Friends of the MHS Theatre Society thankful for MFi Legacy Fund grant

Posted on February 7, 2022 | Comments Off on Friends of the MHS Theatre Society thankful for MFi Legacy Fund grant

From the Friends of the Medfield High School Theatre Society –

The replacement of the MHS auditorium cyclorama allows students to engineer complex lighting scenarios; offers those performing a more complex atmosphere in which to tell their stories; and enhances the visual quality of shows for Community members who attend performances. We are honored and grateful to be one of the recipients of the MFi's Legacy Fund grant. The Medfield Foundation Legacy Fund is a Professionally-managed endowment created to support community-driven projects. Volunteer-run and designed to complement the initiatives of Medfield organizations, the Medfield Foundation Legacy Fund raises funds from the community and makes grants to established non­profit organizations through a competitive process. For more information or to contribute to the Medfield Foundation Legacy Fund, please visit www.medfieldfoundalion.org/legacy-fund.

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Posted in Medfield Foundation, Medfield High School

Local Wordle

Posted on February 4, 2022 | 2 comments

https://mywordle.me/?word=isuitihr

2 Comments

Posted in Uncategorized

CANCELLED TODAY – RESCHEDULED FOR 2/11

Posted on February 4, 2022 | Comments Off on CANCELLED TODAY – RESCHEDULED FOR 2/11

WEATHER POSTPONEMENT

The Center closes when the schools are closed, so the office hours today at The Center could not occur – there was no one there when I arrived this morning.

I will hold my February office hours instead next Friday, February 11 from 9-10 AM at The Center.

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Posted in Select Board matters

Office hours this Friday 9-10 AM

Posted on February 1, 2022 | Comments Off on Office hours this Friday 9-10 AM
2014 snow

Select Board Office Hours this Friday – mask up

I hold regular monthly office hours at The Center on the first Friday of every month from 9:00 to 10:00 AM (my litigation schedule permitting).

Residents are welcome to stop by to talk in person about any town matters.

Residents can also have coffee and see the Council on Aging in action (a vibrant organization with lots going on). I can be reached at 508-359-9190.

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Posted in Select Board matters

Preview town’s Climate Action Plan – forum at 7:30PM tonight

Posted on January 31, 2022 | Comments Off on Preview town’s Climate Action Plan – forum at 7:30PM tonight

you can click on https://tinyurl.com/TOMCAPwebinar to join the webinar.

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Posted in Climate, Energy Committee, Planning

Select Board 2/1/2022

Posted on January 29, 2022 | Comments Off on Select Board 2/1/2022
  1. To join online, use this link:
    a. https://medfield-net.zoom.us/j/81577342022?pwd=ZTV3VU1EMnRBOHJINGh6
    SS9wV3dvdz09
    b. Enter Password: 060672
  2. To join through a conference call, dial 929-436-2866 or 312-626-6799 or 253-215-8782
    or 301-715-8592 or 346-248-7799 or 669-900-6833
    a. Enter the Webinar ID: 815 7734 2022
    b. Enter the password: 060672
    The packet with meeting materials for this meeting is available at this link:
    https://www.town.medfield.net/DocumentCenter/View/5664/BOS-Meeting-Packet-February-1-2
    022
TOWN OF MEDFIELD MEETING NOTICE Posted in accordance with the provisions of M.G.L. c. 30A, §§18-25 This meeting will be held in a hybrid format. The Board of Selectmen will attend in person and members of the public may attend in person. In addition, members of the public who wish to participate via Zoom may do so by joining by one of the following options: 1. To join online, use this link: a. https://medfield-net.zoom.us/j/81577342022?pwd=ZTV3VU1EMnRBOHJINGh6 SS9wV3dvdz09 b. Enter Password: 060672 2. To join through a conference call, dial 929-436-2866 or 312-626-6799 or 253-215-8782 or 301-715-8592 or 346-248-7799 or 669-900-6833 a. Enter the Webinar ID: 815 7734 2022 b. Enter the password: 060672 The packet with meeting materials for this meeting is available at this link: https://www.town.medfield.net/DocumentCenter/View/5664/BOS-Meeting-Packet-February-1-2 022 Board of Selectmen Board or Committee PLACE OF MEETING DAY, DATE, AND TIME Chenery Hall, Medfield Town House Remote participation available through Zoom Tuesday, February 1, 2022 at 7:00 pm Agenda (Subject to Change) Call to Order Disclosure of video recording We want to take a moment of appreciation for our Troops serving around the globe in defense of our country Executive Session at the conclusion of the regular meeting: ● Vote to enter Executive Session for the purpose of discussing the purchase, exchange, lease or value of real property ● Vote to enter Executive Session for the purpose of conducting conduct strategy sessions in preparation for negotiations with nonunion personnel (Fire Chief) Appointments 1. Eversource to request the approval of licenses for a pole and transformer for electric service at the new Medfield Water Treatment Plant 2. Gary Pelletier, Building Commissioner, to discuss plumbing permit and inspection fees a. Vote to increase plumbing fees 3. Members of the Medfield Energy Committee to discuss the Town Garage Solar project a. Potential vote to approve a contract with Solar Design Associates for engineering services for Town Garage solar Discussion Items (Potential Votes) 4. FY2023 Budget Review 5. Update from the Town Administrator regarding American Rescue Plan Act federal funds and discussion of Norfolk County’s determinations on eligible uses of the funds 6. SEB Housing request for Board of Selectmen approval of a 5% rental increase for current tenants and Property Specific Maximum Rents for vacant units at Medfield Meadows and Hillside Village Action Items 7. Vote to appoint Officer Robert Araujo as a new police officer for the Town of Medfield 8. Vote to approve a contract with Woodard & Curran for SCADA Upgrade Services 9. Vote to approve a contract with CAI Technologies for tax map maintenance services for Calendar Year 2021 data Citizen Comment Consent Agenda 10. Kristen Williams requests approval for the 7th Annual Hunter’s Run 5K to be held on April 2, 2022 Meeting Minutes Town Administrator Updates Next Meeting Dates February 8, 2022 (State Representative Denise Garlick’s Annual Report to the Community) February 15, 2022 March 1, 2022 Selectmen Reports informational

