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(4-8-25 Document #5) DRAFT Fincom Report - MASTER COPY - 3-31-26
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Source page 1
Recommendations of the Finance Committee
to the Voters of Canton, Massachusetts
2026
TOWN OF CANTON
ANNUAL TOWN MEETING
MONDAY, MAY 11, 2026 at 7:00 p.m.
Morse Auditorium
Canton High School
900 Washington Street, Canton, MA
Study this report and come to Annual Town Meeting.
Bring this report with you.
_________________________________________________________
YOUR VOTE at Town Meeting is important
$173.5 million will be considered for
because it establishes the priorities for our schools,
appropriation by Canton Town Meeting
public works, public safety, town government and
Voters for Next Year’s expenditures.
future direction for our environment.
The Town, upon request, will endeavor, to the
greatest extent possible, to make available any
and all visual and audio devices and assistance for
the disabled. For more information, please call
781-821-5000.Source page 2
ANNUAL TOWN MEETING – MAY 11, 2026
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page #
Finance Committee Report ……………………………………………………….……… 4
Annual Town Meeting - Charts and Exhibits
Figure 1 – Historical Comparative Summary of Expense Growth
FY15-FY26 ……………………………………………………………………... 11
Figure 2 – Reserve Accounts & Bond Rating Agency Expectation ……….…… 12
Additional Sources of Funds ..……..……………………………………………………… 15
Town Finance Terminology …………………………………………………………………. 23
A Guide to Participating at Town Meeting …………………………………………….. 24
Note to All Voters Concerning Town Meeting Procedures ……………………….. 25
Summary of Revenue and Expenditures ……………………………………………….. 26
Revolving Funds ………………………………………………………………………………… 34
Vote to Transfer Available Funds ……………………………………………………….. 93-94
Operating Budget by Voting Category FY 2027 ……………………………………… 96
Operating Budget by Department – Detail FY 2027 …………..…………………… 98
Five-Year Municipal Capital Plan for FY 2027-2031 (includes self-supporting) 106
Five-Year School Committee Capital Plan for FY 2027-2031 …………………… 108
Annual Town Meeting Articles
Art. Page #
1 Elect a Moderator …………………………………………………………………………. 27
2 Adopt Rules to Govern Town Meeting …………………………………………………… 27
3 Hear Reports of Committees Appointed at Prior Town Meetings ……………… 29
4 Act on “Consent Agenda” ……………………………………………………………………. 30
5 Collective Bargaining Agreements under the Select Board ……………..……… 31
6 Personal Service Contracts under the Select Board ………………………….….. 31
7 Pay Bills of Prior Fiscal Year ……………………………………………………………….. 32
8 Adjust Fiscal 2026 Accounts ….……………………………………………………………. 32
9 Rescind Unused Borrowing Authorizations …………………………………………… 33
10 Appropriate Funds from Overlay Surplus Account ...……………………………..… 33
11 Authorize Certain Revolving Funds ...…………………….……………………………… 34
12 Insurance Proceeds ………………………………………………………………………..…. 35
13 Accept General or Session Laws Enacted by the General Court ………………… 35
14 Appropriation to Supplement Chapter 90 Program …………………………..……. 36
15 “Omnibus” Capital Outlay Program …………………………………….……….……..… 37
1Source page 3
ANNUAL TOWN MEETING – MAY 11, 2026
Annual Town Meeting Articles (cont’d.)
Art. Page #
16 Funding for Annual July 4th Community Celebration ………………..…………….. 58
17 Recommendations of the Community Preservation Committee ………………. 58
18 Appropriation to Increase Capital Stabilization Account …………….…………. 66
19 Appropriation to Increase Special Education Reserve Account ……………….. 66
20 Appropriation to Create Safe Streets ………..………………………………………….. 67
21 Appropriation for Gridley Cemetery Repair ………………………………………….… 67
22 Special Act Request Authorizing Municipal Charge Liens ………………………… 68
23 Bylaw Modernization Study Committee Extension ………..……………………….. 69
24 Amend General Bylaw Article IV – Moderator …………………………..…….………. 69
25 Amend General Bylaw Article IV – Voting ……………………………………………… 70
26 Amend General Bylaw Article IV – Reconsideration …………………………………. 71
27 Amend General Bylaw Article XIV Police Regulations – Obstructions ….…….. 71
28 Amend General Bylaw Article XVI Miscellaneous Bylaw – Trailer Bylaw ……. 72
29 Amend General Bylaw Article XVII Hazardous Materials - Penalty & Fees ..… 72
30 Amend General Bylaw Article XIV Police Regulations – Water Wells ……..….. 73
31 Amend General Bylaw Article XVI Miscellaneous Bylaw – Regulating Smoking 74
32 Amend General By-Law Article XXI Stormwater Management.. …..…..……..… 75
33 Amend General Bylaw Article XXIII Stretch Specialized Energy Code ..…….. 81
34 Vote to Accept Stillwater Road as a Town Way ………………………………………. 82
35 Vote to Accept Foundry Lane as a Town Way ………………………………………… 83
36 Vote to Accept Dalebrook Court as a Town Way ………………………………..…… 85
37 Vote to Accept Stonewood Drive as a Town Way …………………………………….. 86
38 Vote to Accept Isabella Circle as a Town Way ……………………………………… 86
39 Vote to Accept Holly Way as a Town Way ……………………………………………. 87
40 Rescind Prior Vote Taken on Article 38 of 2006 Annual Town Meeting ……… 88
41 Accept MGL Ch.31 61A 61B ………………………………………………………………… 88
42 Accept MGL Ch.44 53F 1/2 .………………………………………………………………... 88
43 Amend Zoning Bylaw Section 8.1 …………………………………………………………. 89
44 Amend Zoning Bylaw Section 11.0 ………………………………………………………. 90
45 Amend Zoning Map by Removing CCEOD A …………………………………………… 91
46 Amend Zoning Map by Removing CCEOD B …………………………………………… 91
47 Amend Zoning Map by Removing CCEOD C ………………………………………….. 92
48 Appropriate Funds to Meet the Expenses for Next Fiscal Year (FY27) ..……. 93
2Source page 4
ANNUAL TOWN MEETING – MAY 11, 2026
Finance Committee Report
Fiscal Year 2027 Proposed Budget and Overview
The Finance Committee would like to acknowledge the elected officials, committee
members, and municipal and school personnel, who all work hard to balance the needs
of the town with the resources available. Canton’s history of sound fiscal management,
collaborative relationships across municipal government and the school department,
along with infusions of funding from the state and federal government, have allowed us
to maintain, and in several areas enhance services. Canton remains in a strong financial
position.
Finance Committee Discussions
The voters should read the Finance Committee discussions on each article. The
discussions that follow each motion are intended to give insight into the Committee's
decisions and the considerations inherent in each motion. In some cases, when a vote
is not unanimous, a minority discussion may be provided offering the voter an additional
perspective on the article. It should be noted that a vote to "postpone indefinitely" may
occur for a variety of reasons. This can occur when the information needed for a vote was
not available at the time of the vote, or because a decision was made by the article’s
sponsor to postpone the article, or because the article required no action.
Select Board Positions
The Select Board has put forward their positions on certain articles. We have included in
the report their conclusions and recommendations regarding articles that relate to their
general superintendence over the administration of town affairs.
Other Board and Committee Positions
The Finance Committee has also included in the report the conclusions and
recommendations of the Canton Community Preservation Committee, Capital Planning
Committee, and the Planning Board, respectively, regarding articles under each of their
purviews or scopes. The Canton Community Preservation Committee and the Planning
Board are allowed, under applicable laws, to make their recommended motions directly
to the Town Meeting while the Capital Planning Committee makes its recommendations
directly to the Finance Committee.
Fiscal Year 2027 Proposed Operating Budget
Article 48 provides a detailed budget for fiscal year 2027 (FY27). The Finance Committee
is recommending an FY27 general fund operating budget of $133.7 million, and combined
enterprise fund operating budgets of ~$19.6 million. The FY27 budget proposed by the
Finance Committee continues Canton’s sound fiscal management that has put us in a
position to both maintain and enhance services.
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ANNUAL TOWN MEETING – MAY 11, 2026
The $133.7 million FY27 budget recommended by the Finance Committee in this year’s
warrant is expected to maintain and modestly enhance our current level of services, fund
contractual increases to our public employees,
Finance Committee Budget
continue building a central maintenance model for Recommendations
the municipal buildings, and address rising special • $7.54 Million Increase in Operating
education costs. The recommended operating Budgets, which includes:
budget represents a 5.97% increase over the FY26 • $2.99 Million School Budget Increase
budget approved at the 2025 Annual Town • $1.60 Million Municipal Budget Increase
Meeting (ATM). This includes a 5.05% increase in • $2.95 Million Increase in Fixed Costs
the School Operating Budget, a 5.47% increase to the Municipal Operating Budget and
a 7.8% increase in fixed costs. Overall, the Finance Committee recommends that the
School Department receive an additional $2.99 million and the Municipal Operating
Budget an additional $1.6 million increase from FY26.
Each year, the Town’s cross functional Revenue Forecasting Committee meets in late
January or early February, after the release of the Governor’s proposed state budget, to
forecast the expected Town General Fund revenues for the next fiscal year. These
revenue sources include property taxes, state aid, and local receipts (such as motor
vehicle excise taxes, hotel and meals taxes, interest, fees and payments in lieu of taxes).
By intention, the Revenue Forecasting Committee estimates revenue to support the
general fund operating budgets conservatively, to maximize the likelihood that actual
revenue won’t fall short of the budget plan, ensuring that the Town “lives within its means”.
The Finance Committee uses this revenue forecast, as well as information on fixed costs
(including health insurance, pension, debt service, trash collection and insurance) to set
targets for the Municipal and School Operating Budgets. The FY27 recommended
Municipal and School Operating Budgets are aligned with the targets set by the Finance
Committee, based on the Revenue Committee forecast, and are $30,958,783 for
Municipal Departments and $62,175,614 for the School Department.
The FY27 budget recommended by the Finance Committee assumes that property taxes
will be increased $1.85 million less
2026 Residential Tax Rate: $9.75 Per Thousand
than the maximum allowed under • $4.49 School Operating and Capital
Proposition 2 ½ (76.6% of General • $2.27 Municipal Operating and Capital
Fund revenue). FY27 will be the • $2.87 Fixed Costs
sixth year of the 30-year payment in • $0.12 State & County Charges
lieu of taxes (PILOT) agreement with
the newly combined Tufts Health Plan and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Organization,
now Point32Health, establishing their new corporate headquarters in Canton at the former
Reebok site. This health care company is recognized as a not-for-profit organization and
it is therefore not subject to property taxes. However, with the PILOT agreement, they
have agreed to annually contribute to the Town’s recurring revenue stream with the
starting amount of $1.6 million, with 3% increases annually. Although this amount is no
longer considered property tax, it is considered a local receipt and is included in that
revenue category. The Tax Levy Limit does not decrease under Proposition 2½ rules
when a property’s taxable status changes. However, in fairness to all Canton property
tax payers, it is appropriate to reduce the tax levy by the revenue amount shifting from
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ANNUAL TOWN MEETING – MAY 11, 2026
taxes to local receipts. However, with a new debt exclusion now approved, it will be
appropriate to use this unused levy capacity to offset the amount needed for the new
Galvin Middle School debt exclusion. The revenue forecast does project a $1.2 million
increase in new property tax growth in FY27. The current FY26 residential tax rate is
$9.75 per thousand dollars of assessed value and the commercial rate is $19.67 per
thousand dollars of assessed value, and are reassessed during each fiscal year. This
duel rate system allows more tax relief for residents by having a higher tax rate for
commercial properties while still promoting new growth in Town.
Local receipts (9.5% of General Fund revenue), including the $1.85 million shift of
property tax revenue to local receipts, are budgeted $1.79 million, or ~15.9%, higher than
FY26. Hotel and Meals Excise Taxes for the fourth year in a row are the highest they
have ever been in the Town’s history. This appears to reflect an economy that has
recovered from the pandemic, at least in these two sectors, at this point in time.
In addition, a silver lining of the past years’ 5.25% increases in interest rates is the Town’s
Interest Income performance. Interest Income has not been at the current levels for 17
years, as rates have been abnormally low since the 2008 world economic crisis. However
so far this fiscal year the Federal Reserve has made three additional quarter point
reductions to the bench mark interest rate, currently at 3.75%, down 1.75% from the 5.5%
peak at July 2023. However future changes are uncertain given the state of global affairs.
The Governor issued her proposed FY27 State Aid budget (~9.4% of General Fund
revenue) this past January. The Governor’s proposal recommends a meager $228.5
thousand, or 2.1% increase over the FY26 State Aid budget for the Town. Proposed
Education related aid increased 1.4%, or $138 thousand, and General Government
related aid increased 3.3%, or $99 thousand.
A disappointing trend has developed with the current Governor's approach to local aid.
Historically the Governor's proposed State Aid budget released in January could be relied
upon for municipal budgeting. Historically the State Legislature has voted the
Governor's Ch. 70 (Education) & UGGA (General Government) aid to be unchanged
throughout the six month budget process to provide municipalities certainty on 97% of the
State Aid proposal. Unfortunately for the third year in row this Governor has ended that
long standing practice, considered a cornerstone of the State / Municipal partnership,
creating unnecessary challenges for local governments setting their budgets.
Economists for the State have settled on a consensus of an overall 2.4% increase in State
revenues in fiscal 2027, excluding 0.5% in the new so called “Fair Share” tax. This
expected increase in State Revenues is slightly higher than the 2.1% increase reflected
in the Governor’s proposal for Canton and is expected to translate in corresponding
increases to municipal State Aid. Consequently, based on the pattern that has emerged,
we have applied the 2.4% increase to the Town’s expected FY27 State Aid instead of the
Governor’s 2.1% proposal. The result is the Town budget estimate for FY27 is $66,350
more than proposed in the Governor’s budget.
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ANNUAL TOWN MEETING – MAY 11, 2026
We are confident in this approach due to the fact that the FY 2025 final State Aid budget
resulted in a $222,244 increase to Canton’s State Aid beyond the Governor’s proposal.
That resulted in having to go back to the Special Town Meeting in November of 2024 to
appropriate these funds for the School department. This same situation has played out
again in FY 2026, resulting in a proposed warrant article at this May Town Meeting to
appropriate $152,995 for the School department.
Enterprise Fund Budgets
The recommended Water Enterprise Fund operating budget is an increase of 7.95%, to
$10.77 million. The increase is primarily due to increases in debt service payments
associated with authorized infrastructure improvements. In order to reduce reliance on
borrowing, the Water Enterprise strategy is to build a working capital cash reserve
sufficient enough to borrow for a smaller percentage of capital investments.
The recommended budget for the Sewer Enterprise Fund is $8.4 million, an increase of
11.5%. The increase is due primarily to three factors: 1) increases in debt service
payments associated with authorized infrastructure improvements; 2) an increase in the
Massachusetts Water Resources Authority assessment; and 3) the transfer of wages
associated with Department of Public Works employees who are working primarily on the
Town’s Stormwater efforts.
This current fiscal year, FY26, is the first year the Town has implemented a new
Stormwater utility fee, by vote of the Select Board, to fund essential improvements to its
aging drainage system and meet mandatory federal environmental regulations (EPA MS4
permits). This fee, calculated based on a property's impervious surface area, ensures that
all property owners, including tax-exempt entities, contribute to managing runoff that
causes flooding and pollution.
Now that the Town is collecting this fee, it is aligning its Stormwater operating and capital
costs with the Stormwater division. The existing Stormwater drainage system is in
addition to and parallel to the Town’s Sewer drainage system. State law allows both the
Sewer and Stormwater funds to operate within the same Sewer Enterprise fund, which is
how the Town is operating. Since this is the first year of collecting Stormwater revenue
and aligning operating and capital expenses directly with that revenue, the Finance
department is identifying and coding all Stormwater revenues and expenses so that
reporting can be provided for the Stormwater and Sewer divisions separately starting in
Fiscal 2027.
The recommended budget for the Rink Enterprise Fund has been set at $488,168. This
reflects a 1.2% increase related entirely to an increase in the annual rental fee paid to the
Department of Conservation & Recreation (DCR).
Bond Rating
In July of 2025, Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings assigned its AAA long-term rating to
the 2025 Canton general obligation (GO) municipal purpose bonds and affirmed the same
rating on Canton’s GO bonds outstanding, reflecting the Town’s solid financial position
6Source page 8
ANNUAL TOWN MEETING – MAY 11, 2026
and practices. This is the highest bond rating afforded to municipalities in the United
States and is even higher than the rating assigned to the United States government. It is
assigned only to entities that consistently demonstrate sound fiscal management. This
rating allows the Town to borrow money for capital projects at the lowest available interest
rates.
The estimated total reserve amount, a key benchmark for rating agencies, at the end of
Town Meeting is projected to be $22.3 million, or 16.49% of the FY26 General Fund
Budgeted Expenditures. The benchmark rating agencies look for is 15%. Given the
budget balancing challenges facing the Town in FY27, we are conserving slightly more
reserves than the benchmark expectation because we expect Free Cash recharge in
FY27 to be less than it has been over the last several years. This restraint in spending
will be to the Town’s advantage when developing fiscal 2028 operating and capital
budgets.
Historical Perspective on Canton's Finances
Since the economy has rebounded from the impacts of the pandemic, the Finance
Committee has continued its efforts to balance maintaining and enhancing services at a
sustainable rate. We continue to address our Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB)
and Pension liabilities, maintaining our infrastructure, and preserving funds needed to
weather economic downturns that come without warning and last for unknown durations.
Fiscal Year 2024 – (7/1/2023 – 6/30/2024)
At the 2023 Annual Town Meeting voters approved an FY24 budget based on $118.3
million in forecasted revenue and $123.0 million in forecasted expenses. The expenses
were budgeted higher than revenue by $4.6 million by providing supplemental funding for
the Library Roof/HVAC project ($1.17MM); Capital Stabilization account ($1.0MM);
Special Education Reserve account ($1.0MM); Chapter 90 Roads Supplement ($740K);
Land Acquisition at 27 Neponset St. for Downtown parking ($320K); Capital Budget
Contingency ($250K); Police contract Education Incentive Stipends ($76K); July 4th
Community Celebration ($35K); and replenishing the Community Recognition Fund
($2.5K) from Free Cash. In addition, at the November 2023 Special Town Meeting voters
approved an additional $200 thousand from Free Cash for a policy, procedure and
governance compliance audit of the Police department.
Fiscal Year 2024 was a solid year for the Town, financially speaking, with revenues
coming in ahead of expenditures by $617.6 thousand. Compared to the budgeted deficit
of $4.8 million the total FY24 operating surplus was $5.4 million better than plan.
Property Tax revenue collections for FY24 were $335 thousand less than budget. The
collection rate of 99.19% on FY24 net property taxes in FY24 was 0.44% less than FY23.
The collection rate is typically over 99%. As of this writing, the FY24 collection rate is
99.64% of the net tax levy after abatements.
7Source page 9
ANNUAL TOWN MEETING – MAY 11, 2026
“New Property Tax Growth” came in higher than plan. Real Estate and Personal Property
New Growth taxes were $1.12 million better than plan and $82.3 thousand less than plan,
respectively, or $1,038,341 better than plan combined.
Local Receipts continued their strong performance in FY24, beating budget by $4.61
million and the prior year by $731 thousand. The expectation was that at least $1.5 million
in excess local receipts would be collected, consistent with prior financial plans, in order
to “recharge” Free Cash.
Notable again, Earnings on Investments beat budget by $2.15 million, a 71%
improvement over the prior year. This was the highest interest earnings on record for the
Town, and it was a function of the Federal Funds Target Rate increasing from 1.75% at
7/1/22 to 5.25% at 6/30/23, or 300%. That rate was then increased to 5.5% in July of
2023 and maintained for the entirety of FY24, 7/1/23 – 6/30/24. The Town’s Treasury
division continued to actively manage its cash investments to take advantage of this likely
temporary and no risk earnings opportunity.
Other notable increases included Motor Vehicle Excise beating budget by $1.28 million,
reflecting a 6.7% improvement over prior year. Meals Excise tax also beat budget
significantly by $448 thousand, a 15.9% increase compared to the prior year and reaching
a new high, reflecting a partial year impact of the newly arrived Top Golf. Hotel Excise
also had a record year, besting the budget by $405 thousand and setting a new high.
Building and Related Permits came in better than budget by $159 thousand. School
Medicaid Reimbursements, a highly variable revenue source, were better than budget by
$117 thousand. All Other 10 Local Receipts categories combined were a net $44
thousand better than budget.
State Aid came in $11 thousand higher than budget, with $21.8 thousand associated with
net increases in General Government accounts, and -$10.8 thousand associated with
decreases in Education accounts.
Funding from Transfers was better than plan by $485,079 entirely related to the rate
received on Net Metering Credits (NMC) being the second highest on record since the
Pine Street Solar Farm was constructed. The NMC rates do vary, as they are impacted
by market prices, which are reset twice per year by the Department of Public Utilities
(DPU). The FY24 average NMC rate was $0.2895 per Kilowatt, or $0.0294 less than the
FY23 average rate of $0.3189 per Kilowatt.
On the Expenditure side, it was another positive year with ~$1.13 million in appropriation
turn backs for FY ’24 and prior year encumbrances. As a result of all these factors,
reserve levels increased $1.17 million to 20.14% of FY25 expense budgets.
Fiscal Year 2025 – (7/1/2024 – 6/30/2025)
At the 2024 Annual Town Meeting voters approved an FY25 budget based on $123.99
million in forecasted revenue and $130.28 million in forecasted expenses. The expenses
were budgeted higher than revenue by $6.4 million by providing supplemental funding for
8Source page 10
ANNUAL TOWN MEETING – MAY 11, 2026
Public Safety Communications Upgrade ($1.62MM); Special Education Reserve account
($1.6MM); Capital Stabilization account ($1.0MM); Chapter 90 Roads Supplement
($1.0MM); 1860 Washington St. Redevelopment Capital Stabilization account ($1.0MM);
July 4th Celebration ($35K); By-Law Modernization Committee ($22K); Conservation Land
Fund ($7.5K); and Community Recognition ($5K) from Free Cash.
In addition, at a Special Town Meeting in November of 2024, voters approved a $222,244
supplemental appropriation for the School department, as a result of the legislature
increasing the Governor’s proposed Chapter 70 Education aid budget in the final
approved State budget in July of 2024. Also, voters approved an additional $1.6 million
from Free Cash for the School Department Special Education Reserve account in
response to extraordinary increases experienced with these costs.
Fiscal 2025 was a positive year for the Town, financially speaking, with revenues coming
in less than expenditures by $1,026,351. Compared to the budgeted deficit of $6.4 million
the total FY 2025 operating surplus was $5.4 million better than plan.
Property Tax revenue collections for FY25 were $266 thousand more than budget. The
collection rate of 100.0% on FY25 net property taxes in FY25 was 0.81% more than FY24.
The collection rate is typically over 99%. As of this writing, the FY25 collection rate is
99.8% of the net tax levy as a result of abatements.
“New Property Tax Growth” came in higher than plan. Real Estate and Personal Property
New Growth taxes were $390 thousand and $232 thousand better than plan, respectively,
or $622,221 better than plan combined.
Local Receipts continued their strong performance in FY25, beating budget by $4.18
million and the prior year by $484 thousand. The expectation was that at least $1.5 million
in excess local receipts would be collected, consistent with prior financial plans, in order
to “recharge” Free Cash.
Notable again, Earnings on Investments beat budget by $1.56 million. This was an 18%
decline from the prior year, but the second highest interest earnings on record for the
Town. This was a function of the Federal Funds Target Rate decreasing from 5.5% at
7/1/24 to 4.5% at 6/30/25, or -18%. The Town’s Treasury division continued to actively
manage its cash investments to take advantage of this temporary and no risk earnings
opportunity.
Other notable Local Receipts increases included Motor Vehicle Excise beating budget by
$1.3 million, reflecting a 9.5% improvement over prior year. Building and Related Permits
came in better than budget by $248 thousand. Meals Excise tax also beat budget by
$237 thousand, a 13% increase compared to the prior year and reaching a new high,
reflecting a full year impact of Top Golf. School Medicaid Reimbursements, a highly
variable revenue source, were better than budget by $225 thousand. Payments In Lieu
of Taxes were higher than budget by $151 thousand. Hotel Excise also had its second
best year, besting the budget by $138 thousand. Penalties and Interest beat budget by
9Source page 11
ANNUAL TOWN MEETING – MAY 11, 2026
$130 thousand. Miscellaneous Receipts came in higher than budget by $94 thousand
with the entire variance associated with a 111F workers compensation reimbursement.
All Other 6 Local Receipts categories combined were a net $51 thousand better than
budget.
State Aid came in $58.8K higher than budget, with $55.4K associated with net increases
in General Government accounts, and $3.4K associated with increases in Education
accounts.
Funding from Transfers were less than plan by $32,415 due to multiple negative trends
related to the Town’s solar fields. First, the weighted average rate received for Net
Metering Credits (NMC) was down from prior year by 2.55 cents per kilowatt. The NMC
rates do vary as they are impacted by market prices, which are reset twice per year by
the DPU. Second, total kilowatts generated by the solar fields was down by 105,240
Kwh’s, or 1.66%. Third, the rate paid to the solar company for the Kwh’s increased by
0.99 cents, or 4.17% as per the contractual agreement.
On the Expenditure side it was another positive year with $504,718 in appropriation turn
backs for FY ’25 from 12 different department budgets. As a result of all these factors,
reserve levels decreased $769 thousand to 18.18% of FY26 expense budgets, the lowest
percentage since fiscal year end 2020.
Fiscal Year 2026 – (7/1/2025 – 6/30/2026)
At the 2025 Annual Town Meeting voters approved an FY26 general fund operating
budget based on $129.67 million in forecasted revenue and $135.6 million in forecasted
expenses. Expenses were budgeted higher than revenue by $5.85 million by providing;
$2.168 million towards the Library Interior Renovation; $1 million in supplemental funding
for the SPED Reserve; $1 million for Capital Stabilization for Galvin Middle School
construction debt service costs; $818 thousand in a Ch. 90 Roads Supplement; $50
thousand for the 4th of July Celebration; $20 thousand for the By-Law Modernization
Committee; and $15 thousand for a Master Plan Consultant; $653 thousand
reappropriated from surplus in three previously funded capital projects for FY26 capital
projects; less $131 thousand in reductions to Municipal Cash Capital projects.
We are anticipating local receipts to continue their strong performance at predictable
sustainable levels. The Town budgeted conservatively, however, so that local receipts
can support the FY26 budget and replenish Free Cash reserves as per the Town’s long
standing practice. Overall, we anticipate the Town’s cash reserves to be maintained at
or above the 15% of expenses target.
It is the Town’s conservative approach to budgeting revenues that is responsible for this
expected result. Not knowing what the next year will bring, or when the next economic
crisis will come or how long it will last, should be major factors influencing the Town’s
continued conservative approach to maintaining its solid financial footing.
10Source page 12
ANNUAL TOWN MEETING – MAY 11, 2026
Historical Review of Expenses
Figure 1 provides an historical view of the relative level of expenses between the School
Department, the Municipal government, and Fixed Costs (i.e., health care, pension, debt
service, etc.). School expenses have increased 5.0% on average annually since FY15,
while municipal expenses have increased 4.8%. Fixed costs have increased 4.3% on
average. Total expenses have increased 4.7% on average. The Finance Committee has
historically noted that managing employee benefit costs is a critical component in
managing the Town’s financial stress. It should also be obvious that increasing the
number of Town employees has a direct impact on the fixed cost budget. The Town has
historically worked with its municipal and school employees to mitigate the rising cost of
healthcare, pension and OPEB, which now comprise about 18.9% of the Town’s overall
budget, down from 20%.
The slightly higher rate of increase in School department expenses can be attributed to
an increase in special education costs and the steps, lanes, and longevity increases built
into the teacher contracts. Municipal and school employee contracts include increases
for employees for longevity, steps (years served) and lanes (promotions or the amount of
post-graduate education for teachers), even when there is no cost of living adjustment
(COLA). When there is a COLA, employees can receive both. The School Department
contracts include more steps than the municipal contracts, and have more lanes with no
restrictions on the number of employees that can receive the promotional increases.
Both the Municipal and School budgets contain “wild cards”, line items that cannot be
accurately predicted in advance. In the case of the Municipal budget, the amounts
required for Snow and Ice removal and for public safety overtime, respectively, are
examples. For the Schools, it is the federally mandated costs for students with special
education (SPED) needs, particularly in cases where those needs cannot be met within
the district and it is simply not possible to predict when such students will move into or
out of the district, or when the needs of existing students will change, potentially causing
variances between budgeted and actual costs. Also, the current surge in the costs of
transportation, equipment, and materials is a challenge impacting both School &
Municipal expenses.
11Source page 13
ANNUAL TOWN MEETING – MAY 11, 2026
Status of the Town's Reserves
Budget variances are inevitable. The Town's reserves
Free Cash - This is a misunderstood
protect against unexpected costs exceeding the
term created by the Dept. of Revenue
(DOR). It represents the budgets approved at Annual Town Meeting. The
“Undesignated Fund Balance” in the General Fund’s operating budget includes $600,000
General Fund. It should only be used for the Finance Committee Reserve account, which
for one-time costs or for extraordinary can cover extraordinary or unforeseen expenditures.
expenses. Using "Free Cash" to
Any remaining balance in this account is transferred
regularly fund operating budgets
should be avoided if at all possible. It to Free Cash at fiscal year-end as in previous years.
is generated primarily from revenues
received in excess of budgeted The Town also maintains three sources of permanent
revenues and from underspent budget "reserves" (savings accounts) that serve as potential
appropriations. It is certified annually
sources to fund one-time or unplanned extraordinary
by the DOR and is reduced by deficits
in any town account or impacted expenses. Figure 2 displays the Town's historical
positively or negatively by changes in reserve balances. Free Cash requires a majority vote
tax receivables balances. at town meeting to be appropriated. The Stabilization
Fund requires a 2/3rds vote at town meeting to be
appropriated. The Assessor’s Overlay Reserve Fund is included in Figure 2 as a
Reserve, although it is not all available for appropriation. The Overlay Reserve is the fund
used for paying tax exemptions and abatements. It can only be accessed for other
purposes if an overlay surplus is declared by the Board of Assessors. This results in a
release of money from the Overlay Reserve Fund into the Overlay Surplus account. The
Town estimates potential Overlay Surplus by reducing the Overlay Reserve for estimated
exemptions and abatements. At the beginning of Fiscal Year 2026, the Town’s
permanent reserves were $25.38 million, or 18.78% of expenses before any
appropriations in Fiscal Year 2026.
Figure 2: Reserve Accounts & Bond Rating Agency Expectation
(in millions)
$30.0
$25.0
$4.7
$4.4 $5.1
$3.2 $4.2
$20.0
$2.3
$10.5
millions
$15.0 $2.5 $10.3 $11.2
$3.7 $3.8 $10.1 $10.0
$4.3
$3.0 $9.4
$10.0 $8.5 $20.3
$7.0 $7.7
$5.6 $6.3
$5.0 $10.2 $10.9
$8.8 $9.0 $9.1
$5.7 $6.6
$3.8 $4.2 $4.9 $4.4
$0.0
7/1/15 7/1/16 7/1/17 7/1/18 7/1/19 7/1/20 7/1/21 7/1/22 7/1/23 7/1/24 Bond 7/1/25
Rating
Free Cash Reserves Stabilization Fund Overlay Reserves Agency
Target
In addition to providing a possible source of funding for one-time expenditures, or
unforeseen or extraordinary one-time emergency situations, the reserve funds are viewed
12Source page 14
ANNUAL TOWN MEETING – MAY 11, 2026
as a collateral source when rating agencies determine the Town's bond rating. Bond
rating agencies look for a reserve of 15% of expenses for AAA rated communities.
Canton's prudent fiscal management has allowed the Town to earn the highest long-term
bond rating (Standard & Poor's AAA) offered to municipalities in the United States. This
allows Canton to issue bonds for debt capital projects at the most favorable interest rates.
The Town would incur increased borrowing costs if a downgrade in Canton's bond rating
were to occur. A downgrade in the Town's bond rating results in higher interest rates for
new borrowing. Each downgrade can represent an increase of approximately 25 to 50
basis points or 0.25% to 0.50%. Each year, the Annual Town Meeting approves
approximately $4.0 to $5.0 million of additional debt for capital projects, some years
higher, some lower. The Town has begun to borrow much larger amounts for the
construction of the new Galvin Middle School. Maintaining a AAA rating is in the
taxpayers’ best interest for this debt-excluded project, as it will result in direct savings to
taxpayers. A 0.25% to 0.50% increase in interest rate equates to approximately a
$26,000 to $52,000 increase in the cost to borrow $1 million over the life of a 20-year
bond.
The Finance Committee recommended that the Town strengthen its reserve position
during the years following the 2008 general property
Assessor’s Overlay - This account
sets aside funds for property tax tax override. Figure 2 above shows that Canton’s
exemptions and abatements. reserves have grown from $12.4 million at the end of
However, if the Assessors declare a FY14 to $25.38 million at the end of FY25. Reserves
surplus, funds can be released for were used during economic downturns to reduce the
appropriation by Town Meeting.
impacts to operating budgets and related services as
While we consider the entire overlay
balance as a cash reserve, much of well as to cover one-time expenses. As the economy
it may be needed for future turned around, the Town took steps to grow and
abatements granted by the Board of maintain these reserves and not use them for
Assessors. operating budgets.
The Finance Committee adopted a policy, in a year of surplus, to recommend increasing
the Town’s reserves by 1% (of expenses) per year until reaching 15%. Amounts above
this target can be reinvested into the Town’s requirements, such as needed capital
projects (e.g., roads and buildings) along with funding other liabilities.
Since reserves are above the targeted level for FY26, in addition to maintaining our
reserves at 15.0%, the Finance Committee recommends $3.1 million in funds be used to
address several items including: Addition to the Special Education Reserve account -
$1.0 million (Article 19); Addition to the Galvin Middle School Capital Stabilization account
- $1.0 million (Article 18); Road Improvements Chapter 90 Supplement – $600 thousand
(Article 14); Library Interior Renovation $408 thousand – (Article 15 Motion 7); Police
Contract supplemental funding - $50 thousand (Article 5); July 4th community celebration
- $25 thousand (Article 16); Gridley Cemetery Repair for the Historical Commission - $20
thousand (Article 21).
13Source page 15
ANNUAL TOWN MEETING – MAY 11, 2026
Additional Fund Sources
The Federal government passed legislation in 2021 known as the American Rescue Plan
Act (ARPA). These funds have been available to Canton from the U.S. Treasury to
continue to address cost, revenue, and other impacts of the pandemic. ARPA funds are
more substantial than the $2.1 million that was received through the CARES Act. The
Town of Canton was allocated $2,491,635 in ARPA funds as a direct recipient. 100% of
these funds have been received. In addition, Norfolk County (the county government
itself) was allocated $137 million to be shared with its 28 member communities on a per
capita basis. Canton’s share of these Norfolk County funds, as a subrecipient, is
$4,485,127 and have also been applied for and received. Combined, the Town received
$6.97 million. These funds were required to be committed by December of 2024 and fully
expended by December of 2026. The Town has fully committed these funds by the
December 2024 deadline. Most projects have completely spent their funds, but others
with longer project timelines continue to be expended, with $110 thousand remaining to
be spent in total as of this writing. All funds are expected to be expended by the December
2026 Federal deadline.
There are six specific categories within which the ARPA funds can be expended. Those
categories are: 1) Public Health; 2) Negative Economic Impacts; 3) Services to
Disproportionately Impacted Communities; 4) Premium Pay; 5) Infrastructure; and 6)
Revenue Replacement.
The Select Board is the authorizing authority for use of all of the ARPA funds. However,
when using funds coming from Norfolk County, the County Commissioners have
established a thorough vetting process to ensure the intended use of the funds requested
are compliant with the strict eligibility requirements established by Treasury. Lack of
compliance can result in the Treasury taking back the related funds, even if they’ve
already been spent, creating potential financial risks for the community and the County.
Accordingly, the reporting requirements on the use of these funds are complicated,
onerous, and continuing.
Given that these are “one-time” funds, and not recurring revenues, it is a best practice to
not rely on these funds to support expenses that will require a continuation of funding
once the ARPA funds are fully expended. Accordingly, departments and community
members have submitted requests in line with this expectation.
The Select Board has voted to allocate 100% of the $6.97 million in ARPA funds for 22
meaningful projects across each of the six expenditure categories. Within these funds,
there was ~$340 Thousand where two of the projects could not be contractually obligated
by the December 2024 deadline or where projects came in under budget. The Select
Board reauthorized these funds for a broad range of 14 smaller projects in need of funds
that could be committed by the deadline. In summary, the ARPA funds represented ~$7
million in funding for the Town’s priorities that it otherwise would not have had.
14Source page 16
ANNUAL TOWN MEETING – MAY 11, 2026
In addition to our reserves, the Town also has several other sources of funds. These
funds may be controlled by Town Meeting, by a board, or by a committee. Often, the use
of these funds is restricted by state or federal law. In some cases, the funds can be spent
for “any lawful purpose” if the Town hasn’t earmarked them for certain expenses. Finally,
due to the timing of inflows and outflows from the funds, the balances can vary greatly
throughout the year. The table below is not an exhaustive list of funds, and generally
includes those funds with more than $100,000 and that do not include encumbrances –
i.e., committed uses of the funds. Mitigation Funds are the last grouping of seven funds
in this list.
Fund# Name of Fund Controlled By 7/2023 7/2024 7/2025 3/2026 Source of Funds Use of Funds
803 Affordable Housing Trust AHT Board $0 $504K $499K $718K Sale of Property & CPA Funding Affordable Housing Trust goals & objectives
170 Ambulance Town Meeting $2.4M $2.8M $2.9M $1.6M Ambulance Receipts Any related lawful purpose
137 Animal Control Revolving Police Chief $98K $100K $103K $100K Animal Control fees Animal Control dept expenses
171 Animal Control Donations Police Chief $110K $111K $116K $99K Animal Control donations Animal Control dept expenses
270 American Rescue Plan Act Funds Select Board $4.3M $2.1M $1.0M $194K Federal Treasury ARPA Grants ARPA defined expenditure purposes
115 Bond Issuance Finance $241K $235K $222K $502K Premiums received from borrowing Reduce debt service costs
812/847 Cemetery Perpetual Care Town Meeting $578K $596K $773K $808K Payments for cemetery perpetual care Cemetery improvements
805 Chaisson Memorial Fund Library $430K $452K $383K $193K Bequests Library needs
160 Circuit Breaker Schools $829K -$847K -$75K -$151K State Reimbursements Special Education Costs
246 Community Preservation Town Meeting $2.4M $2.7M $2.7M $2.7M Community Preservation Tax CPA authorized projects
813 Conservation Land Fund ConCom $191K $200K $445K $434K Appropriations by town meeting Purchase of conservation land
140 Council on Aging Revolving Fund COA $239K $253K $242K $230K COA Program fees and donations COA expenses
862 Dental Insurance Trust Fund Finance $1.3M $1.4M $1.5M $1.1M Dental insurance contributions Dental insurance claims & related costs
861 Health Insurance Trust Fund Finance $10.3M $10.6M $8.7M $4.5M Health insurance contributions Health insurance claims & related costs
121 Insurance Proceeds Various Depts. $28K $46K $88K $80K Insurance reimbursements under $150K Repair/replace damaged property
293 Library Grant Library $104K $145K $188K $212K State grant offset receipts Any related lawful purpose
119 Library Revolving Fund Library $141K $167K $182K $193K Library fees including for passport applications Books & materials for loan and passport costs
815 OPEB Trust Finance $10.5M $13.1M $15.9M $18.5M Appropriations by town meeting Retiree Health Benefits
260 Opioid Settlement Fund Select Board $0 $303K $371K $410K Opioid Crisis Settlements Opioid treatment related programs
142 Paul Revere Rolling Mill Revolving Select Board $145K $257K $335K $346K Rent, fees, donations & grants Rolling Mill & Barn expenses
804 Police Detective Bureau Police Chief $22K $32K $13K -$8K Forfeitures Police investigative work
818 Police Drug Forfeiture Police Chief $199K $191K $202K $235K Federal drug forfeiture program Police investigative work
116 Plymouth Rubber DIF Fund Finance $3.1M $866K $1.4M $1.4M R.E. Taxes from Revere Site Properties Debt Service related to Developer Agreement
130 Recreation Revolving Recreation $725K $873K $1.1M $764K Recreation program fees Costs associated with Recreation programs
172 Sale of Lots & Graves Select Board $117K $125K $137K $139K Sales of lots & grave fees Cemetery related expenses
124 School Athletics Schools $363K $66K $80K $43K Sports fees, game receipts Athletic program costs
154 School Bus Fees Schools $143K -$141K $0 -$78K Bus fees School transportation costs
184 School Donations Schools $283K $674K $751K $544K Donations to school department Any lawful purpose unless specified by donor
101 School Food Service Schools $1.0M $1.5M $1.6M $1.8M Receipts from school cafeterias Operate school cafeterias
131 School Rentals Schools $235K $15K -$2K -$30K Rents collected from use of school facilities School facility costs
150 School Tuition Schools $346K $75K $201K $324K Fees for pre-school and extracurricular programs Payment of program costs
250 Special Education Reserve Schools/BOS $410K $0 $100K $1.1M Appropriations by town meeting Special Education Costs
186 Street Betterments Town Meeting $166K $180K $199K $205K Street Betterment fees Street Betterment debt service
112 Street & Sidewalk Improvements Select Board $242K $1.9M -$273K $6K Chapter 90 State Aid Road and sidewalk repairs
865 Unemployment Claims Human Res. $379K $455K $526K $576K Appropriations by town meeting Unemployment costs
155-BILLB Billboard Select Board $1.6M $1.3M $887K $564K Mitigation / Donation payments Any lawful purpose unless specified by donor
155-BVIEW BrightView Select Board $511K $189K $40K $2K Mitigation / Donation payments Any lawful purpose unless specified by donor
155 Ponkapoag School Tower Select Board $56K $22.7K $0 $0 Mitigation / Donation payments Any lawful purpose unless specified by donor
155-RAND Randolph St/Avalon Select Board $367K $4K $0 $0 Mitigation / Donation payments Any lawful purpose unless specified by donor
155-REZ Reservoir Pond Tax Pledge Select Board $385K $284K $0 $0 Mitigation / Donation payments Any lawful purpose unless specified by donor
155-TMOB T Mobile Select Board $0 $0 $0 $0 Mitigation / Donation payments Any lawful purpose unless specified by donor
157 University Station Select Board $343K $0 $0 $0 Mitigation / Donation payments Any lawful purpose unless specified by donor
Capital Budget
The Capital Budget is used first to pay debt service on all existing debt within the tax levy,
$4.13 million in FY27. The remaining amount is used to fund capital projects identified in
the Capital Planning Committee (CPC) 5-year plan. The Finance Committee recommends
that Canton continue its responsible practice of funding capital expenses to at least 5%
15Source page 17
ANNUAL TOWN MEETING – MAY 11, 2026
of revenue in recognition of the fact that asset depreciation is a real cost. To meet this
goal the Capital Budget recommended for FY27 represents 5.6% of expected revenue.
Allocating the Town's limited funds between the operating expenses needed to maintain
our services and the capital expenses needed to maintain our buildings and infrastructure,
is always a balancing act. The Finance Committee believes it is important to continue to
address capital needs to maintain the Town’s infrastructure, which is used to deliver
services to the community.
The Finance Committee concurs with the recommendations as vetted and refined by the
CPC and as presented in Article 15. The municipal requests include $1.1 million in cash
capital projects. Supplemental funding totaling $428 thousand for these cash capital
projects is recommended to be reappropriated from municipal surplus in four capital
projects towards four municipal cash capital projects as follows:
• $203,981 from the previously funded Elder & Human Services Senior Center HVAC
System Replacement Project made available as a result of unanticipated State grant
funding received for that project, to be reappropriated for the Fire Department Boiler
Replacement Project;
• $117,064 from a deferred Police Department project, to be reappropriated for the
replacement of four Police Cruisers cash capital request;
• $110,100 from surplus in the Police Roof project, to be reappropriated for the DPW
Highway Garage Roof Replacement project.
• $7,000 from surplus in the Information Systems Phone System project, to be
reappropriated for the Information Systems AV/Firewall & Anti-Virus renewal.
$1.28 million for four municipal capital projects are recommended to be funded with debt
financing through the General Fund as follows:
• $1 million for the Library Interior Renovation Project, as well as $408 thousand in Free
Cash funding;
• $279 thousand for replacement of a DPW 2008 CAT Loader vehicle;
• $180 thousand for replacement of the Information Systems Storage Area Network;
• $100 thousand for replacement of the DPW Highway Garage Roof.
$1.81 million in debt financing is recommended from the Ambulance Receipts Reserved
Fund for the Replacement of the Fire Department’s 2001 E-One Ladder Truck.
For FY27, the School Department was allocated $1.2 million for cash capital projects as
recommended by the CPC. CPC is also recommending $1.06 million in debt funding for:
• Luce Elementary School Roof Replacement Feasibility Study - $762 thousand;
• Canton High School Light Controls Project - $300 thousand.
In addition, the CPC recommended vehicle, equipment and capital improvement projects
for the Water, Sewer and Stormwater Enterprise Funds totaling $1.26 thousand to be
funded from enterprise cash reserves (retained earnings) as follows:
• $644 thousand from Water Enterprise cash reserves for three projects;
• $512 thousand from Sewer Enterprise cash reserves for two projects;
• $100 thousand from Stormwater Enterprise cash reserves for one project.
16Source page 18
ANNUAL TOWN MEETING – MAY 11, 2026
• Using cash reserves where practical instead of borrowing eliminates interest costs the
Town would incur from borrowing.
CPC is also recommending that: $3,730,510 be borrowed by the Water Enterprise Fund
to pay for the following projects:
• $1.48 million in a second round of funding towards the replacement of the Ultra
Filtration System at Sullivan Water Treatment Facility, and supplemented by an
appropriation of $1.02 million from the Town’s PFAS Settlement Fund;
• $2.25 million for Phase II of the Lead Line Inventory & Replacement Project. It is likely
that this project will be subsidized by a low or no-interest loan from the MWRA and /
or a grant.
The Sewer Enterprise is also requesting to borrow $347.5 thousand for its 50% share of
the replacement of its Flush Truck.
Stormwater capital items recommended by CPC for debt financing include:
• $347.5 thousand for its 50% share of the replacement of its Flush Truck;
• $437 thousand for replacement of a 2004 Sterling L8500 Swap Loader / Dump Truck.
Community Preservation Act
We will also have the opportunity to vote
Community Preservation Act Surcharge
uses of the Community Preservation Act
The CPA surcharge is calculated as 1% of
your real estate tax bill after an exemption
(CPA) funds, which are generated by a
amount is applied. Abatements are available 1% surcharge on our property tax bills,
from the Board of Assessors for Seniors and as well as state matching in FY27.
Low Income Households. Article 17 addresses the funding for 10
projects supported by the Canton
Community Preservation Committee and the Finance Committee totaling $863 thousand.
The first item to be funded is the administrative costs allowed at 5% of estimated
revenues, or $53.3 thousand. Nine additional projects are being brought forth by the
Canton Community Preservation Committee (CCPC). The nine projects include: 1)
Funding $204.2 thousand to pay the eighth year of debt service in FY27 for the Paul
Revere Heritage Site land acquisition. This is a 10 year bond and therefore will be a
recurring allocation for two additional years; 2) $200 thousand towards the Hansen
Playground Resurfacing; 3) $112 thousand for the Wentworth Recreational Facility
Survey & Wetland Delineation effort; 4) $315 thousand for the 1925 American LaFrance
Fire Engine Restoration project; 5) $10 thousand towards the Preservation of the Gridley
Burying Ground; 6) $16 thousand to conduct a Gridley School Structural Analysis; 7) $20
thousand for ADA Automatic Door Openers for the Paul Revere Heritage Site/Museum of
Discovery & Innovation; 8) $90 thousand for Phase IV of the Hemenway Window
Replacements; and 9) $100 thousand to support the preservation and creation of new
affordable home ownership and rental units in Canton through the Affordable Housing
Trust’s Affordable Housing Production Fund.
17Source page 19
ANNUAL TOWN MEETING – MAY 11, 2026
Contract Obligations
Canton is fortunate to have many dedicated employees that work hard to serve our
residents. The Finance Committee continues to recommend, along with the Board of
Selectman and School Committee, that these employees be compensated and receive
benefits commensurate with that offered by our benchmark towns. We also believe that
our Town employees should receive annual increases that reflect the current economic
conditions and balanced with the spending limits mandated by Proposition 2 1/2.
Canton residents should be aware that the recommended budget in this year's Warrant
includes $1.67 million for wage increases for the municipal departments and $3.55 million
for wage increases for the school employees, inclusive of cost of living adjustments
(COLA’s), step, lane, and longevity changes.
On the Horizon
• School Space Needs: The School Department has studied the school building needs
of the Town, including an assessment of building capacities and educational visioning
for the Schools, an evaluation of present and projected needed repairs, and an
analysis of the best solution for housing the administrative offices. As part of the
follow-up to that evaluation, the School Committee and the Select Board have
previously voted to advance the application of a Statement of Interest to the
Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) for the Galvin Middle School.
After the fourth such application in a process competing for limited funds, the School
Department was finally invited into MSBA’s “Core Program”! In October of 2022, the
MSBA invited the William H. Galvin Middle School into the Feasibility Study phase.
The project has been progressing to plan since then. In March of 2023, Leftfield
was appointed as the Owner’s Project Manager (OPM) for the Feasibility Study. In
June of 2023, Ai3 Architects was selected as the Designer. Ultimately, Consigli
Construction was selected as the project’s general contractor using the Construction
Management at Risk procurement method, which limits cost risks to the Town with a
project of this scale.
Superintendent of Schools, Derek Folan, has remarked that the GMS Building Project
is an exciting and inspiring opportunity to bring a state-of-the-art facility to the Canton
community. It will energize and elevate the entire Canton Public School District at all
levels, and it will provide our middle school students and staff with an exceptional
learning environment. It has the potential to be a crown jewel for our community.
The project team completed the Feasibility Study. The PDP (Preliminary Design
Program) was submitted in October 2023 to the MSBA. In December of 2023, the
School Committee, at the recommendation of the Superintendent and the School
Building Committee, voted to support a grade 5 – 8 configuration for the new middle
school, eventually removing grade 5 from the elementary schools, and to build a new
middle school, rather than renovate and expand the existing building. This approach
18Source page 20
ANNUAL TOWN MEETING – MAY 11, 2026
has an additional benefit by addressing capacity issues in the Town’s elementary
schools. The PSR (Preferred Schematic Report) was subsequently submitted to
MSBA in January 2024.
Ultimately, the MSBA Board approved the project for grant funding in August of 2024.
To that point, this phase of the project has been funded with $1.5 million that was
appropriated from Free Cash at the 2022 Annual Town Meeting. The construction
funding of the project was presented for approval to the voters in November and
December of 2024. The Special Town Meeting in November overwhelmingly
endorsed funding the project. The subsequent excluded debt ballot question was also
overwhelmingly supported in December by a margin of 3 to 1.
In March of 2026 the project team submitted the 90% Construction Document items
including Report, Drawings, Project Manual, and Bid Package #2 to the MSBA in
compliance with their 90% submission requirements. These 90% documents
estimated the same previous total project budget submitted & approved by the MSBA,
thus requiring no “value management/engineering” at this phase.
The state-of-the art facility will cost approximately $241.8 million with approximately
$73.1 to $74.7 million to be received in the form of a grant from the Massachusetts
School Building Authority (MSBA) and the remainder of $167.0 million to $168.6
funded by the Town. The Town has developed a funding plan that delays the
implementation of the excluded debt tax until permanent financing is bonded in Fiscal
Year 2030. Until then, four, one year Borrowing Anticipation Notes (BANs) will be
issued to fund the project during construction. Interest on the BANs will be funded
with a combination of Capital Stabilization funds earmarked for this purpose, including
related interest earnings; Feasibility Study reimbursements from MSBA; and excess
levy capacity in Fiscal Year 2029. Once permanently financed in Fiscal Year 2030, it
is anticipated that over the life of the 30 year bond only 40% of the debt service will
be funded from excluded debt tax and the remainder from a combination of excess
levy capacity and anticipated Pension Assessment savings. This financing approach
will significantly reduce the burden on taxpayers.
The new school will be constructed on the same site as the existing middle school.
The middle school will have a grade expansion, changing from the current grade
configuration of 6 through 8, to also include the 5th grade. This reconfiguration will
provide needed relief to all of the Town’s three elementary schools, which are currently
configured for grades 1 through 5. In addition, the new middle school will have two full
gymnasiums, multiple athletic turf fields with lighting and an 850-seat auditorium. The
existing middle school will be utilized up until the new school opens in the Fall of 2028.
A geothermal heating and cooling system is planned for all of the public spaces of the
building, along with the infrastructure to support the installation of solar panels, which
will result in the building being “net-zero-carbon ready”. The educational and
community impact of the new Galvin Middle School will be both profound and
transformational.
19Source page 21
ANNUAL TOWN MEETING – MAY 11, 2026
• Municipal Buildings Central Maintenance: The Town is in its third year of the
establishment of a Central Maintenance Department (CM) that was previously under
the direction of the Department of Public Works. A new position of Municipal Facilities
Director was added in the FY24 budget and the existing Building and Grounds /
Central Maintenance staff now work under this new management structure. An HVAC
technician was added in FY25 that will save the Town from having to outsource related
repairs and maintenance at a premium rate. In order to properly manage the 28
municipal buildings, this department added an additional Building Maintenance
employee in the FY26 budget. In the FY27 budget, two Library custodian positions
are being moved in a budget neutral transfer from the Library into the Central
Maintenance department for management efficiency purposes. The primary goal of
the Central Maintenance Department is to maintain critical systems in all municipal
buildings, so that expensive repairs can be avoided through timely and consistent
inspections, proper maintenance, and timely repairs.
Administratively, the Town is realizing budgetary efficiencies by streamlining service
contracts for HVAC, plumbing, electrical, sprinkler, and fire alarm systems across all
municipal buildings. Additionally, the new department has previously moved existing
utility and building maintenance budget lines from all municipal departments into the
consolidated CM budget, eliminating the burden to individual department heads from
the need to manage and process monthly utility and maintenance bills.
The long-range plan (3 to 5 years) is to continue to grow the Central Maintenance
Department, so that it can effectively and proactively provide services that encompass
maintaining all 28 municipal buildings and grounds and to provide custodial services
to all municipal buildings requiring such services. With the Town’s most expensive
investments being its building assets, it is prudent to staff this department properly
and elevate this maintenance responsibility to a free standing department with
direction from the Chief Executive, as has been put in place at the 2024 Annual Town
Meeting.
Finally, an additional benefit of a central maintenance program is to relieve department
heads with little or no facility maintenance experience from needing to react to
predictable and preventable emergencies at their respective buildings and allow them
to focus on managing their departments and improving service delivery to the
residents of Canton.
• Roads: Canton, along with all other Massachusetts communities, has traditionally
relied on M.G.L. Chapter 90 grants (historically about $800K per year) from the state
in order to repair the Town’s road system. Unfortunately, the purchasing power of this
funding has eroded dramatically given the significant rise in road paving costs. As a
result, the Town’s roads have deteriorated more quickly.
The Town’s last road study suggested that ~$20 million was needed to bring the
Town’s roads up to a good condition. Unless there is a significant increase in Chapter
90 funding, Canton will need to consider prioritizing investing more Town dollars into
20Source page 22
ANNUAL TOWN MEETING – MAY 11, 2026
maintaining the roadways. It is for this reason that over the last three years $2.56
million was voted at Annual Town Meetings as a supplement to the Chapter 90 grants.
The Town’s reserve position has allowed for this funding. In Article 14, $600 thousand
is being recommended to supplement Chapter 90 funding in FY27. Although a
reduced amount from the last three years, due to additional priorities competing for
these limited one-time purpose funds this year, the Governor has put forward a
transportation bill that increases the Town’s Chapter 90 allocation for FY27 to $1.12
million.
• OPEB: Canton has made promises to its employees to not only provide pensions
upon retirement, but subsidized health, dental, and life insurance. The Town only
started setting aside money for these Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB) at
2012’s Town Meeting with the establishment of the OPEB Trust Fund. The unfunded
liability for these benefits is currently estimated by the Town’s actuary to be $83.32
million, a decrease of $3.66 million, driven primarily by PERAC required changes to
mortality tables, positive investment performance, and offset by a reduced discount
rate from 6.66% to 6.43% The funded amount of this liability is $18.5 million as of this
writing. The Finance Committee is recommending adding $1.5 million into this fund
for FY27. The current funding strategy is to increase this funding commitment by $100
thousand annually until reaching $1.5 million, the FY27 proposed funding amount, and
level funding from that point forward.
• Pension: In addition to our progress on funding OPEB, we are closing in on full
funding of the Town’s pension obligations – a different liability. The Town, along with
all other Norfolk County towns and agencies, is assessed annually by the Norfolk
County Retirement System (NCRS) toward its share of both the current pension
obligations and the unfunded pension obligations. The FY 2027 actuarially
determined assessment is $7.89 million for Canton after taking a $145 thousand
discount for paying in one payment on July 1st. NCRS is currently targeting being fully
funded by FYE 2033.
Full funding of the pension obligation will dramatically reduce the Town’s annual
pension assessment by millions of dollars. The revised funding schedule reflects a
significant tapering down of the assessment at the end of FY33. The reduction in
Canton’s assessment is estimated to be in the range of ~$7.5 million. It has been
recommended, and communicated to voters, that a portion of these assessment
savings, when realized, be redirected to funding a portion of the significant excluded
debt service that is planned for the permanent financing of the Galvin Middle School
beginning in FY30. This will translate into significant direct taxpayer savings, that
otherwise would have to be added to property tax bills as excluded debt tax. As we
get closer to the date when these assessment savings are realized, the Town will also
have additional options to contemplate directing these funds to other priorities.
• Storm Water Management: The Town of Canton has an investment of over $100
million in the municipal separate storm water system [MS4]. As owners and operators
of the MS4 system, the Town is subject to a multi-year permit. Compliance with the
21Source page 23
ANNUAL TOWN MEETING – MAY 11, 2026
permit is predicated on both water quality and hydraulic flow. A new MS4 permit is
expected to require significant new funding needs to achieve water quality stipulations.
For Canton, the Environmental Protection Agency estimates administrative costs
alone at $100,000 per year. The new MS4 permit will require Canton to identify the
means through which the storm water management program will be funded on an
adequate and sustainable basis. The Town hired a Stormwater Manager in fiscal 2025
to drive the establishment of the Town’s future plans and program.
The Town’s Water and Sewer Commissioners (Select Board) voted to require the
establishment of Storm Water Fees for property owners, as recommended by the
Storm Water Manger, effective this past July of 2025. Those fees will accrue to the
Sewer Enterprise Fund, as per M.G.L. Chapter 83. Sewer and Storm Water revenues
and expenses are accounted for in the same Sewer Enterprise Fund, as these are
both Town drainage systems. Currently, various Storm Water related staff and
expenses are charged to the Sewer Enterprise. The Storm Water fee revenue stream
started to be credited to the Sewer Enterprise in FY26. The revenues and expenses
associated with Storm Water will be segregated within the Sewer Enterprise Fund and
tracked separately. The FY27 operating budgets reflect a realignment of employee
wages, totaling $254 thousand, in the DPW Highway Division transferred to the Storm
Water Enterprise fund. Also, $884.5 thousand in Capital expenditures, as detailed in
the Capital Budget section of this report, are being charged to the Storm Water
Enterprise Fund in FY27. Going forward, all Storm Water related expenses, operating
and capital, will be charged to the Sewer Enterprise within the Storm Water
segregated accounts.
Please attend Town Meeting as your input and your vote are important!
Respectfully submitted,
Town of Canton Finance Committee:
Emilio Mauro, Chair
Reuki Schutt, Vice-Chair
Nicholas Corkery
John Leonetti
Helen Mancuso
Kristin Mirliani
Evan Patton
Cindy Thomas
Ronald Wilson
22Source page 24
ANNUAL TOWN MEETING – MAY 11, 2026
TOWN FINANCE TERMINOLOGY
The terms below are frequently used in the annual Town report and at Town Meetings. In order to provide everyone
with a better understanding of their meanings, the following definitions are provided:
APPROPRIATE: To authorize spending. Once an appropriation for a budget or article has been made by Town
Meeting, the appropriation can only be changed by another Town Meeting. The exceptions are a transfer from the
Reserve Fund or a year end transfer authorized by the Select Board and the Finance Committee.
BONDS: The money Canton borrows to pay for capital projects such as the Middle School and Library.
CAPITAL EXPENSES: Expenses associated with the purchase of long-term assets, or projects. Paying for these
expenses can come from either cash (Cash Capital) or from long term bonding / borrowing.
CHERRY SHEET: A financial statement from the State, previously printed on cherry-colored paper which itemizes
State disbursements due the Town, and State and County charges to the Town, usually resulting in a net receipt of
funds.
DEBT EXCLUSION: Taxes raised through a Prop. 2½ override to pay for capital projects such as building the middle
school or library, and end when the dept obligation is paid off.
EMINENT DOMAIN: Eminent domain refers to the power of the government to take private property and convert it
into public use. The Fifth Amendment provides that the government may only exercise this power if they provide just
compensation to the property owners.
ENTERPRISE SURPLUS: (Retained Earnings) This fund balance represents the amount to be used, by a vote of
Town Meeting, for operating cost offsets, funding capital improvements and reimbursing the General Fund for prior
year funding.
FIXED COSTS: Costs associated with employee benefits, such as health insurance and retirement costs, but also
include debt service, trash collection, street lighting, snow & ice removal, and regional & county school assessments.
FREE CASH RESERVE (UNDESIGNATED FUND BALANCE): An accumulation of surpluses left at the end of the
fiscal year. This funding is available to be allocated at Town Meeting through a simple majority vote. It is akin to a
savings account.
INDEFINITELY POSTPONE: This is the equivalent of a negative vote on an article.
FY26: July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026
FY27: July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027
LEVEL FUNDING: The budget amount for this year will be identical to the budget amount last year (i.e., no
additional money will be available to cover increased costs in salaries or supplies.)
LEVY LIMIT: The maximum amount of property tax levy in any given year. The levy limit is based on the previous
year’s levy limit plus 2½% plus new growth, and not the previous year’s actual levy.
LOCAL RECEIPTS: Money the town collects from local sources such as excise tax, licenses and permits, investment
income, payments in lieu of taxes and penalties.
NEW GROWTH: Additional tax revenue the Town receives from new construction, such as new homes and
commercial buildings or additions to existing buildings.
OPEB: Other Post-Employment Benefits are benefits provided to town retirees for such things as health, dental and
life insurance. Retirees are eligible for these benefits in addition to a town pension.
OPERATIONAL OVERRIDE: An increase above the standard Prop. 2½ yearly increase in taxes. This increase is
unlike a debt exclusion override, in that it is permanent.
OVERLAY: The amount raised by the Assessors for the purposes of funding tax exemptions and abatements.
OVERLAY RESERVE: The accumulated amount of Overlay funds not used or required to be held in the Overlay
fund. The Board of Assessors control release of funds to the Overlay Reserve exceeding pending tax liabilities.
RAISE: To tax. The tax rate is recommended by the Board of Assessors to the Select Board after the Annual Town
Meeting, receipt of the final “Cherry Sheet”, and the State’s certification of New Taxable Property Growth.
RESERVE FUND: This fund is established by the voters at an Annual Town Meeting. Transfers from the Reserve
Fund are within the control of the Finance Committee, and are for “extraordinary or unforeseen expenditures.”
REVENUES: Amount of money the Town receives to cover expenses. The majority of this money comes from
property taxes. The remainder comes from local receipts, State Aid, transfers from other funds and Water & Sewer
and Rink receipts.
STABILIZATION FUND: The reserve fund is established by the voters for future uses. A 2/3 Town Meeting vote
is required for its use.
STATE AID: The amount of money that the state of Massachusetts gives to the Town of Canton.
STEP AND LANE INCREASES: Automatic increases in salary for town employees, negotiated in union contracts.
STRUCTURAL DEFICIT: When the Town’s recurring expenses are greater than its recurring revenues.
TAX LEVY: (LEVY): The revenue a community can raise through real estate and personal property taxes.
23Source page 25
ANNUAL TOWN MEETING – MAY 11, 2026
A GUIDE TO PARTICIPATING AT TOWN MEETING
If town meeting is to run smoothly a few simple rules must
No person should speak unless standing at a microphone and then only after having been ‘recognized’ by the
moderator.
It is both impolite and contrary to the rules of procedure to shout out “Question”, or “Move the Question” while
seated, while someone else is speaking, or without being ‘recognized’.
When recognized, a voter should first state his or her name and address clearly and distinctly before making any
statement.
Voters should be brief. It is a good idea to state at the outset why you have risen to speak: e.g., “I rise to speak in
favor (or against) the motion to…” Voters may wish to summarize at the close of their remarks: “I hope the motion
now pending is (not) adopted.”
Rather than repeat arguments already made, consider saying: “I concur with the statements made by the previous
speaker(s) and for the same reasons urge you to vote (in support of) or (against) the main motion when it is put.”
A Town by-law restricts any one speaker to not more than ten minutes at any one time. The patience of other voters
is often not as long.
A Town by-law restricts any one speaker from speaking more than twice on the same matter except to correct an
error or a misstatement.
A person who is speaking on behalf of another (such as an attorney) is required to disclose that fact before making
any statement.
A motion to reconsider is quite technical in nature. A person who intends to move reconsideration should discuss it
in advance with the moderator. Generally, the motion may be made at any time so long as a sufficient interval has
elapsed since the last vote on the matter was taken, and/or additional information has become available, so as to
give a reasonable basis to believe the meeting might vote differently. When the motion to reconsider is pending,
debate is limited to why reconsideration should prevail and not to the merits of the underlying motion.
When one voter is speaking every other voter in the hall should pay attention to what is being said. No person should
interrupt a speaker unless some ‘rule’ is being violated. If a voter believes a rule is being violated they should rise
in place, wait to be recognized by the moderator (For what purpose does the lady rise?) Voter: “I rise to a point of
order.” Moderator: State your point of Order. Voter: “…The speaker is dealing in personalities, (or) the remarks of
the speaker are not germane to the subject at hand”, etc.
Rather than read every warrant article the moderator may say “The chair asks unanimous consent that the reading
of the article be waived (Pause) Seeing no objection it is so ordered.”
Voters should refrain from displaying their approval or disfavor towards a speaker by applauding or by any other
means.
24Source page 26
ANNUAL TOWN MEETING – MAY 11, 2026
NOTE TO ALL VOTERS CONCERNING
TOWN MEETING PROCEDURES
At a previous Annual Town Meeting a by-law was adopted which requires that almost all warrant articles be acted
upon in the order they are drawn by a lottery, not the order they appear in the warrant. There are certain exceptions,
however, to the lottery system. The following should help you understand how the Town Meeting works:
Town Meeting will be opened by the Town Clerk. A Moderator will be elected (Article 1); procedures to govern Town
Meeting will be adopted (Article 2); reports of all outstanding committees will be received (Article 3); and the consent
agenda (Article 4) will be acted upon. The consent agenda is a list of articles that appear to be non-controversial and
therefore are voted as a group. If any voter wishes to discuss any article that is listed on the consent agenda, the
voter may simply ask for a “hold” on that article, and the article will be deleted from the consent agenda and acted
on separately in the normal course of the meeting.
After these four articles have been acted upon, all subsequent articles, except next year’s proposed annual operating
budget, will be voted on in the order in which they are drawn by the Town Clerk. There are instances, however,
where the Moderator may declare that for some legal or technical reason a particular article or articles must be
considered in some other sequence.
The proposed annual operating budget cannot be acted upon until all matters which affect it have been acted upon,
specifically, all collective bargaining agreements, and any warrant article that calls for an expenditure. This may
mean that the proposed annual operating budget may, in fact, be the last article acted upon at the Annual Town
Meeting. It is hoped that this brief explanation will be helpful to you in understanding the lottery system under which
the Town Meeting is currently operated.
25Source page 27
ANNUAL TOWN MEETING - MAY 11, 2026
SUMMARY of REVENUES and EXPENDITURES
GENERAL FUND REVENUES:
PROPERTY TAX REVENUE
STATE AID
LOCAL RECEIPTS
TRANSFERS FROM OTHER FUNDS
TAX TITLE / FORECLOSURE REVENUE
TOTAL REVENUES
GENERAL FUND EXPENDITURES:
SCHOOL EXPENSES
MUNICIPAL EXPENSES
FIXED COSTS
TOTAL OPERATING EXPENSES
SCHOOL CASH CAPITAL
MUNICIPAL CASH CAPITAL
CASH CAPITAL EXPENDITURES
TRANSFERS TO STABILIZATION FUNDS
SPECIAL APPROPRIATIONS
STATE & COUNTY CHARGES
TOTAL EXPENDITURES
SURPLUS/(DEFICIT) - GENERAL FUND
ONE-TIME SOURCE of FUNDS
FREE CASH RESERVE
MISCELLANEOUS FUNDS
OVERLAY SURPLUS
TOTAL NON-RECURRING SOURCES
ADJUSTED SURPLUS/(DEFICIT) - GENERAL FUND
ENTERPRISE FUNDS:
WATER REVENUE
SEWER REVENUE
RINK REVENUE
TOTAL ENTERPRISE FUNDS' REVENUE
ENTERPRISE FUNDS' SURPLUS USED
WATER EXPENSES
SEWER EXPENSES
RINK EXPENSES
TOTAL ENTERPRISE FUNDS' EXPENSES
ENTERPRISE FUNDS' CASH CAPITAL EXPENDITURES
ENTERPRISE FUNDS' SURPLUS/(DEFICIT)
GRAND TOTAL APPROPRIATIONS
FY 2025 FY 2026 FY 2027
ACTUAL Revised Budget Estimate
97,862,858 101,485,165 105,545,525
11,969,134 12,491,593 12,958,579
14,343,454 11,279,047 13,072,203
3,977,805 4,440,377 6,180,286
217,557 ie} ie)
128,370,808 129,696,182 137,756,593
56,260,842 59,186,743 62,175,614
27,846,076 29,351,515 30,958,783
35,213,207 37,644,944 40,591,510
119,320,125 126,183,201 133,725,907
1,056,000 1,100,000 1,200,000
1,046,000 1,004,335 1,118,430
2,102,000 2,104,335 2,318,430
2,000,000 1,000,000 1,000,000
4,443,137 4,724,064 2,606,225
1,531,897 1,540,127 1,712,256
129,397,159 135,551,727 141 362,818
(1,026,351) (5,855,546) (3,606,225)
6,443,137 5,071,000 3,103,080
10) 653,064 428,145
i) ie} 75,000
6.443.137 5,724,064 3,606,225
5,416,786 (131,482) -
11,115,693 9,979,931 10,772,955
7,859,943 7,511,395 8,378,001
503,827 482,341 488,168
19,479,463 17,973,667 19,639,124
233,859 1,102,500 1,256,000
10,079,927 9,979,931 10,772,955
7,278,231 7,511,395 8,378,001
467,189 482,341 488,168
17,825,347 17,973,667 19,639,124
233,859 1,102,500 1,256,000
1,654,116 0 0
147,456,365 154,627,894 162,257,942
[Original embedded text, retained for comparison]
ANNUAL TOWN MEETING – MAY 11, 2026
26Source page 28
ANNUAL TOWN MEETING – MAY 11, 2026
Town of Canton
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Norfolk, ss
To the Constables of the Town of Canton,
Greetings:
In the name of the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts you are hereby required to
notify and warn the inhabitants of the Town of Canton to meet at Morse Auditorium, Canton High School, 900
Washington Street in said town on;
MONDAY, THE 11th DAY OF MAY 2026
At seven o’clock p.m. (7:00 P.M.) in the evening for the annual town meeting at which time and place the following
articles are to be acted upon:
ARTICLE 1
ELECT A MODERATOR
Article 1 To elect a Moderator to preside at this Town Meeting to serve until the commencement of Annual Town
Meeting of 2027; or to take any other action related thereto.
Select Board
DISCUSSION: Nominations will be accepted and a moderator elected at Town Meeting during the discussion of
this article.
APPROVED__________DISAPPROVED__________
ARTICLE 2
ADOPT RULES TO GOVERN TOWN MEETING
Article 2 To see if the Town will vote to adopt certain procedures to govern the conduct of the 2026 Annual Town
Meeting; or to take any other action related thereto.
Select Board
MOTION 1
MOVED: That this 2026 Annual Town Meeting shall meet on consecutive Monday and Wednesday
evenings in the Morse Auditorium on the grounds of the Canton High School, 900 Washington Street,
until the business of this Annual Town Meeting has been concluded, each such session to begin at 7:00
o’clock P.M. and to adjourn at 11:00 o’clock P.M., or as near that hour as may be feasible, according to
the nature of the business pending at the said hour.
FINANCE COMMITTEE VOTE: 8-0
FINANCE COMMITTEE DISCUSSION: The Finance Committee recommends adoption of this motion as it
formalizes procedures that have been followed by Town Meetings in the past.
APPROVED__________DISAPPROVED__________
27Source page 29
ANNUAL TOWN MEETING – MAY 11, 2026
MOTION 2
MOVED: That the following individuals be granted all of the rights and privileges of participation
in this Annual Town Meeting, except the right to vote, under any article of this warrant which affects
matters within their jurisdiction:
Alfons Koka, Town Engineer
Allison Neff, Canton Community Preservation Committee Administrator
Arafat Knight, Veterans’ Agent
Brian Lynch, Assistant Superintendent of Finance & Operations, School Department
Brian Lynch, Director of Central Maintenance
Cindy Arens, ZeroCarbonMA, Mechanical Engineer
Cody Pratt, Assistant Town Accountant
Connor Murphy, Town Planner
Craig Altemose, GreenerU - Canton's Energy Consultant
Danielle Kay, Assistant Director of Student Services
David Buccelli, Director of Facilities
Debbie Rooney, Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment
Derek Folan, Superintendent of Schools
Diane Tynan, Director of the Department of Elder & Human Services
Heidi Black, Director Student Services
Jeffrey Sperling Principal of Canton High School
Jennifer Weiss Donovan, Accenture Inc., Owner’s Senior Project Mgr/Library Interior Project
Jessica Marsh, Toll Brothers
John Clifford, Town Counsel
Jon Mulhern, Principal of Galvin Middle School
Josh Fogel, Director of Digital Systems and Data Analytics
Julianne Shore, Director of Personnel Services
Karen Lawlor, Administrative Assistant, Canton Planning Board
Kevin Shea, Housing Coordinator
Kristen Phelps, Revere & Son Heritage Trust Administrator
Lisa Cunningham, ZeroCarbonMA, Architect
Louis Jutras, Information Systems Manager
M. Regen Jamieson, Conservation Commission Agent
Mark Roy, Executive Director, Canton Housing Authority
Maura Crowley, Director of Food Services
Michael Daniels, Police Chief
Michael Trotta, Superintendent of Public Works
Paul Feeney, State Senator
Robert Martin, Supervisor of Central Maintenance
Rosalee Moore, Library Assistant Director
Sarah Shaw, Assistant Superintendent of Schools
Saundra Watson, Principal of John F. Kennedy Elementary School
Shelley Needle, Rodman Early Childhood Director
Stephen Lynch, Representative in Congress
Tami Olsen, Principal of Lt. Peter M. Hansen Elementary School
Timothy Arnold, Owner’s Project Manager, Accenture, Inc., Library Interior Project
Tyler Radicioni, Parks & Recreation Director
William J. Proia, Toll Brothers
William Scollins, Finance Director
Yeshi Lamour, Principal of Luce Elementary School
Yugon Kim, Architect & Engineering Design, TSKP-IKD, Library Interior Project
FINANCE COMMITTEE VOTE: 8-0
FINANCE COMMITTEE DISCUSSION: The Finance Committee recommends adoption of this motion as it allows
key non-resident officials and consultants to legally participate in the Town Meeting and it formalizes procedures that
have been followed by Town Meetings in the past.
APPROVED__________DISAPPROVED__________
28Source page 30
ANNUAL TOWN MEETING – MAY 11, 2026
MOTION 3
MOVED: That whenever during discussion under any article in this warrant during this year’s annual
town meeting, irrespective of which session such discussion is reached during the progress of the annual
town meeting, a motion is made, the effect of which is to increase the total amount to be appropriated
beyond that which is recommended by the Finance Committee or which changes the method of obtaining
funds to meet that appropriation, the moderator shall not accept such motion unless said motion also
contains a corresponding decrease in another appropriation as contained in an appropriation article on
this specific warrant or a corresponding transfer from any other available funding source or borrowing
as an alternative funding source, so that the total amount to be appropriated by the town, at this town
meeting, and to be expended thereafter, for all the appropriation articles contained in this warrant, shall
not in any event exceed the total dollar amount recommended by the Finance Committee as set forth in
the published Report of the Finance Committee Recommendations as may be increased by any transfer
from available funds provided, however that nothing in this motion shall prevent an increase in
appropriation funding contingent upon the passage of a Proposition 2½ override.
FINANCE COMMITTEE VOTE: 8-0
FINANCE COMMITTEE DISCUSSION: The Finance Committee recommends adoption of this motion as it
formalizes procedures that have been followed by Town Meeting in the past to ensure that Town Meeting ends with
the adoption of a balanced budget.
APPROVED__________DISAPPROVED__________
ARTICLE 3
HEAR REPORTS OF COMMITTEES APPOINTED AT PRIOR TOWN MEETINGS
Article 3 To hear the reports of committees appointed at previous town meetings, which have not yet been
discharged; or to take any other action related thereto.
Select Board
MOVED: That reports of the following committees appointed at previous Town Meetings be heard:
By-Law Modernization Study Committee (ATM 2024, Article 30)
Canton Alliance Against Substance Abuse (CAASA) (ATM 2016, Article 32)
Economic Development Committee (ATM 2004, