Instead of receiving a water and sewer bill twice a year, the Department of Public Works – represented by DPW Chief Rob Zora, Becky Carvalho, and the Town of Marion accountant, Judy Mooney – presented the Marion Board of Selectmen with a proposal to change the billing cycle to a quarterly billing, which the BOS approved.

“This alleviates a cash flow for residents,” said Mooney, who explained that the cycle avoids other town billing dates for real estate taxes and auto and boat excise taxes. Along with Mooney, Zora and Carvalho addressed the board with a water and sewer rate study and the appeal for quarterly billing.

Initially, there will be a transition period with a four-month billing that will include water and sewer metered bills from November 1, 2013 through February 28, 2014. This bill will arrive in mailboxes around March 15 and is due by April 15. After that initial transitional bill, the quarterly billing will start with a consumption period of June 1 through August 31. That bill would be mailed to residents on September 15 and will be due on October 15. The next consumption period includes water and sewer usage from September 1 to November 30; bills will be mailed on December 15 and are due on January 15. The next consumption bill covers the period of December 1 through February 28 or 29; it will be mailed to residents on March 15 and is due April 15. Lastly, a consumption period of March 1 through May 31 will be mailed on June 15 and is due by July 15.

“Water and sewer rates have not risen since 2007, and we will look at the rates in six months to determine if changes need to be made,” said Mooney. Carvalho noted that 95% of the properties in Marion are now on metered ‘drive-by’ reading, saving the town much time and effort in re-reading erroneous mailed-in meter readings. Selectman Jon Henry asked if the new billing cycle would require more staff and Zora, Carvalho and Mooney all said “no”.

At the start of the meeting, a moment of silence was held for Nathan B. Nye, Sr. at the Tuesday meeting of the Marion Board of Selectmen. Nye was a long-time town employee and all around ‘good guy‘ who passed away on January 18. The audience stood and contemplated his service to the town which included over 50 years with the fire department and 17 years as head of the Department of Public Works. “I’m sure St. Peter has him busy already,” said Selectmen Jon Henry. Henry noted that the Nye family was ‘colonial’ and were part of the first settlement of the area. “They are good, solid, steady, hard-working people,” said Henry, “Nate was a good egg.”

In an ongoing effort to connect town boards, two boards presented their purpose and mission to the BOS. First up was the Conservation Commission, with Vice-Chairman Norm Hills informing the board of the basic reason for the board and its efforts. Hills noted that the board’s sole intent is to enforce the Wetlands Protection Act for coastal, waterfront and inland areas of the town. Hills, in his presentation, noted that the Conservation Commission needs to fund eradication of fragmites in the Sprague’s Cove area, near Silvershell Beach, and will increase their budget to accommodate the issue.

Hills also thanked Conservation Commission Secretary, Diane Drake, and noted that she is a crucial and important component in the board’s work. “We want to consider training someone to learn from her … she is completely informed about by-laws, conservation and the myriad paperwork that goes into this complex board,” said Hills.

The Marion Energy Commission presented next and noted their effort for the community to come to a presentation at the Marion Music Hall on February 5 at 7:00 pm for a Solar Energy presentation, with light refreshments, great information, and exhibits to reduce CO₂ emissions and to reduce energy bills for residents.

In other business, the board signed an agreement with CDM Smith for Phase 1B, which was approved at the October town meeting for approximately $290,000 for roadway improvements in Marion village from Cottage Street to Water Street. More information on exactly which portions of the streets are available at the Marion Town House.

Lastly, the board signed a contract with Tata and Howard to design a replacement for the Great Hill Water Tank. The tank will be reduced by one half and its use is for fire hydrant pressure. The town meeting of 2011 approved the design phase. At the meeting, the proposal for design was at $93,000, according to Town Administrator, Paul Dawson.

By Joan Hartnett-Barry

It takes a village center overlay district to build a village, and that is what the Planning Board mostly discussed January 28, brainstorming ideas and sharing its visions of what a proper town village center should look like, comparing them against the existing village centers of other towns like Marion, Mattapoisett, and Scituate. Quaint, unique, and homey is just what the board deems suitable for a town center for Rochester, emphasizing that the goal is not to encourage a “business district,” but rather a “village district.”

The discussion began when Board Member Ben Bailey simply asked, what is the point of the village overlay district, and whom will it benefit? Bailey thought the language in the opening paragraph of the proposed zoning by-law was too vague and did not explicitly cite the benefits a new overlay district would provide an owner of property located in the center.

Chairman Arnold Johnson said it was important that residents understand a few things about the proposed overlay district. The board was not seeking to further restrict development in Rochester center; rather, it wants to provide a more concise, controlled process to make it easier for property owners to follow the required steps to develop their property, while removing some of the restrictions property owners currently face, including the “unsure process” of seeking variances through the Zoning Board of Appeals.

