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FINCOM 20250215 Minutes

Finance Committee · Source meeting date: 2025-02-15 · Record 81463

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Canton Finance Committee Minutes Voted on: 3/5/25 
801 Washington Street Vote: 7-0-0 
Canton, MA 02021 
Finance Committee Meeting Minutes 
February 12, 2025 
Virtual Meeting 
Finance Committee Members Present: Dave Clough, Dan Cole, John Leonetti, Emilio Mauro, Reuki Schutt and 
Cindy Thomas. 
Finance Committee Members absent: Kristin Mirliani and Maureen Menconi. 
Guests Present: 
Sue Desjardins, Assistant Treasurer/Collector 
Charlie Doody, Town Administrator 
Jan Kemalian, Assistant Town Administrator 
Jody Middleton, Human Resource Director 
Helena Rafferty, Chief of Police 
Wendell Robery, Chief of Fire Department 
Randy Scollins, III, Finance Director 
Ellen Jones, Recording Secretary 
Call Meeting to Order: Mr. Mauro called the virtual meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Mr. Mauro introduced the Finance 
Committee members and the guests that were present at the virtual meeting. 
New Business: 
Discussion — Executive Office Budgets — F26 Budget Reguests — Charlie Doody & Jan Kemalian 
Discussion —129 — Executive Office - FY26 Budget Request 
The Administrative Secretary Salary (Ms. Kemalian's former title before being promoted to Assistant Town 
Administrator) is Increasing $4,169 from $116,281 to $120,450 (this includes her contractual 20-year step Increase). 
Longevity Increase — An increase from $2,700 to $4,450 for FY26. This is for Mr. Doody's longevity Increase for being 
employed with the Town for 30 years. 
Communication Specialist —An increase of $20,400 from $9,600 to $30,000 for FY26. Mr. Doody stated that this is the 
most significant request In the Executive Office budget. This request Is to add a 20-hour benefits eligible position to 
the Executive Office budget. He further stated that this position would manage the organization's communication, 
strategy and public image. He stated that the Town needs to do a better job in communicating clear, consistent, 
accurate, effective, timely information to the public. Some of the items that a Communications Specialist would handle 
right away would be to write press releases, create statements that the Select Board would issue, manage social media 
and correct misinformation that often is found on public websites, Facebook pages, blogs etc. Mr. Doody's experience 
over the past two years has made it clear that the Town really does not have the "bandwidth" to do this job effectively. 
Currently, Ms. Kemalian, Mr. Doody, Ms. Bogue and Ms. Levitsky try to manage the communications to the Town. 
Because of all the other responsibilities that they have it is difficult for them to manage the communications in a timely 
manner. They have experienced over the past few years the inability to react in a timely manner to correct inaccuracies 
that are in the various social media platforms. By the time their office becomes aware of these inaccuracies, it is often 
too late to correct. If information is not correct that day or that hour then it becomes too late. Mr. Doody stated that 
many of the residents consume information in a different way from different sources, in particular the young population, 
from social media, websites, blogs, YouTube, Instagram etc. It is his opinion that these platforms are the things that 
are missing from a communications standpoint. The Communications Specialist would be responsible for managing 
all the different platforms and making sure the Town is communicating effectively. 
The Town engages the services of a public relations firm in Canton called JGPR (John Guilfoyle Public Relations) for 
approximately $9,600 per year (contract expiring). The $9,600 will be shifted for the Communications Specialist Salary. 
The increase would be $20,400 for an annual FY26 salary of $30,000. 
Mr. Mauro, the Finance Committee Liaison to the Executive Office, spoke in support for the hiring of a Communications 
Specialist as a great opportunity for the Town to make sure that the Town has the communication capacity, especially 
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given the different outlets of communications today. He also stated that as a Finance Committee member and the 
Chair of the Master Plan Implementation Committee that this would be a great opportunity for public services, not just 
to correct information, but to let people know more effectively what is going on in the Town. He also sees this as an 
opportunity toincrease the public participation and opportunity to have full, correct information in a real time way. Inter - 
government communication can improve, as various committees and departments can have a better sense of what 
other departments are doing as well as getting their messages out as needed. 
