The Kingston Board of Selectmen met on Tuesday, April 25. Chair Kimberley Emberg thanked everyone who came out and voted in the recent town election. “It is my pleasure to welcome the newest member of the Board of Selectmen, Eric Crone and congratulate Don Alcombright who was just re-elected to a three-year term,” Emberg said.
Given the recent election, the Board decided to deliberate on reorganization. They unanimously voted to renominate Emberg as Chair again. Alcombright was unanimously voted in as Vice Chair, and Sheila Vaughn was unanimously voted in as Clerk. “I just love note taking,” Vaughn joked.
“Thank you to everyone who participated in our third Annual Keep Kingston Clean event… I saw lots of cleanup efforts on William Gould Way, Captain Jones, Maple Street, Brightside Ave, all across the nook so thank you everyone that participated and thank you to our Highway Department,” Emberg said.
Emberg said that they had a recommendation from the Highway Superintendent regarding transfer station fees. He noted that it has been five years since sticker fees have been raised. He said that they are trying to get a new vendor as of July 1. With a new vendor will come a reduction in the fee for mattresses but items such as air conditioners and freezers that were previously free, will now come with a fee. “We are not making any additional dollars above what the vendor is charging us to dispose of it,” he explained.
A public hearing was held for Eversource per their request to allow for the installation of lines across a number of public roadways as part of the Carver/Kingston Reliability Project. A public hearing was previously held on February 14 which was continued onto February 28. The Board opened it up to any members of the public that wished to speak. A resident asked why they were meeting on it again. “It was debated, the Board voted, they didn’t get the answer they liked so they got to do it again… I guess I’m just looking for clarification on why we’re doing this whole thing again,” he said. Emberg said that she planned to ask Eversource the same question. Another resident read something from the Plymouth County of Deeds regarding the preservation of conservation lands. Emberg said that the Conservation Commission did vote on this project in 2021.
A resident said, “We haven’t been given any information at all, no numbers, no figures, no nothing – they could be pulling off a scam. It’s just an idea. But someone needs to look into this – someone other than people in this room who have no interest in this at all, probably the State and the federal government need to look at what they’re doing. This is a scam and it’s being overlooked here; I wish someone would take the time to do something.”
Town Treasurer Carl Pike spoke saying, “I’d just like to speak on behalf of the majority of people in Kingston who want to have electricity in this town; we want to have strong lines that will support the town during tough, difficult periods for electric generation. I’m also insulted by someone talking about a scam. Massachusetts has a Department of Public Utilities that all of your public utilities report to… it’s a heavily regulated industry and I believe that only in Kingston would we have people arguing against a power line.”
Emberg then opened it up to anyone from Eversource. Ryan Earle who is with Community Relations for Eversource spoke next. Regarding why they were back, Earle said they did file a petition with the State. “Our main goal is to work with municipalities at all cost… we’ve worked to try to alleviate some of those concerns… and to petition again for the nine street crossings that we came here for in the previous meetings as well as tonight.”
Selectman Tyler Bouchard noted discrepancies between conversations he had with Eversource and emails that he would receive back that in his words, “felt like they were written by an attorney.” He said, “As a public service utility company, I just feel like there is a piece missing. You know, with the poles and certain things and communication and not being totally forthright with those hearings that were two or three years ago. Unfortunately, we can’t go back and fix, but I hope, and I don’t have a lot of faith in this, what I would like to see is for the next hearing that comes up that the neighborhood be in good standing.” Emberg pointed out that the only thing they have jurisdiction over was the road crossings. Bouchard said, however, that he has changed his vote to allow them to cross the street based on having worked through many of the safety concerns that he had initially. “In that capacity, I feel reluctantly comfortable,” Bouchard concluded. The Board voted to approve the construction or erection of poles across Kingston’s public ways as stated in the public notice.
