Town Administrator Michael Gagne put out the word through various Town departments to try and keep any fiscal year 2016 budget increases to a mere two percent. That call was heard as most department heads are presenting budgets that are flat year-over-year or around the two percent requested. Most increases involve contractual agreements with Town employees.

On March 11, the Mattapoisett Finance Committee continued the process of meeting with department heads. On this night, they met with Town Clerk Catherine Heuberger and Police Chief Mary Lyons.

Heuberger said, “I think I’ve been able to live within the budget,” which she inherited from the outgoing clerk. She said that big hits to her budget, like mailing out census forms even to a small number of seasonal residences, were a problem. She said that her department spent $2,600 on postage to mail out the census forms with approximately 500 being returned due to vacancy.

Heuberger explained that the Commonwealth mandates census taking, including to homes that are not owner occupied year round as oftentimes those homes are rented out during the winter season. However, she noted that what this exercise found was many homes remain vacant.

Gagne said that if the home is rented out, those occupants are counted as residents. He said that it is important to get as accurate a count as possible for state funding purposes.

On the theme of whether or not town bills could be paid online versus having to mail out paper bills, Heuberger said that some of the services billed from her office can be handled via the town website – such as dog licenses, marriage, birth and death certificates, and invoices associated with harbor services – but that other town offices weren’t able to do so at this time.

The town clerk’s FY15 budget was $149,322 with the FY16 budget coming in at $161,681.

In closing out her comments, Heuberger told the committee that the Town needed a new voting machine, considering that the current equipment is antiquated and problematic during elections. She estimates a new machine will cost approximately $6,000. Gagne told the committee he would include this equipment in his bundled request for new town hall equipment.

Next up was Police Chief Lyons. Her FY15 Police Department budget was $1,887,133 with the FY16 worksheet totaling $1,949,954. She said that her staffing needs would be unchanged with 18 full-time police officers (including herself), six part-time officers, and three (on-call) paramedics.

The Police Department budget has a line item of $40,000 for a new cruiser. Another cruiser is being requested through Capital Expenditures, eliminating the use of older Ford Crown Victoria models. She said that one of the retiring cruisers would be given to the Council on Aging.

The ambulance service also falls under Lyons’s responsibility. In FY15, the budget was set at $343,000, while the FY16 budget number is $346,540.

Ambulance receipts have helped to offset the expense associated with purchasing new ambulances, Gagne told the committee. A new ambulance is on order from FY15 Town Meeting vote. Factory delays have prevented delivery of that unit.

Gagne shared some other financial realities. He said that group health insurance, which stands at approximately $2 million, would go up 20 percent, which he called “moderate.” He said the pension assessment would go up $82,000; utilities about $10,000; and other liability insurance coverage – workers compensation, cyber, HIPAA, fire, theft, property and others – will increase $17,000.

Regarding the termination of a decades-long contract with SEMASS and increased solid waste disposal costs, Gagne said, “on the flipside,” the solar farms on Tinkham Hill Road will generate tax revenues of approximately $29,000, and he said that the larger commercial solar field planned for Crystal Spring Road will bring in even larger sums. Overall, he said that revenues are on par with last year.

When the committee meets again, Gagne said that Superintendent of Schools Doug White will present local school budgets saying, “(We) are working very well with the schools.”

The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Finance Committee is scheduled for March 18 at 6:00 pm in the Town Hall conference room.

By Marilou Newell

Members of the Joint School Committee appeared receptive to the addition of eight early release days for Tri-Town schools during the 2015/2016 school year, but opted to hold off on a vote until the May meeting to give the Rochester School Committee a chance to formally discuss the calendar. The March Rochester School Committee was canceled due to a snowstorm.

Superintendent Doug White briefed joint committee members on the proposed calendar, saying the only change to the next year would be the addition of the eight professional development early release days.

Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum Elise Frangos said, although last year half days were decreased to provide for more uninterrupted learning weeks, the need for professional development for teachers has not been met. With the district at one of the lowest in the state for PD hours, only 12 hours as compared to Bourne’s 32 hours, Wareham’s 20, and even Concord’s 90 hours, the additional 16 hours are critical for district initiative implementation and collaboration amongst educators.

“Traditionally, we have had two big days of professional development,” said Frangos. “Teachers have told us … we have great speakers, but we have very little time for follow-up.” Frangos said the early release days would provide time to spend focusing on student work and following up on material learned from guest speaker presentations.

“That time is very precious,” said Frangos. “It’s sorely needed … so these would be very valued, precious segments of time.”

Frangos also talked about “vertical teaming” between grade six teachers and grades seven and eight teachers for the sake of the students’ transition to junior high.

“Last year, we built the calendars and we really thought about the continuation of learning for children,” White said. “We started to realize what kind of things were not happening for our educators,” which is why administration was asking to change back to more early release days.

“As a whole, we are very receptive to adding the time to the calendar,” said Marion School Committee member Christine Winters.

Some concerned committee members also wanted to delay the vote so they could assess school attendance on Good Friday on April 3.

Good Friday, despite some public outcry, was taken off the calendar’s list of days off for students last year. Mattapoisett School Committee Chairman James Higgins was the first to bring up the topic of Good Friday, saying he felt compelled to bring up the subject based on the feedback he received from some of his constituents, “the people who pay for these schools,” as Higgins put it.

Although White said he was hoping the committee would approve the school calendar sooner rather than later, he pointed out that last year the committee did not approve the 2014/2015 school year calendar until June.

The next meeting of the Joint School Committee is scheduled for May 14 at 6:30 pm in the junior high school media room.

By Jean Perry

The meeting room was packed at the Marion Town House on March 12 when the Marion Zoning Board of Appeals opened its meeting. And nearly all in attendance were there to show opposition to Mary Lou Hanlon’s special permit application for a dog kennel license at 11 Shady Lane.

Hanlon, who has previously held such a license in another town and whose training in the care and boarding of dogs is extensive, was surprised by the number of neighbors who feared that approval of her application would harm their way of life.

The ZBA received nine letters, all listing quality of life issues, increased traffic and noise, and use of residential property for business purposes as reasons why Hanlon’s request should be denied. They also received a petition with approximately 45 signatures from this beach enclave all opposing the application.

Karen Marotta of Wilson Road said, “I commend her on her background,” but continued to agree with others that such a license would somehow bring unwanted consequences to the neighborhood. Steve Whittaker of Dexter Road agreed with Marotta.

Hanlon was seeking permission to have two visiting (boarding) dogs on her property at a time.

“I’ll make sure the dogs get along with one another,” said Hanlon, to ensure harmony among the dogs on her property. She explained that each dog she might care for would be evaluated prior to accepting them and that at no time would there be more than three dogs in her care.

Citing the need to review the application in greater detail, the board moved to take it under advisement for the next 90 days.

Also coming before the ZBA was Bernard and Eileen Bowers of 14 Bayview Road with a request to modify an approved footprint by changing the dimensions of a proposed addition from 14 feet to 16 feet on the northeasterly side of the property.

This request also reflected a change in the proposed round stone patio to a rectangular wood deck that would have the same overall dimensions. Setbacks would not be affected by the change, as noted in the revised plans. Determination of this request is also pending as it was taken under 90 day advisement.

The next meeting of the Marion Zoning Board of Appeals will be scheduled and publically posted if there are hearings.

By Marilou Newell