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Posted in Select Board matters

PARKING BAN

Posted on January 28, 2022 | Comments Off on PARKING BAN

Police Department

Posted on: January 28, 2022

Emergency Parking Ban

Due to the significant snow storm, there will be an emergency parking ban effective Friday, January 28 from 11 pm through Sunday, January 30 at 11 pm.

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Posted in Police Department

MBTA Communities Law requires multifamily zoning in town or we lose state grants

Posted on January 28, 2022 | Comments Off on MBTA Communities Law requires multifamily zoning in town or we lose state grants

From the Charles River Chamber Regional Chamber enewsletter today –

At issue is that new zoning reform law — the MBTA Communities Law – that’s designed to chip away at two urgent problems: Our housing crisis and our climate crisis.

As I wrote yesterday, the new law doesn’t mandate new housing. It changes zoning codes to allow property owners to build small multi-unit homes if they choose — a process that could take years, or decades, if ever.

We’re not talking about massive apartment towers. The law is designed to encourage more townhouses, triple-deckers and carriage houses near T-stops — instead of McMansions.

Failure to rezone would make a community ineligible for certain state grants, according to draft regulations.

MBTA Communities – Cohort Designations and Capacity Calculations (Excel)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

See also the white paper done by the Boston Foundation on this legislation.

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Posted in Development, Legislature, State, Zoning

State budget – Gov.’s version – town share up $96K

Posted on January 26, 2022 | Comments Off on State budget – Gov.’s version – town share up $96K

From the Massachusetts Municipal Association this afternoon –





 

GOV. BAKER FILES $48.5 BILLION FY23 SPENDING PLAN
FILES A COMPANION $693M TAX RELIEF BILL
• $31.5M INCREASE IN UNRESTRICTED MUNICIPAL AID (2.7%)
• CH. 70 PLAN WOULD INCREASE FY23 SCHOOL AID BY $485M (8.8%)
• 43% OF SCHOOL DISTRICTS WOULD RECEIVE NEW AID OF ONLY $30/STUDENT
• CHARTER SCHOOL & SPECIAL ED REIMBURSEMENTS INCREASE
• MIXED RESULTS FOR OTHER MUNICIPAL AND SCHOOL ACCOUNTS
 
At 2 p.m. today, Gov. Charlie Baker submitted a $48.5 billion fiscal 2023 state budget plan, House 2, with the Legislature.
 
UNRESTRICTED GENERAL GOVERNMENT AID WOULD INCREASE BY $31.5 MILLION
Gov. Baker’s budget includes a $31.5 million increase in the Unrestricted General Government Aid account, a 2.7% increase over fiscal 2022 levels. As the MMA stated during our Annual Meeting this past weekend, a 2.7% increase is too low, and we will be working with local leaders and lawmakers to advocate for an increase that reflects the actual growth in revenues that the state is receiving. With capped property taxes and inflation running higher than 2.7%, cities and towns need a much higher level of UGGA aid to maintain essential services.
 