Emberg said that the Board had some appointments to make since there were resignations at the Library, a retirement in the Police Department, and a resignation in the Treasurer’s office for the Payroll Coordinator. Holly Iannucci was appointed to Head of Youth Services with the Kingston Public Library as of May 1. Tyler Potrykus was named as a permanent, full-time Civil Service Police Officer. Katelyn Drapeau was named as the new Payroll Coordinator. “Welcome, it’s very exciting,” Emberg said.
Following the retirement of Kingston’s Wastewater Superintendent, the Sewer Commissioners voted to appoint the current Sewer Foreman, David Walsh, as the next Superintendent. The Commissioners asked that the Selectmen approve the starting salary for Walsh at a Grade 4, Step 8 rate of $94,967. The Board voted unanimously to approve.
Assistant to the Town Administrator Patricia Tucker provided an update as Town Administrator Keith Hickey was absent. Regarding the open Health Agent position, Tucker said the Board of Health did interview two candidates. “One was very overwhelming – they all loved her, so they gave the Chair the authority to negotiate… they came up with an amount and agreed upon it so we’re hoping to get her signed on and to start the end of May,” Tucker told the Selectmen.
Before adjourning for the evening, Vaughn thanked the “500 people who came out and voted.” Emberg corrected her that it was over 600. Vaughn said that she would like to see the election moved to a different weekend and the assumption was that she meant so there would be greater participation.

The Halifax Board of Selectmen met on Tuesday, April 25. A representative from Thorndike Development had an appointment with the Selectmen to provide an update on a proposed 55+ development. Founder and President Lloyd Geisinger reminded the Selectmen that approximately a month ago they came before them, “talking about an alternate plan for 255 and 266 Monponsett St. in which we were discussing the possibility of doing an over 55 community as well as working with the town to build a senior center on a portion of the property; since then we’ve put a plan together and we’ve met with Cody and Darlene [COA Director Darlene Regan].”
Geisinger turned things over to his partner David Eastridge who went over the plans with those in attendance. He said that the residential buildings would include two buildings on 265 and one building at 266. He further said that 265 Monponsett would be divided into two lots, one of which would be deeded to the town for a senior center. All the buildings would be three stories tall. One building has 30 units and the other two units will have 36 units. Eastridge explained that Town Meeting would need to vote in favor of over 55 becoming an approved use in a commercial district. The other approval needed would be for 265 to be zoned commercial.
A member of the audience asked if Thorndike Development would be paying for the senior center. Eastridge, who called the presentation that day “preliminary” said, “we are contributing toward the construction of that senior center substantially based on current discussions.”
Eastridge told those in the audience that they asked a fiscal impact expert to do an analysis of this project’s impact on Halifax. “The impacts to the town budget… are quite positive and the bottom line here, is he expects that this would have a net positive, after costs, of about $450,000 a year in real estate taxes,” Eastridge explained.
Another member asked if any of the dwellings would be deemed affordable housing and were told that they would not be. “Affordable units with senior housing is very challenging in Massachusetts… it’s very, very hard to find qualified individuals to purchase over- 55 affordable units,” Eastridge said. He further said that affordability is usually not age- restricted.
Requests for
Town Events
Isabella Rose of Generations met with the Selectmen regarding use of the Town Green for Fur Festival on June 4 from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. She said that the fundraiser would be in support of the Council on Aging (COA). The charge will be $5 per dog. The Sheriff’s unit will be doing a K9 demo, there will be a costume parade, a blessing of the dogs by a pastor, and there will be dog ice cream available. The Selectmen approved the use of the Town Green.
A live entertainment permit request for Connecting Rods Cruise nights at Walmart on Friday evenings from May 5 to October 6 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. also came before the Board. Both the Police Departments and the Board of Health had previously approved it. The Selectmen voted unanimously to also approve the request. The Selectmen also voted to approve the VFW Field of Flags on the Town Green from May 13 to June 3. They also approved a live entertainment request for a Farmer’s Market for multiple dates from May to October from 10 am to 3 pm. Police and Fire had previously approved the request. “We like to see these things in town… such positive things, I wish we could just talk about those,” Chair John Bruno said of the many events throughout town seeking approval.
