion municipal interests across all executive secretariats and agencies;
2. to develop, in consultation with cities and towns, mutual standards of best practices for both the state and municipalities, working toward the creation of community compacts that will create clear standards, expectations and accountability for both partners;
3. to develop ideas to incentivize adoption of best practices at the municipal and school district level;
4. to work with the Local Government Advisory Commission (the “LGAC”) to resolve issues and implement recommendations made by the LGAC and approved by the Governor;
5. to review state regulatory burdens on municipalities and school districts and recommend reforms to lessen the burdens on municipalities and school districts;
6. to understand the major cost drivers of municipalities and school districts and identify actions that the Commonwealth, municipalities
and school districts can take to control them;
7. to identify and remove barriers to economic development opportunities for cities and towns; and
8. to empower cities and towns and school districts by finding new ways for them to leverage state resources and capacity Leadership
Membership Charge

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Posted in Budgets, State

MMA analyzes the Gov’s budget cuts

Posted on February 5, 2015 | Comments Off on MMA analyzes the Gov’s budget cuts

This from the Massachusetts Municipal Association to explain the details of  Governor Baker’s cuts as they affect towns –

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

GOV. BAKER FILES PLAN TO CLOSE FY 2015 STATE DEFICIT
Governor Protects Unrestricted Municipal Aid and Chapter 70 Education Aid
9C Reductions Impact Only a Few Local Accounts

On Tuesday, February 3, Gov. Charlie Baker announced a comprehensive plan to close a gaping $768 million mid-year state budget deficit.  As the Governor promised to local officials at the MMA Annual Meeting late last month, his budget-balancing plan protects Unrestricted General Government Aid and Chapter 70 school aid, keeping full funding in place for the remainder of the fiscal year.

The Governor’s package contains $514 million in mid-year spending reductions, including $150 million in cuts in state budget items implemented through the Governor’s “9C” emergency budget powers, and relies on $254 million in revenues directed into the state’s general fund, most of which will come from capital gains taxes that otherwise would flow into the Commonwealth’s rainy day fund.

Governor Baker’s 9C reductions cover 300 line items in the state budget, and are much more modest in terms of their municipal impact than any of the 9C cuts implemented over the past decade. In terms of reductions to Cherry Sheet accounts, these are limited to a $943,000 reduction for METCO (5%), and reductions of less than half of one percent for library aid programs ($42,499 from regional public libraries and $38,700 from non-regional libraries).  There were no programmatic cuts to regional school transportation, payments-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT), or other Cherry Sheet items.

However, there are several 9C reductions to non-Cherry Sheet accounts that are important to cities and towns:

• A $1.9 million reduction in charter school reimbursements (a 2.46% cut below the November level) – this will affect those communities that lose Chapter 70 school aid to charter schools, and rely on the state reimbursement account to make up a portion of the lost funds. This reduction will vary from community-to-community because the $1.9 million will be taken from reimbursements for students in years 2-5 of the formula, so the impact will depend on the specific profile of area students attending charter schools. We recommend that cities, towns and school districts contact DESE for more information;

  • A $5 million reduction to kindergarten development grants (a 21% cut below the November level) – this will impact those communities that are relying on kindergarten grants to offer or expand this service locally;
  • A $1.25 million reduction to Shannon anti-gang grants (a 15% cut below the fiscal 2015 appropriation) ­– this will impact those communities scheduled to get the grants; and
  • A modest $250 thousand reduction to the Special Education Circuit-Breaker (slightly less than 1% below the November level) – the exact impact will be determined by DESE.

Beyond the 9C cuts, the Governor has filed legislation to impose reductions to other areas of the state budget, and implement other revenue transfers and policies.  The Governor’s proposed legislation would generally require a 1.79% reduction to those state accounts outside of his 9C authority – importantly, the legislation specifically exempts Unrestricted General Government Aid and Chapter 70 from mid-year cuts, consistent with the Governor’s pledge. In general, the 1.79% reductions are designed to include the Legislature, judiciary, constitutional officers, and quasi-independent agencies in the budget-balancing plan.

Please click on the following link to see the Administration’s budget-balancing plans in detail, including a list of all 300 9C reductions (“FY15 February 9C Line Item Listing”) and the proposed legislation (“Filed 9C FY15 February Supplemental Legislation”) – http://www.mass.gov/anf/budget-taxes-and-procurement/state-budget/fy15-budget-info/fy15-budget-cut-information/

The MMA will be analyzing the details of the Governor’s legislation and 9C reductions over the coming days. Please monitor the MMA’s website at www.mma.org for continuing updates.