The Administration is calculating revenue growth using a methodology that omits a large portion of the record-setting revenue collections that the state has experienced during the past year. This way of benchmarking growth works to the disadvantage of cities and towns, and minimizes revenue sharing amounts. Fiscal 2023 state tax collections will be $2.5 billion higher (7.3%) than the tax base that was used to pass the fiscal 2022 budget last July, and $6.8 billion higher (22%) than the original FY22 projection from a year ago. The Administration is using the highest possible revenue estimate for fiscal 2022 ($35.95 billion, set less than two weeks ago), which would tie UGGA to an artificially low growth projection, even though actual growth will be much higher.
 
Click here to see the Division of Local Services preliminary fiscal 2023 Cherry Sheet aid amounts for your city or town
 
Click here to see the Division of Local Services preliminary fiscal 2023 Cherry Sheet aid amounts for regional school districts
 
OVERALL CHAPTER 70 SCHOOL AID WOULD GO UP BY $485 MILLION, AN 8.8% INCREASE – ALTHOUGH 43% OF DISTRICTS WOUD REMAIN AT MINIMUM AID ONLY
The Governor’s budget recommendation continues implementation of the funding schedules in the 2019 Student Opportunity Act (SOA) that were delayed in fiscal 2021 and then funded at a rate of one-sixth, rather than one-seventh, in fiscal 2022 to stay on track with the law’s intended implementation schedule. House 2 represents funding the Student Opportunity Act at a rate of two-sixths.
 
Fulfilling the commitments in the Student Opportunity Act, the Governor’s fiscal 2023 budget submission would bring Chapter 70 school aid up to $5.98 billion, a $485 million increase in school aid. The majority of the funds would implement the improvements to the foundation budget, adding weight for low-income students, English Language Learners, special education costs, and school employee health benefits. While this is important progress, an initial examination of the budget indicates that 136 of 318 operating districts (43%) would remain minimum-aid-only, and receive the minimum $30 per-student increase in the Act. These 136 districts would receive a total increase of $9.3 million, and the remaining districts would receive $475.8 million more. The MMA will continue to strongly advocate for minimum aid of $100 per student to ensure that all districts can at least keep pace with inflation and maintain their school services.
 
Click here to see DESE’s calculation of fiscal 2023 Chapter 70 aid and Net School Spending requirements for your city, town, or regional school district,
based on the Governor’s proposed budget and legislation.
 
This landing page will also include the preliminary fiscal 2023 charter school assessments and reimbursements.
 
CHARTER SCHOOL REIMBURSEMENTS WOULD INCREASE TO $219M – CHARTER FUNDING REMAINS A SERIOUS PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED
The Governor’s budget would increase the charter school reimbursement account up to $219 million, intended to meet the commitment in the Student Opportunity Act to fund 90% of the state’s 100-60-40 statutory obligation to mitigate Chapter 70 losses to charter schools. A portion of this $64.8 million increase would simply be a pass-through to charter schools by funding an increase in the per-student facilities amount that charter schools receive.
 
The Student Opportunity Act pledges to phase in full funding of the statutory reimbursement formula over three years, and while this plan may continue to meet that requirement, it would not fix the serious flaws in the charter school finance system. Charter schools will continue to divert a high percentage of Chapter 70 funds away from many municipally operated school districts, and place greater strain on the districts that serve the vast majority of public school children. Major problems will continue unless a true resolution of the charter school funding problem is achieved, which is a top MMA priority.
 
SPECIAL EDUCATION CIRCUIT BREAKER INCREASED TO $414M
The Governor’s budget would add $41.2 million to fund the Special Education Circuit Breaker program at $414 million, an increase of 11%. The Student Opportunity Act expanded the special education circuit breaker by including out-of-district transportation, an important enhancement for cities and towns.
 
REGIONAL SCHOOL TRANSPORTATION REIMBURSEMENTS CUT BY 5.3%
Gov. Baker’s budget submission would reduce funding for regional transportation reimbursements from $82.1 million this fiscal year to $77.8 million. This would be a hardship for virtually all communities in regional districts. Reimbursements for transportation of out-of-district vocational students remains significantly underfunded at $250,000. Increasing these accounts is a priority for cities and towns and the MMA.
 
McKINNEY-VENTO REIMBURSEMENTS INCREASED
The Governor’s budget would increase reimbursements for the transportation of homeless students from $14.4 million this year to $22.9 million in fiscal 2023. The impact of this funding level will vary from community-to-community depending on the number of homeless families that remain sheltered in local hotels and motels. The Administration has been successful in reducing the number of homeless students who are dislocated from their original district, but those communities that continue to provide transportation to many students rely on this account.
 
PAYMENTS-IN-LIEU-OF-TAXES (PILOT) LEVEL-FUNDED
The Governor’s budget would level-fund PILOT payments at $35 million, which would be a significant hardship for many smaller, rural communities with large amounts of state-owned land. This is a key account due to the major impact that PILOT payments have on budgets in very small communities, and level-funding falls short of the Legislature’s goal of phasing in full funding by fiscal 2024.
 
THE GOVERNOR IS PROPOSING APPROXIMATELY $700 MILLION TO FUND TAX CUTS
As Gov. Baker announced at his State of the Commonwealth address last night, and when he released his budget proposal today, he is proposing a series of tax cuts, many targeted for struggling residents, and others targeted toward wealthier individuals. These provisions would permanently reduce state revenues, essentially opting for tax reductions over funding for existing or new state programs. The Legislature is expected to examine these closely before making commitments. These are the main items (cost estimates are very preliminary):
 
– Doubling the tax credits for dependent care ($167 million)
– Increasing the cap on the income tax deduction for rent from $3,000 to $5,000 ($77 million)
– Doubling the maximum Senior Property Tax Circuit Breaker tax credit ($60 million)
– Reducing the estate tax ($277 million)
– Reducing the short-term capital gains tax rate to 5% ($117 million)
– Increasing the no-tax threshold for lower-wage taxpayers ($41 million)
 
PLEASE CONTACT YOUR LEGISLATORS TODAY AND LET THEM KNOW THAT CITIES AND TOWNS NEED UNRESTRICTED GENERAL GOVERNMENT AID TO INCREASE BY MORE THAN 2.7%. WITH RECORD STATE REVENUE COLLECTIONS, LOCAL AID NEEDS A HIGHER INCREASE TO FUND ESSENTIAL SERVICES IN OUR COMMUNITIES.
 
WHEN TALKING WITH YOUR LEGISLATORS, EXPLAIN THE NEED FOR ADEQUATE FUNDING FOR KEY ACCOUNTS, INCLUDING HIGHER MINIMUM EDUCATION AID AND FULL FUNDING FOR REGIONAL SCHOOL TRANSPORTATION, PAYMENTS-IN-LIEU-OF-TAXES, AND CHARTER SCHOOL REIMBURSEMENTS
 
THANK YOU!

 













 
Massachusetts Municipal Association
3 Center Plaza
Suite 610
Boston, MA 02108
(617) 426-7272 | Email Us | View our website
 
 


 
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Posted in Budgets, Financial, Legislature, State

Draft warrant articles for the ATM

Posted on January 25, 2022 | Comments Off on Draft warrant articles for the ATM

What is on the list to date (1/18/2022):

TOWN OF MEDFIELD

WARRANT FOR THE ANNUAL TOWN MEETING

2022

ArticleIssueSubmitted By
1Accept Annual ReportsBoard of Selectmen
2Perpetual CareCemetery Commissioners
3Revolving FundsBoard of Selectmen
4PEG Access and Cable Related FundsBoard of Selectmen
5Elected Official CompensationBoard of Selectmen
6Personnel Administration PlanBoard of Selectmen
7FY2023 Operating BudgetBoard of Selectmen
8Transfer additional funds into the Municipal Buildings Stabilization FundBoard of Selectmen
9Appropriate funds from the Municipal Buildings Stabilization Fund for facilities capital projectsCapital Budget Committee
10Transfer funds into the Capital Stabilization FundBoard of Selectmen
11FY2023 Capital BudgetCapital Budget Committee
12FY2023 Water and Sewer Enterprise Fund BudgetsBoard of Water and Sewerage
13DOT Ride Sharing FundsBoard of Selectmen
14Prior Year BillsBoard of Selectmen
15New SBC BylawBoard of Selectmen
16Townwide Master Plan AdoptionPlanning Board/BOS
17Amend Town Charter to Change the Name of the Board of Selectmen to Select BoardBoard of Selectmen / Board of Selectmen Name Change Committee
18Amend Zoning Table of Use Regulations to include food pantriesPlanning Board
19Amend Zoning Map (update Zoning Map)Planning Board
20Elementary School Feasibility StudyBoard of Selectmen
21Authorize Vehicle Lease PurchaseBoard of Selectmen / Capital Budget Committee
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xxFree Cash 

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Posted in Town Meeting