MBTA Action
Plan Update
Regarding the MBTA Action Plan, Bruno reminded everyone that a letter was sent several weeks earlier to Halifax’s various elected officials stating their disapproval of the need for the plan.  “I do not like being told that we are somehow discriminatory because we won’t put 750 units in the Town of Halifax – that’s ridiculous,” Bruno said. Since that time, Halifax has not heard from anyone regarding the letter. The Selectmen voted to resend the letter this time as an email attachment.
Morse Brothers Complaints
“We are being inundated with emails and so on about Morse Brothers,” Bruno said. He noted that they have taken every single complaint seriously and have investigated them. “So far nothing has come of it,” he said before getting into specifics including a site inspection. “I have spoken with the Water Department, the Water Superintendent, and have asked them specifically does the thing that they’re doing there have anything to do with the wells over at Lingan St… and the answer is no,” Bruno said of a specific concern. He also said that there is no effect to the Lakes either. “It just doesn’t affect the water,” Bruno reiterated. Regarding brown water, Bruno said that they are working with DEP on a water filtration system to deal with too much magnesium in the water. “It’s got nothing to do with the Pond or anything going on with Morse Brothers,” Bruno explained.
Regarding traffic, Bruno said that Morse Brothers have been “quite cooperative” notifying the Selectmen and the Police about when truck traffic would be picking up. “The only complaint that we’ve gotten from the Police Department… the truck was going too slow,” Bruno said. He concluded saying that the public is welcome to continue to send complaints to the Board but noted that there “is just nothing there.” Selectman Jonathan Selig thanked Bruno for all his work investigating the complaints saying, “you’ve checked all the boxes.”
Town Meeting Recommendations
The Selectmen went over their recommendations for Town Meeting.  There was some discussion regarding a petition article to increase the membership on the Board of Selectmen from three to five members. The resident that brought forth the article spoke saying that she was unaware of what the Selectmen believed or ran on and she felt that there was a large portion of Halifax residents who did not have their beliefs or views represented. “My own personal opinion… I think that after Town Meeting… we don’t have a charter, I know we talked about it years ago and it might be time to revisit the government structure here, whatever that might be,” Bruno said. He called Halifax’s town government “archaic.” The Selectmen agreed that they would not support the article.
Bruno also expressed concern over another article that wished to change positions like the Town Clerk and Highway Surveyor from elected to appointed. A member of the audience pointed out that despite the rigors of the job, the only requirement to be Town Clerk is that the person be a resident and at least 18 years old. Bruno pointed out that the requested changes would likely require legislation to enact. Town Accountant Sandra Nolan said, “I think that these are professional positions; they’re not positions that can easily be filled by someone that just walks off the street… I also think that we could put in a policy where you have a search committee and with the search committee, you use two or three people from the public that are not already in the town government, members at large… citizens at large.” Bruno said he agreed but added, “assuming this passed, it would be probably a year or two before it went into effect… but we would need to address our form of government.” Selig said he saw both sides of the argument and agreed with the idea of a search committee. Ultimately, the Selectmen decided to recommend the article.
Bruno revisited the Selectmen’s desire to hold meetings in various municipal buildings across the town including the Library, Council on Aging, etc. The intent was to showcase the different buildings on local access television and YouTube. Town Administrator Cody Haddad said that in his meetings with various department heads, they were excited for the opportunity. He said that a schedule would be worked out.

The Plympton School Committee met on Monday, March 27. Dennett Elementary School Principal Peter Veneto provided an update. He said that current enrollment stands at 241 students. Veneto said that the School Psychologist Mrs. Jenkins had a baby boy in March. He also said that on March 16 the Dennett students performed at the All-Band District Concert. “This is something that did not even exist seven, eight months ago… they did a great job.” Veneto also said that they recently held their school talent show. He thanked Mrs. Hemple, Mrs. Hickey, Mrs. Sheehan, Mrs. Prario, and Mrs. Murphy for their work on the talent show. Veneto noted that there were a lot of school events upcoming with spring on the horizon. Those include Field Day, Future Laker Day, Ride Your Bike to School Day, and potentially a blood drive in June.