Thank you.

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Posted in Budgets, State

School budget & OPEB

Posted on January 28, 2015 | 2 comments

This exchange took place under the comments to the post about the MMA annual meeting, and are worthy of more people seeing them –

  1. Charlie | January 22, 2015 at 3:39 pm | Reply | Edit

    Pete-

    I find it absolutely stunning that there is no coverage of school budgets, in particular the relationship of cost to rising and falling student populations. School spending represents, far and away, the largest item in any town or city budget, yet no one seems to want to deal with the issue. Also, I see nothing on the agenda that addresses the massive shortfall in the funding of employee benefits. I note that there’s a session on “Lessons and land mines”. Is this a tutorial to help public officials avoid facing the really important fiscal issues? Very disappointing.

    Sent from my iPad

  2. Selectman Osler “Pete” Peterson | January 28, 2015 at 11:47 am | Reply | Edit

    Charlie,
    Thanks for your comments. i am catching up,so please excuse my delay.

    First, town officials have absolutely no say or control over school budgets, so I would guess that is the reason that there are no MMA seminars on school budgets. The town as a whole can only approve or not the total school budget at the town meeting, but once a budget amount is approved by the town meeting it is then up to the superintendent as to how those monies get spent. While I am exceedingly interested in the school budget issues you raise, please know that i already probably spend about 20 hours a week already just trying to do my volunteer job as a selectman (and i also have a full time job as an attorney), so I have yet to find the extra time to study the school budget issues. Also, those issues really are the purview of the school committee, not the selectmen, despite my interest.

    I see that the school committee meeting to discuss the budget got postponed by the storm, and so i encourage you to go to the re-scheduled meeting to raise your school budget issues with them.

    Second, I certainly did hear about OPEB liabilities again this year at the MMA annual meeting, although I did hear more about it last year. The MMA is seeking to be part of the solution, crafting legislation to improve the OPEB situation. Governor Patrick’s commission on the OPEB issue made recommendations over a year ago, but the MMA opposed them on the basis that they both did not do enough and also what id did do would make things worse for towns. Look at the MMA’s website (www.mma.org) and you should find the action item that the membership voted on this past Saturday morning to ask the legislature to enact OPEB reforms.

 

2 Comments

Posted in Budgets, Financial, Schools

CPA – Medfield is missing out

Posted on January 28, 2015 | 1 comment

This week I got the letter below from the Register of Deeds, Bill O’Donnell, which highlights how Medfield loses twice by not having adopted the Massachusetts Community Preservation Act (CPA):

  • first because our residents paid $45,290 in 2014 in Registry of Deeds surcharges to support the CPA, money that then got distributed to other towns, and, then
  • second because Medfield has not adopted the CPA it does not share in the matching state monies given to communities that do participate.

The CPA is akin to a town savings account for three specified areas:

  • historic preservation,
  • affordable housing, and
  • open spaces or recreational uses.

Once a town adopts the CPA, it taxes itself 1-3% extra each year, and the state provides matching monies.  The match started at 100%, but as more towns opted in the match has dropped to around 30% – still free state monies.  A town committee would decide on what to spend the CPA monies.  I heard about lots of uses for CPA funds in other towns at the MMA annual meeting last weekend

For me it is crazy not to pick up the free state monies, if we think/know that we will be spending monies on the three covered areas any time in the future.  It is one clear way to save on our property taxes. The only reason for someone not to want to adopt the CPA is if they do not intend to continue living in Medfield.

Therefore, I will ask that a warrant article be placed on the warrant for the Annual Town Meeting about adopting the CPA.

For more information on the CPA click through to http://www.communitypreservation.org/

COUNTY OF NORFOLK
COUNTY OF PRESIDENTS
REGISTRY OF DEEDS
NORFOLK REGISTRY DISTRICT OF THE LAND COURTWILLIAM P. O’DONNELL
REGISTER OF DEEDS
ASSISTANT RECORDER OF THE
LAND COURT

January 2015

Medfield Board of Selectmen Osier L. Peterson 10 Copperwood Rd. Medfield, MA 02052

Dear Selectman Peterson.

As Register of the Norfolk County Registry of Deeds. I thought the reverse side chart that illustrates the amount of funds generated from the Community Preservation Act (CPA) would be of interest to you. This revenue is based on recorded real estate filings from your community in calendar year 2014.