This would benefit not just the property owners, said Johnson, as the Town of Rochester as a whole would ultimately enjoy the same kind of town center other towns possess.

It would enhance the property values of properties in the center by allowing mix-use zoning and create opportunities for small businesses to thrive and service the community. Setback requirements would be more relaxed, as opposed to allowing reduced lot sizes.

“It’s not going to create more development,” the chairman emphasized, citing concerns from residents about certain properties already pending development. “It’s going to create more responsible development.”

“We have been kicking this around for years,” said Johnson. He said it is important to understand that what the board seeks to accomplish is to give center property owners more options for their properties, provide for more opportunity for use, and allow greater density to give the center more of a village-feel.

We want to have a real center of town, said Board Member Gary Florindo. “Unique little areas that make it like a homey part of town,” he added. A real center – not just a business district.

Also at the meeting, the board had a brief discussion with Michael Camara of Shawmut Associates, LLC who is planning to re-develop the solid-waste and recycling processing facility at 50 Cranberry Highway. Johnson told Camara he encountered some “red flags” when a subcontractor for the project went in to try to pull permits for some work and was unaware of the process and the required preconstruction meeting.

Johnson said he needed clarification on who was the hired project manager, and who would be the contact person for the project.

Camara reassured the board that everything was in order and that the project manager is Bruce Hanna, who assisted in the development of Camara’s New Bedford facility. Camara also gave the board contact information for Hanna.

There are a couple alterations to the site plan, which will be discussed at an upcoming preconstruction meeting on Thursday, January 30 at the Police Station.

Also during the meeting, the board engaged in a rather lengthy discussion over drainage concerns pertaining to the Connet Woods project, despite the matter having been continued until the February 11 Planning Board meeting.

The board took a vote and ratified an email that Johnson had sent to the developer regarding drainage matters, and the board is optimistic that the problems can be mitigated fairly simply.

The next scheduled Planning Board meeting is February 11 at 7:00 pm at Town Hall.

By Jean Perry

Once two members thawed out from walking to the meeting, the Mattapoisett Finance Committee got down to the business of town business. The first order of business was revisiting Fiscal 2013, studying the actuals in preparation for crafting the 2015 budget. They also compared the FY14 budget against FY13 actuals in order to understand growth projections and line item increases. The town came in at $21.75 million for FY13 and has budgeted $22.45 million for FY14, an increase of 3% year over year.

State aid from the Chapter 70 program (The Chapter 70 program is the major program of state aid to public elementary and secondary schools. In addition to providing state aid to support school operations, it also establishes minimum spending requirements for each school district and minimum requirements for each municipality’s share of school costs; http://www.doe.mass.edu/finance/chapter70/) was $22,000 more in FY13 than the previous year and was budgeted for a 2% increase in FY14 to be actualized at the end of the fiscal year in July. Revenue sources were detailed as: 7% local receipts; 3% fund transfers; 4% Cherry Sheet; 6% debt; and 80% total levy. (The Cherry Sheet is the official notification by the Commissioner of Revenue to municipalities and school districts of estimated state aid to be paid and charges to be assessed over the next fiscal year. As the state budget process unfolds updated local aid proposals are posted. Cherry Sheets are issued once the state budget is enacted by the Legislature and approved by the Governor; http://www.mass.gov/dor/local-officials/municipal-data-and-financial-management/cherry-sheets/).

Town Administrator Mike Gagne had just received the Governor’s budget that includes the Cherry Sheet estimate for FY14 ($1,148,000) and proposed sum for FY15 ($1,238,000). Even though the FY15 sum is slightly higher than FY14, Gagne cautioned the board to not spend the money yet, reminding them that the house and senate also have budgets that may, and often do, severely impact anything a governor may put forward. He said, “We just don’t know what to expect.”

The committee members then reviewed available funds for the budget, comparing FY13 against FY14: landfill (up $20,000); schools (up $349,000); OPEB ($178,984); retirement/pensions ($34,235); collective bargaining settlements ($189,890); and fire alarm wiring ($15,000). The increase in FY14 available funds totaled $702,640.

Lastly, they reviewed expenses from FY13: general government ($1,175,000); public safety/public works ($3,730,000); education ($11,729,000); employee group insurance ($1,950,000); pension unemployment & Medicare ($990,000); town insurance ($242,000); utilities ($200,000); debt ($1,014,000); culture/human services ($808,000); lease & government assessments ($57,000) for a total of $21,899,000. When viewed using a pie chart, they found that 64% of all monies were used for education ($13,640,000), with all other expenses totaling 36% of the budget ($7,913,000).

Gagne told the committee that the Affordable Care Act will cost the town approximately $155,000, adding an additional 8% to FY15 budget needs, along with a pension liability assessment of $56,000.

There was considerable discussion regarding school budgets, with increases expected from all schools serving the town. Chairman Pat Donoghue said that some discussions have taken place with the school superintendents, but that they needed to speak more directly with those school committee members working on budgets. Gagne said that there is a planned Tri-Town summit meeting with board of selectmen members, town administrators, Finance Committee members, and school officials in an effort to collectively face the financial challenges on the horizon. Gagne also discussed some reimbursement from the state’s Circuit Breaker program, but expected it to be underfunded again this year. (The state’s Special Education Circuit Breaker program reimburses local school districts for a portion of their costs for educating severely high-needs special education students. The state reimburses a portion of district costs above a certain threshold and the precise reimbursement formula changes year-to-year depending on the total amount allocated for this line item in a given fiscal year and on the level of claims statewide.

            The Circuit Breaker program was started in FY 2004. The threshold for eligibility is tied to four times the state average foundation budget per pupil as calculated under the Chapter 70 education funding law. The state aims to pay 75 percent of the costs above that threshold, but for many years during the state fiscal crisis reimbursement rates were below the 75 percent level. Included in this funding is an earmark for a special program run in conjunction with the Department of Developmental Services. Funded at $6.5 million in FY 2014, this program supports approximately 480 children receiving special education who are also eligible for services from DDS, who live at home, and are between the ages of 6 and 17 at the time of enrollment. The intent of this program is to allow students to return home from a residential placement or prevent students from moving into residential placements; http://children.massbudget.org/special-education-circuit-breaker).

With all this data as the backdrop, it was clear that sleeves will need to be rolled up and department heads given guidance in order to present at town meeting a budget that voters can accept. The Finance Committee will begin the process of meeting with the town’s department heads on Thursday, January 30 at 6:30 pm.

By Marilou Newell

Selectmen took care of business swiftly on January 27 with no appointments listed on the agenda, nor any new business presented.

Town Administrator Richard LaCamara updated the board on school budget progress after another Rochester School Committee budget subcommittee meeting was held the night before. It seems there is progress is bringing down the initial total amount requested for level-services, from $254,000 to $120,000. LaCamara reported that the school budget still requires an increase of $74,000, and an additional $46,000 for Bristol County Agricultural High School.

LaCamara referred to the Old Rochester Regional High School proposed budget as “terribly difficult,” with a requested increase of $820,000, a $327,000 increase in Rochester’s assessment for the ORR budget.

“Which is a problem for us,” said LaCamara, “because we can’t afford that kind of an increase.” He added that he would be attending the budget subcommittee meeting at ORR the next day on Tuesday, saying, “We’ll review the budget tomorrow and see where we are at … but they’re gonna have to reduce our assessment by at least $220,000…to balance our budget.” He continued, “Old Colony proposed a $300,000 increase, which they know is not gonna happen.”

Nunes had a number of questions about the school budget, to which LaCamara did not have all the answers. Selectman Naida Parker suggested Nunes attend the subcommittee meeting the next day to address his concerns.

It was Nunes’s position that the three towns already contribute above and beyond what the State requires them to spend on the regional school.

Some good news for the budget, Parker disclosed the recent revelation that the State would reimburse 90% of the Town’s contribution toward Bristol Aggie transportation costs. Parker explained that the Bristol Aggie transportation line would be taken out of the Rochester Memorial transportation budget, and will stand alone as its own budget item within the over-all school budget.

Before the discovery of the State reimbursement, the Town had been trying to come up with other ways to transport Rochester students to Bristol Aggie, even considering using a Council on Aging van and hiring a driver. In light of the news of reimbursement, the move is no longer necessary.

Additional information pertaining to the budget included state aid projections that came in last week, which grants Rochester only $12,000 more this year in Chapter 70 reimbursement, which is unfortunate, according to LaCamara.

In other news, the board approved deficit spending for the Town’s snow and ice removal budget, which would probably – no, make that, definitely be over-expended by the end of next week, stated LaCamara.

What does that mean, and from where will the money come to pay for continued snow removal, asked Selectman Richard Nunes.

Spending over the $68,000 budget line for snow and ice is not a rare occurrence, and LaCamara explained that either the Town would have to make a transfer from some other section of the budget or use free cash to cover the budget, “depending on the severity of the situation,” said LaCamara.

Also at the meeting, with budget negotiations for newly hired Town Planner Mary Crain completed, LaCamara presented the board with the finished contract, which he stated was no different than the one that was presented earlier. The contract, dated February 1 through June 30 is for an hourly rate of $26, with a maximum of 1,000 hours annually. Contracts generally run from July 1 through June 30, the reason for the expiration of Crain’s contract the end of June this year. The quorum of two, in Selectman Brad Morse’s absence, approved the contract unanimously.

Also during the meeting, the board discussed putting together a cable committee to review the Town’s contract with Comcast and, in two years, with Verizon. Parker mentioned adding an addendum to the contract with Verizon, hoping to avoid having major broadcasting channels dropped from the channel line up.

The next Board of Selectmen meeting is scheduled for February 10, at 6:30 pm at Town Hall.

By Jean Perry