Veneto said, “The Fire Department came down to do lessons with all our students from kindergarten to Grade 6. They did a great job, and the kids really got a lot out of it: I witnessed some kids playing jeopardy games; I saw fifth and sixth grade kids actually putting on helmets and jackets and putting out a live fire.” He thanked Captain John Sjostedt.
Regarding contract negotiations, the Committee voted to approve the contract with the teachers for a three percent increase over the next three years. They also voted to approve the aides’ contract at a three percent increase over the next two years.
Committee member Jason Fraser spoke on behalf of two updated policies. “These are the policies that we spoke about a meeting or two ago… one on surveys being given to our students here at the Dennett and some of the polices and protocols we would like to see in place to ensure that parents have all due notice, both the fact that they are coming, the content of the questions, access to the questions, and contact people for opting-out and also the guidance office reaching out,” Fraser said. “The security policy has to do with who has access to our security cameras and under what situations,” he explained regarding the second policy. The Committee voted unanimously to accept the policies.
Fraser also touched on SEL (social and emotional learning). “The SEL working group is actually a mixture of School Committee, parents, administrators, and teachers working together to try and bring programming that is consistent within the school building to have consistent expectations within the building, consistent language from classroom-to-classroom K-6,” Fraser explained. “I appreciate being part of the group… I appreciate the teachers who volunteered to help with the early work, but this is really something that we’re going to have to wrap our arms around and really join as a community to make sure we are supporting our kids here,” Fraser said.
The Legislative report was given by Fraser who said that remote participation will be extended until March of 2025. “Extra dollars to make sure that the free school meals for all we hope to go through June 30,” Fraser explained. He continued, “Other than that, the House Ways and Means Committee has had some testimony delivered to them for some of the other items that we would like to see included in this year’s budget, but nothing has been reported out.” May 4 will be MASC (Massachusetts Association of School Committees) Day on the Hill. He said that people will be invited to hold meetings with their State representatives and State Senators.
Superintendent Jill Proulx told the Committee that Silver Lake Youth Cheer wished to have registration flyers sent home with students advertising the program. Proulx made it clear that despite their name, they are not affiliated with the school. Similarly, Silver Lake Hoops, which is a private program not affiliated with the schools either, also wished to have their flyers distributed in the schools. Proulx noted that the program has been running in the district for at least as long as she has been there. The Committee voted to approve.
Committee Chair Jon Wilhelmsen told the Committee that the school would have a warrant article at the upcoming town meeting for $30,000 to complete work on the three classroom floors that were requested. There will also be an article at the special town meeting to move $60,000 from out-of-district vocational and then another still undetermined amount to be transferred from regular day as there was some surplus there. They will also need another transfer from some other town source. “Just to clarify all of the transfers are for this year to supplement our special education line due to some changes in tuition and education that were not anticipated in last year’s budget,” Wilhelmsen explained.
Regarding the additional surfacing that needs to be laid on the playground. Director of Business Services Christine Healy said that they can use the Mass Higher Education Consortium to lay the surfacing. This would allow for it to be done as quickly as possible, ideally as soon as school wraps for the year.
Regarding solar panels, Wilhelmsen told the Committee that they likely noticed some paneling already on the building. “They’re moving fast with that; they’re moving forward in April,” he said. He noted that the town would be paying to have five or six different boxes that will be added to the building. They won’t all be able to be placed at ground level so siding will be removed from a section to put in a proper backer board. This would allow for siding to be replaced in the future without disrupting the board.