The Registry, at no cost to the Commonwealth or local communities, collects these revenues for the state when a document is recorded. These monies are then forwarded to the Massachusetts Department of Revenue on a monthly basis. The funds collected by the Commonwealth are then redistributed to communities that have adopted the CPA through a variety of formulas.

The Norfolk County Registry of Deeds which is located at 649 High Street, Dedham. is the principal office for real property in Norfolk County. The Registry is a resource for homeowners, title examiners. mortgage lenders, municipalities and others with a need for secure, accurate, accessible land record information. For assistance please contact our Customer Service Center at (781) 461-6101. or visit our website at http://www.norfolkdeeds.org.

I hope you find this information informative and useful. If I can ever be of assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact me at 781-461-6116 or by email at registerodonnell@norfolkdeeds.org.

Sincerely yours.
William P. O’Donnell
Norfolk County Register of Deeds
WPO/aag
649 HIGH STREET. DEDHAM. MASSACHUSETTS 02026 TELEPHONE: 781-461-6116 FAX: 781-326-4246
EMAIL: registerodonnell@norfolkdeeds.org
http://www.norfolkdeeds.org
You
facebook.com/NorfolkDeeds
twitter.com/NorfolkDeeds □ youtube.com/NorfolkDeeds linkedin.com/company/Norfolk-County-Registry-of-Deeds

NORFOLK COUNTY REGISTRY OF DEEDS
COMMUNITY PRESERVATION ACT (CPA) SURCHARGES BY TOWN FOR CALENDAR YEAR 2014

TOWN TOTAL
AVON $14,950.00
BELUNGHAM $58,070.00
BRAINTREE $116,160.00
BROOEUNE $163,040.00
CANTON $83,640.00
COHASSET $38,980.00
DEDHAM $80,070.00
DOVER $26,170.00
FOXBOROUGH $53,420.00
FRANKLIN $101,410.00
HOLBROOK $37,250.00
MEDFIELD $45,290.00
MEDWAY $44,910.00
MTU IS $26,370.00
MILTON $85,270.00
NEEDHAM $109,060.00
NORFOLK $39,010.00
NORWOOD $79,800.00
PIATNVILLE $26,610.00
QUINCY $244,340.00
RANDOLPH $90,080.00
SHARON $59,550.00
STOUGHTON $94,330.00
WALPOLE $81,880.00
WELLESELY $95,300.00
WESTWOOD $53,710.00
WEYMOUTH $172,260.00
WRENTHAM $44,500.00

 

1 Comment

Posted in Budgets, History, Open space, Recreation

Visual budgets

Posted on January 27, 2015 | 1 comment

At the Mass. Municipal Association annual meeting last weekend, I saw and heard presentations of an open source software product developed for the Town of Arlington by programers who live in Arlington, to show the town budget in a highly visual format. One merely clicks on the blocks to drill further down into the details.  http://visgov.com/

Since it is open source, Medfield could implement it at no cost if we have someone who knows how to do so.  If we hire the company that is managing the software, they would charge us $3,000.

I recommend that we employ this software, and that the town also employ software to put the town checkbook on-line, as the state has already done.

1 Comment

Posted in Budgets, Financial, Information

Gov Baker on road $

Posted on January 9, 2015 | Comments Off on Gov Baker on road $

This was the Mass Municipal Assoc alert that came this afternoon –

 

Friday, January 9, 2015

GOV. BAKER RELEASES $100 MILLION IN CH. 90 FUNDS FOR LOCAL ROADS, PLEDGES NO CUTS TO MUNICIPAL AID

Just hours after taking the oath of office on Thursday, Gov. Charlie Baker directed the Massachusetts Department of Transportation to follow through on his campaign promise to release immediately $100 million in Chapter 90 bond authorizations that had been withheld by the previous administration.

In his inaugural address, Gov. Baker also declared that he would oppose further cuts to local aid, even as his administration grapples with an inherited mid-year budget deficit that could reach $750 million, according to the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation and other budget experts.

The Massachusetts Municipal Association and local officials from across the state applaud Governor Baker for recognizing the importance of investing in our local transportation systems, and understanding the damage that would be caused by mid-year cuts to local aid. Releasing the $100 million in withheld Chapter 90 funds and protecting municipal aid are important elements of a strong state-local partnership to improve our economy, enhance public safety, and build stronger communities.

A letter from Gov. Baker was issued yesterday informing local officials of his decision to release the funds, meaning that cities and towns will now receive the full $300 million in Chapter 90 funding authorized for fiscal 2015 – a record level of funding.