Mr. Clough stated that it sounds like there may be three primary functions of the Communications Specialist position: 
to write press releases, to write Select Board statements and to correct misinformation on social media. He stated that 
he thinks this position is primarily geared toward being the "arbiter of truth on Facebook". He is concerned that this 
could be problematic for the Town to get Involved with and could have free speech implications and that they could 
continue to send messaging/information as they are now. It is his opinion that the $20,000 may be a waste and that 
the $10,000 would be sufficient to handle a press release per month. Further, having viewed the Canton related content 
on httos://Igpr.net/tag/canton, Mr. Clough noted only approximately a dozen posts in the last year by the current public 
relations firm. The funds proposed here could be used in other budgets, He is also concerned at the rate the Executive 
Office is growing with regard to spending as compared to the prior administration. He spoke in opposition of the $20,000 
appropriation for the Communications Specialist. 
Mr. Doody responded that Mr. Clough's comments were the reason why the Town needs a Communications Specialist 
because there Is so much going on in the Town and the Executive Office needs a Communications Specialist to 
communicate what is going on to the public more effectively. He also stated that the JGPR public relations firm released 
more than 12 press releases in a year and that one or two were related to the Police Audit and others were related to 
the Serenity Garden project, the Menorah Lighting, and the Veterans' breakfast, among other postings, but these posts 
did not meet the Town need for capacity. 
Ms. Kemalian wanted to make sure that Mr. Clough understood that this is not just a Communications Specialist for the 
Executive Office and that this position would be a Communications Specialist for the entire Town of Canton. The 
individual would not only be focused on the Executive Office and the Select Board but would also be focused on 
communications from all Town boards and committees, all Town -wide events and any matters that need to be 
communicated to residents and businesses not just for the Select Board. 
Mr. Clough responded that the Town is already compensating employees for posting on social media, such as the Paul 
Revere Heritage Site and the Community Preservation Committee in their roles for specific departments or committees 
respectively. In his opinion, this communications position is not necessary. 
Mr. Mauro assumes that the Communications Specialist would help the Town to expand communications capacity that 
the Town is unable to do at the current time and would allow better coordination of different departments 
communications and avoid inequities between departments 
Ms. Thomas commented on the website discussion and the Town's inability to keep the website up-to-date and have 
good, quality information that citizens would be looking for. 
Per Mr. Doody, the Communications Specialist would work closely with Mr. Jutras, Mr. Kelly and Ms. Musto of the 
Information Systems department for updating the website. 
Mr. Leonetti is supportive of the position request but having served on the Community Preservation Committee for 31/2 
years allocating millions of dollars on projects for the community, every year the primary question was how to inform 
the community of the funds that are available and how to engage the community in projects that are worthy of those 
funds. This was a consistent ask and need with a few individuals checking the website and posting in the Canton 
Citizen for general awareness of the funds. After having some experience on the Community Preservation Committee 
and after conducting a survey many years ago the members were starting to question if they were communicating to 
the public enough, given that they had not heard from the public for 6-7 years. 
Mr. Leonetti appreciates Mr. Clough's comments but stated that more speech is the answer for contributing to free 
speech and for those reasons 20 hours per week seems like a lot of time to "circle up" with the various Committee 
members to communicate with the public. He inquired if the Communications Specialist would be taking feedback and 
responding or would it be just outbound messages of press releases, and would the Specialist be engaging with the 
community or just messaging back to the community. 
Mr. Doody stated that the Community Specialist would have to be two-way communications, engaging department 
heads and committees to respond to their needs to get information out to the residents. 
Ms. Kemalian stated that there are many, many communities in Massachusetts that have Communications 
Specialists/Managers/Directors. If the funding is approved, the Executive Office would work with the HR Director and 
took at job descriptions from other Towns to see what would fit in Canton and how they are managed. Mr. Clough 
responded that he did some research and he could only find Cambridge and Boston that have a Communications 
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Specialists. He is concerned that the primary function other than issuing press releases and Select Board statements 
would be correcting misinformation. He does not think It Is in the government's capacity to be doing this, He cautions 
that it could be a messy situation getting into being "the arbiters of truth" on Facebook or Twitter and could have liabilities 
for the Town.' 
Mr. Doody appreciated everyone's comments and questions regarding the Communications Specialist position and 
that it was very informative. 
With regard to the expense budget for the Executive Office the following FY26 budget increases are being requested: 
Printing and Binding $300 increase from $700 to $1,000. 
Office Supplies $250 increase from $2,500 to $2,750. 
In -state Travel $1,300 increase from $3,700 to $5,000 (for Mass Municipal conferences). 
Dues & Memberships $200 increase from $5,100 to $5,300 for MMA dues. 
Vehicle Maintenance (new item) $1,500 
Mr. Doody agreed with Mr. Clough that the Massachusetts Municipal Association (MMA) is an excellent resource for 
information regarding a Communications Specialist as well as on-line training, various in -person conferences and 
services of that kind. Mr. Doody did not think the MMA offered any free communications services to the community 
comparable to the position being proposed in the budget, however, the MMA could be helpful in offering a job 
description services for the Communications Specialist. 
The FY26 budget request for the Executive Office represents a 5% increase over the FY26 base budget. 
Discussion —151 — Town Counsel — FY26 Budaet Reauest — No budget increase requested for FY26. 
Discussion —195 — Town Reports — FY26 Budget Request — $350 increase from $3,150 to $3,500 for FY26. 
Discussion — 244 Sealer of Weights & Measures — FY26 Budget Request — No budget increase requested for 
FY26. 
Discussion — 422 — Street Liahtina — FY26 Budget Reauest — No budget Increase requested for FY26. 
Discussion —946—Town Insurance— FY26 Budget Request — Mr. Doody turned the discussion for Town Insurance 
over to Ms. Kemalian, who has responsibility for this budget. Ms. Kemalian reported that the FY26 budget increase for 
the Town Insurance is approximately 4%. The increases for the various budget line items are estimates received from 
the Town's insurance agent. The insurance companies are reluctant to provide actual projections too far in advance 
but these are the estimates from the insurance broker who has committed to finding the best costs available for all of 
the policies when the time comes to sign off on the policies. The broker has committed to these estimates or less than 
these numbers and has committed not to go over these estimates. 
Returning to the previous discussion regarding a Communications Specialist, Mr. Leonetti inquired of Mr. Doody if $30 
per hour is enough for a skilled Communications Specialist. Mr. Doody stated that the position would not pay as high 
as in the private sector. He stated that a Communications Specialist for the government ranged from $66,000 to 
$110,000 per year. They did estimate on the lower end for the position to prove the concept. If they prove the concept 
then the hourly salary will increase down the road. The benefits for this position hold a value as well. 
Discussion — 910 — Employee Contract Benefit — FY26 Budget Request 
Ms. Middleton, HR Director, stated that Dept. 910 is the budget that holds all the employee contract benefits for unions 
and personal service contracts. For FY26, there is a new line item for good attendance ($24,000) for eight personal 
service contracts. There are approximately eight personal service contracts that do not currently receive this benefit. 
They are the only eight full-time employees within the Town side that did not have the good attendance benefit. At the 
end of the fiscal year, the employee receives a monetary benefit for their good attendance. This is to have internal 
equity for these eight employees. At the end of FY26, these payments would be made. The full amount of $24,000 is 
budgeted for FY26, but may not be paid out to all of the eight employees. 
Mr. Mauro thanked Mr. Doody, Ms. Kemalian and Ms. Middleton. 
Discussion — 145 — Treasurer/Collector— FY26 Budaet Reauest 
Mr. Scollins provided background information regarding the Treasurer/Collector FY26 budget request of $12,600. The 
non -contractual item being requested is for an increase in hours from 35 hours to 40 hours per week. The reason for 
this request is primarily for succession planning. When Mr. Scollins retires, his recommendation to the Select Board 
and Town Administrator is that the structure be changed, which is allowed under the By -Laws, that the Department 
have a Finance Director / Town Accountant and elevate the Assistant Treasurer/Collector to the Treasurer Collector 
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position. The reason for his recommendation is that it is the more common organizational structure in the state. Canton 
is a unique situation. Ms. Desjardins has been acting in her role as Assistant Treasurer/Collector for 20 years. 
Ms. Desjardin§ explained that her office has gained significant tasks recently. Rockland Trust, the Town's payroll and 
vendor bank, recently had a retirement in their Reconciliation Department and they do not plan to fill that position. 
Communities are now taking on the reconciliations within the Town rather than have the bank do the reconciliations. It 
will give her department more control and flexibility to be able to reconcile daily or weekly Instead of monthly. This will 
help her department to catch things early rather than waiting for the monthly statements to arrive. The other significant 
item that her department has taken on is the tax billing process. This used to reside with Mr. Jutras, the IT Director, 
and the responsibilities are now being included in the Assessing, Accounting and Tax Department. She is now handling 
the entire billing process from start to finish. The actual tax bills must be sent out in a timely manner or the Town will 
not be able to collect February's quarter. If the tax bills go out after December, the Town must wait until May to collect 
the payments, causing a cash flow problem. 
Mr. Scollins stated two other items that have added to the responsibilities to Ms. Desjardins office. The vendor and 
payroll bank have also added the responsibility of positive pay. Check files are sent to the bank which they cross 
reference all of the cashed checks against a file and if there are mismatches on the checks, it causes a daily 
routine/responsibility that used to be done by the bank. This function is being transferred by the bank to all towns. 
Another item that has changed is the tax title and foreclosure laws as a result of a U.S. Supreme Court decision. In a 
foreclosure, the Town cannot keep excess equity, it must be returned to the owner of the foreclosed property. The 
state has now changed the rules on the tax lien process which, among other things, will impact the timing of when the 
Town files a tax lien at the Registry of Deeds. The Town must now physically post a tax foreclosure notice physically 
on the property. 
Mr. Mauro thanked Ms. Desjardins and Mr. Scollins for all that they do with the tax collection process and services. 
Discussion — Article 22 —Amend General By -Law (CAASA) Article XVI Section 24 
Police Chief Rafferty is on the Canton Alliance Against Substance Abuse (CAASA) Committee. This article is to make 
a member of the Elder and Human Services Board a voting member on the CAASA Committee. Mr. Mauro inquired if 
it would be a concern to have the number of voting members on the CAASA Committee change from seven to an even 
number of eight members. Chief Rafferty did not see a problem with the even number. 
A motion made by Ms. Schutt that the Finance Committee recommend Article 22 as written in the warrant was 
seconded by Ms. Thomas. 
Mr. Clough stated his concern about the even number of voting members. Ms. Schutt stated that Chief Rafferty had 
already mentioned that to date there have been very few disputes or disagreements among the CAASA voting members 
and that it most likely would not be a problem. 
Roll Call Vote: 
Cindy Thomas Aye Dan Cole Aye 
Reukt Schutt Aye Dave Clough Aye 
John Leonetti Aye Emilio Mauro Aye 
Vote: 6.0.0. Ms. Thomas volunteered to write the ATM warrant discussion for Article 22. 
Discussion — 210 — Police Department 
Police Chief Rafferty is requesting the following budget increases for FY26: 
Sergeant Salary 
$90,757 
Patrol Salary 
$252,160 
Overtime Salary 
$24,000 
Training Overtime 
$200,000 
Shift Overtime 
$141,000 
Overtime Replacement 
$90,000 
Medical Exams —Transfer 
$1,978 
Equipment for Personnel 
$7,200 
Training Programs Transfer 
$10,000 
Paid Holidays 
$20,000 
New Traffic Sergeant to oversee Traffic Unit. 
4 new Patrol Officers. 
To keep up with Cost of Living Adjustments. 
To keep up with mandated training under POST standards. 
To cover shifts due to being down 6 Patrol Officers. 
ILOD, Military replacement and contract provisions. 
Transfer into this line item to offer physical & psychological exams. 
In anticipation of hiring three new Patrol Officers. 
Anticipate 6 new hires over FY26 — academy tuition & field OT. 
Contractual. 
Mr. Clough cited a newspaper article that appeared last year in he thought the Boston Herald that reported on Canton 
Police Department overtime. He had noted a large figure for annual overtime (perhaps $300,000 or $400,000) and he 
was wondering whether this large amount of overtime was in the operating budget, a result of police details, or some 
other source. Chief Rafferty had not seen the article but assumed the large number, if accurate, was a result of private 
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details beyond what was proposed in the operating budget for actual overtime, as a police detail assignment is an 
outside source from the operating budget, but might have been included in the cited figure. 
Mr. Clough also asked if the COLAs noted in the provided notes are part of overtime and wondered If that is part of 
Collective Bargaining Agreements rather than overtime pay. Chief Rafferty noted that while collective bargaining 
determines the salaries of police officers their overtime hourly rates reflect those contractual rates. However, the line 
item overtime requests do not always reflect the full contractual obligations for overtime when actually completed, which 
might be a reason for past deficits in the budget. Mr. Scollins also noted that what the chief mentioned was historically 
the case but there has been an effort to rectify this in recent years. Since he became the Finance Director, there has 
been an effort to allow overtime budgeting to reflect real salary requirements. However, there could still be some effects 
of that past practice, 
Mr. Cole, the Finance Committee Liaison to the Police Department, had an opportunity to meet with Chief Rafferty. 
Because the Police Chief is down six Police Officers and one on military leave the overtime budget line continues to be 
at a high cost in the budget. His suggestion is to be more aggressive at hiring new Patrol Officers. More Officers 
employed on a regular basis could help reduce the overtime costs. Mr. Cole believes there is a bit over 
counting/budgeting because of including hiring new Patrol Officers and Including additional overtime. Four additional 
Patrol Officers would be great but if not at least attempt to hire one or two additional Patrol Officers. 
Mr. Scollins confirmed that if the Town was able to hire four additional Patrol Officers next year the additional shift 
overtime increase would not be needed. 
Ms. Rafferty stated that if she had to pick only two items on her "wish list" of budget requests it would be to hire at least 
two Patrol Officers and $200,000 for Training Overtime. 
Mr. Cole inquired as to the rate that the Town is charging for police details and would these rates include overhead 
costs such as benefits, administration, etc. Mr. Scollins confirmed that there are no benefits associated with detail pay. 
These are private assignments, which are billed and collected through the Police Department and paid through the 
Town's payroll office. With regard to charging for overhead costs, the Town adds a percentage to every non -Town 
detail invoice (allowed to charge an administrative fee up to 10%). These receipts are a General Fund receipt. The 
administrative fee can be used to cover uncollectable invoices. 
Mr. Scollins noted, in response to Mr. Cole's question, that the forfeitures funds collected by the Police Department 
during an investigation or a raid are not appropriated funds and are considered Special Revenue Funds. The Police 
Chief has full discretion on how to spend these funds. 
If a result of the Police Audit is for more training for the Police Officers, the additional $200,000 being requested for 
FY26 could be used for this purpose. 
Mr. Leonetti inquired about the need for full-time School Resource Officers (SRO) in every elementary school. Chief 
Rafferty replied that it is her priority to have an SRO in every school given the complexities of the times we live in and 
the emotional difficulties of parents and students. Currently there is one SRO that covers the three elementary schools. 
If she were able to hire two Patrol Officers in FY26 she would utilize these two as Patrol Officers in the field because 
of the low staffing that she currently has. The SRO for the summer is rotated back into the regular Patrol Officers shift. 
Mr. Clough agreed with the Police Chief of having the SRO as being a lop priority. 
Mr. Clough was curious how potential costs of the findings of the pending Police Audit would be handled In this 
upcoming fiscal year's budget. Chief Rafferty speculated on what some of the audit -related cost focuses might be and 
she noted that some responses to findings might be worked into the next operating budget as well. Mr. Clough asked 
Chief Rafferty if she plans to remain chief during the course of the audit Implementation process and she said that she 
would like to do so. 
Discussion — 292 —Animal Control Department 
Asst. to Department Head Salary $15,000 Increase from $25,000 to $40,000. 
Reduction of Expenses-$2,500 
Chief Rafferty explained that a few years ago Chief Berkowitz and she decided not to fill the Assistant to the Department 
Head position for Animal Control and instead tried hiring students or individuals interested in veterinary services to work 
the part-time shifts on the weekends. Hiring individuals without offering benefits did not work out. By increasing the 
salary for this line item and offering benefits, the Chief is hopeful that the Town will be able to retain an employee In 
this Assistant to the Department for Animal Control position. 
Mr. Mauro thanked Chief Rafferty and the Police Department for their service. 
Discussion — Fire Department — F26 Budget Requests — Fire Chief Wendell Robery 
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