Wilhelmsen told the Committee that they had some equipment in the Dennett kitchen to be declared surplus. Nutrition Director Megan Ahrenholz asked that the Committee vote to approve declaring both the steamer and steam kettle as surplus as she has a grant to purchase updated equipment. “It’s important to note that… some of the equipment we are getting rid of has been here for 50 years so it’s definitely time for an upgrade and I’m sure it will have a significant impact on our electricity bill,” Wilhelmsen said.
Proulx said that the next meeting would be the school choice hearing which is held annually. The meeting will be on Monday, April 24.

The Halifax Board of Selectmen met Tuesday, March 28. Representatives of Thorndike Development, including President Lloyd Geisinger, appeared before the Selectmen to discuss the development of the property at 265 Monponsett St. Geisinger said they also purchased 266 across the street. He said that they were considering a senior housing alternative that would be a much smaller project in scale than the one originally presented. Geisinger said it would require town meeting action. He said that each building would be three stories and have 36 apartments.
Geisinger said that one problem was that projects of this scale require an on-site sewerage treatment facility and they run $2.5 million to build. “They push these types of developments into that 200-unit range because to do any less… winds up making the projects uneconomic,” he explained. He said if they were to go the senior housing route, they could make it work financially to reduce the 200-unit affordable housing option that would not be age-restricted to a 72-unit senior, over 55+, housing facility. The units would be “for sale” condominiums that would go for $400,000 and up. Geisinger said that Thorndike Development would consider donating some of the land and assisting financially in the development of a new Council on Aging building in close proximity to the residential building. He said that they would even potentially consider gifting the town the land as well as paying for the construction.
Selectmen Chair John Bruno said, “I’m enthusiastic about it; I’ll say that right up front.” He continued, “I know that land is going to get developed eventually; it’s just sitting there too long without being developed so to make it fit in the character is really my biggest concern. I don’t know, with two buildings in that one big area is much better than those 200 units you had in there before.” He noted that Lydon Lane was over 100 units. “I would love to move forward with it,” Bruno concluded. Selectman Jonathan Selig said, “I don’t think we should shut it down; I think it’s definitely worth kicking the tires on.” Selectman Naja Nassralla agreed saying he liked the idea of the Council on Aging being placed nearby.
The Board of Selectmen voted to approve a contract with American Thunder Fireworks in the amount of $12,500 that will be covered by donations. It was announced during the meeting that MacDonald Industries had recently donated $10,000 to the Halifax Fireworks Committee.
The Board of Selectmen voted to sign off on and approve a Municipal Employee Disclosure for Margaret Selter. Selter will be working two separate jobs now as an administrative assistant for the Board of Health as well as Conservation.
Town Administrator Cody Haddad told the Selectmen that the twenty-first annual Harbor to the Bay bike ride will take place on September 23. They plan to make a pit stop in Halifax at the Halifax boat ramp. The Police Department had previously signed off and the Selectmen voted to approve it.
Haddad told the Selectmen that after going through the procurement and receiving bids for the Pine Street bridge work, they “actually came in lower than expected.” He continued, “This has been a project that has been in the works for quite some time.” The Selectmen voted to approve the contract in the amount of $984,500 with Kenefick Corporation. It had previously been approved by Haddad and Highway Surveyor Steve Hayward.
Bruno talked about holding the Selectmen’s meetings at various locations throughout town. “It gives us the opportunity to have people on tv see some of the town buildings and departments; we’ll emphasize that department when we go there… places that will work… the Library, the Fire House, the Recycling Center, the Town Barn, maybe the School… it gives the town the opportunity to see some of these things,” Bruno said. He said that it would give recognition to some people that might not ordinarily get it for the jobs they do well.
Haddad said that at a previous Selectmen’s meeting, the Parks Department had requested utilization of some earmarked funds. The Board had asked for some more defined uses. They also asked that Parks reach out to Youth and Recreation Commission Director Dick Steele to see if he had interest in the funds. Haddad said that Steele has presented several projects that he would like to have completed with half of the funding which is $25,000. Haddad said he is looking to do a turf area, install batting cages, some fencing behind the elementary school, and some field work. Haddad said he has not heard back from Parks regarding their intended uses though he noted their preference was to use the bulk of the money since they don’t receive the same funding as Youth and Rec.
Bob Kniffen and Robert Hodge appeared before the Selectmen on behalf of the Friends of the Library to get permission to place two small, little free libraries on town property at HOPS under the gazebo and another on the Route 36 beach area. He said the books would be donations from the Friends of the Library book sale. The Selectmen voted to approve the request.
Haddad addressed the ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds that were received by both the Town and the County. He said that while much of that money was earmarked for water, sewer, HVAC, etc. he noted that some of it was for lost funds. He said that the money would need to be spent by 2024. He asked the Selectmen for approval on these projects saying that it would leave about $100,000 in ARPA funding available. The first project was HR services as the Town doesn’t have a dedicated Human Resources department. He said that another project, that he was still waiting for a final number for, was the school HVAC. Another project was $50,000 for replacing town furniture that was badly worn. There was also $50,000 for upgrading the Great Hall to make it better for meetings. There was another request for adding a separate sleeping arrangement to the Fire House. There were a number of other requests including an IT consultant for $30,000. The Selectmen agreed that all of the projects felt necessary.
Members of the Planning Board were in attendance to discuss support staff. Haddad said that both the Planning Board and Zoning Board were in need of a 15-hour per week support staff member. Haddad presented the idea of combining the positions to create a full-time Planning and Zoning Administrative Assistant. Haddad said that the Planning Board did not recommend moving forward with his plan, so he asked them to come to meet with selectmen to discuss. Bruno acknowledged that the job has changed significantly since the days of it consisting of mostly secretarial work like minute taking. He said that this is particularly true for regulatory Boards like Planning and Zoning. After much discussion, the Selectmen voted to combine the position.
The Selectmen voted to approve the closing of the annual and special town meeting warrant.

The Halifax Finance Committee met on Monday, March 13. Town Accountant Sandy Nolan and Town Administrator Cody Haddad met with the Committee to go over their recommendations for the town budget. During the meeting, Haddad told the Committee that Nolan would be retiring at the end of the year. Finance Committee Chair Todd Dargie called it a “significant loss to the town.”
The Committee voted unanimously to recommend all level-funded budget items. They also made a blanket vote to recommend all budget lines that were decreasing.
ADA Compliance projects were listed with a placeholder of $500,000. Dargie explained that the Building Department was working to finalize a list of actual projects and costs that the Committee would need prior to voting to recommend or not.
Regarding the schools, Haddad said, “quite a significant increase here in the elementary school; Sandy and I did express our concern to them that we can’t sustain a six percent increase.” He noted that the Silver Lake assessment was only an increase of $1,000. The debt for the fire suppression system at the elementary school is increasing by $10,000. “We’ve really just started on that debt… we still have about 18 years on the fire suppression,” Nolan said.
Haddad explained to the Committee that the schools would have a capital item for HVAC upgrades at Silver Lake Regional High School and that Halifax’s share would be $202,458. Haddad said, “we have a stabilization fund that was made back in 2016 – basically, Silver Lake had excess funding and they had to return it to the towns – a little over $300,000. Last year we appropriated $110 [thousand] for the tennis courts…. It’s certainly something we can handle, and it makes sense to pull it from the stabilization fund – that’s what it was created for.” Dargie said that the only downside would be that it would “wipe out that account.”
Haddad addressed the changes to the legal budget saying that last year, they voted to recommend a figure of $124,500. Haddad said that they have come in over that number for the last couple of years. To account for that, Haddad increased the budget for legal expenses to $139,500. The Committee voted to recommend the new number.
There was an increase in electricity rates for Town Hall which was recommended by the Committee. “We feel good about getting another good rate,” Haddad said of the small increase. There were some other smaller increases addressed including the audit, website and music expense, and barn maintenance. The Committee also approved a $7,699 increase to the water supply, a $4,000 increase to the water insurance, and a $15,700 increase to water retirement. A gas and oil increase was also approved.
There is a $29,764 increase in the IT expense budget. “A big part of it is that multi-factor authentication; it’s required by your insurance company… so that’s about $15-$20,000 of the increase just in having to implement that software,” Haddad said.
There was a $2,500 increase to recruitment and employment costs that Haddad said would be used for advertising open positions as well as providing adequate training for the staff. The Committee voted to recommend the increase. There was a new cost of just over $40,000 to add a Conservation Agent. “You’re seeing more and more projects come forward that are involving conservation; Halifax is one of the only communities in the area that doesn’t have professional staff for conservation,” Haddad said.
The position was estimated based on 32 hours per week. The Committee asked for more information before voting to recommend.
Haddad also addressed an increase to regulatory clerical. He said that they are looking to make the positions more of an administrative assistant rather than a secretary. “The skill level required for these is far beyond what we consider a secretary… they’re working with engineers, attorneys, the applicants regularly,” Haddad explained. He said that they are also looking to combine the planning and zoning positions to create one full-time position. Haddad noted that these positions have been vacant for several months and said it is very difficult to recruit someone for a 15-hour per week position.
Haddad also explained about the contracted-out animal control expenses. The budgeted amount of $29,952 was the maximum as it was a not to exceed contract. Police Chief Joao Chaves called it a great deal. The Committee voted to approve the increase.
Haddad addressed trash collection/disposal increases. “There’s going to be some significant changes coming overall, the trash pickup as well, the existing vendor has stated that them and others are going more toward the totes – it’s easier for them; they’re not getting out and getting a bag so we’re going to be doing a procurement to get a best price and we’ll likely be switching to totes so there will be a cost associated with that,” Haddad said. The Finance Committee said that they would schedule Recycling to come to a meeting to discuss.
Haddad also told the Committee that Health Agent Bob Valery was recommending $5,000 for beaver remediation. The Committee voted to recommend the increase. Haddad asked the Committee to hold off on voting to recommend the Council on Aging (COA) increase as he said he wanted to sit down with COA Director Darlene Regan to go over it first. The Committee voted to recommend mild increases to both veterans’ affairs and library.
The Park Department is looking to increase their expenses and wages. Committee member Frank Johnston said that the $4,100 was to pay someone minimum wage to act as a parking attendant for Memorial through Labor Day weekends. Chief Chaves said, “I think if we had an attendant there that would deter non-residents from trying to park there.” The Committee approved the increases to the Park Department. They also approved an increase to Plymouth County retirement.
The Committee voted to recommend the group insurance town share with an increase of $73,819. Haddad told them that other insurance including liability, property, and auto would be increasing by seven percent. “I think you heard me mention earlier about our risk management; we need to do a better job of mitigating risk; we haven’t been the best at it recently and as a result our policy is increasing quite a bit,” Haddad said.
Finally, before adjourning, Haddad acknowledged that it has been “standard practice” to try and leave $300,000 of the levy available. He said, “Speaking with Sandy, this was done in an effort – it was anticipated that our retirement costs were going to increase significantly and we’ve reached that time; our retirement costs are increasing significantly and I think you can see in the budget here, there really aren’t significant changes. Most departments did a nice job of level funding and I think any of the changes that are being requested – at least any of the ones that I’m recommending… they’re vital to operations. When you get down to it, this budget doesn’t include any across the board increases… in conjunction with the large increase in retirement, we’re getting to the point where it’s really not going to be feasible for the town to leave that $300,000 in the levy.” He continued, “I think it’s done what it was meant to do and it’s covered us… our staff is underpaid and we really need to do right by our staff and our budget here doesn’t include that.” Haddad said he has five different unions that he is currently bargaining with while noting that he doesn’t anticipate having those negotiations complete by Town Meeting. “We would create a stabilization fund or an article or something along those lines that we would raise and appropriate from the upcoming levy,” Haddad told the Committee.