A $300 million Chapter 90 authorization for fiscal 2015 was included in a $13 billion transportation bond bill enacted last year. Decisions about how much funding to actually release are made by the governor’s office, however, and the Patrick administration decided to release just $200 million.

At the 2014 MMA Annual Meeting last January, then-candidate Baker famously declared that he would release the full $300 million “before I take my jacket off on my first day,” a statement that was met with loud applause from the hundreds of local officials in the audience. The MMA is currently compiling the results of an updated local road funding needs survey, which will be used to document the need for a $300 million annual authorization for Chapter 90 in a multi-year bond bill that needs to pass early this year to ensure that Chapter 90 funding will continue in fiscal years 2016 and beyond.

Please click on this link to read Gov. Baker’s Chapter 90 announcement and letter to municipalities: http://www.mass.gov/governor/press-office/press-releases/governor-directs-massdot-to-release-100-million.html

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Posted in Budgets, State

Medfield gets the rest of its road $

Posted on January 8, 2015 | Comments Off on Medfield gets the rest of its road $

Governor Patrick failed to release $100m. of appropriated road repair monies this fiscal year, as he did last fiscal year also, because the legislature failed to appropriate as much as he wanted for the transportation budget.  Governor Baker released those monies on his first day in office.

 

GOV. BAKER WILL RELEASE $100 MIL IN LOCAL ROAD FUNDS

By Matt Murphy
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE

STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, JAN. 8, 2014…..Gov. Charlie Baker will make good on a campaign promise Thursday afternoon by making his first official action as governor to release $100 million for local road and bridge repairs.

The funding, which had been authorized by the Legislature but withheld by former Gov. Deval Patrick, will be dispersed to cities and towns to pay for local infrastructure projects.

Patrick released $200 million for Chapter 90 last year, but held back the additional funding because he said the borrowing capacity was needed for other transportation priorities.

Lawmakers were highly critical of Patrick’s decision not to release the funding, and Baker during the campaign pledged to release the funding as soon as he took office.

During his inaugural address, Baker on Thursday said he hoped to address a “spending problem” in state government to address a midyear budget gap that he estimated at more than $500 million.

Baker, who supported a November ballot law that unhinged the gas tax from an inflation index, said during his address that he would hold the line on taxes but that everything else was on the table in the upcoming budget-balancing exercise.

The governor must file a fiscal 2016 spending plan by March 4, though a proposal to address the midyear gap could be rolled out before that date.

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Posted in Budgets, Legislature, State, Transportation

BoS budget reviews

Posted on December 18, 2014 | Comments Off on BoS budget reviews

NOVEMBER 4, 2014
TOWN HOUSE, 459 MAIN STREET
MEDFIELD,  MASSACHUSETTS  02052-2009

TO:              ALL TOWN DEPARTMENTS

FROM:        EVELYN CLARKE

SUBJECT:   SELECTMEN’S SCHEDULE FOR FY 2016 BUDGET REVIEW

PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU NEED TO MAKE A CHANGE IN YOUR SCHEDULED MEETING DATE OR TIME

TUESDAY DECEMBER 2, 2014 7:00 P.M.  TOWN CLERK
7:10 P.M.  COUNCIL ON AGING
7:20 P.M.  TOWN ACCOUNTANT
7:30 P.M.  PLANNING I APPEALS
7:40 P.M. HISTORICAL COMMISSION
7:50 P.M.  BOARD OF HEALTH

TUESDAY DECEMBER 16, 2014
7:00 P.M.  CONSERVATION
7:10 P.M.   ASSESSORS
7:20 P.M.   VETERANS’ AGENT
7:30 P.M.   INSPECTIONS
7:40 P.M.   PARK & RECREATION
7:50 P.M:   LIBRARY

TUESDAY JANUARY 6, 2014
7:00 P.M.  POLICE DEPARTMENT
7:15 P.M.   FIRE DEPARTMENT
7:30 P.M.   PERSONNEL

TUESDAY JANUARY 20, 2001
7:00 P.M.  TREASURER/COLLECTOR
7:15 P.M.   TOWN COUNSEL
7:30 P.M.   PUBLIC WORKS

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Posted in Budgets, Select Board matters

W&S 2014 Gantt

Posted on December 18, 2014 | Comments Off on W&S 2014 Gantt

Last post contained the the 2013 budget time line from the W&S Board’s budget planning document created last year.  Here is the current year’s version.

20141218_W_S_Cap_Plan_Gantt

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Posted in Budgets, Water & Sewer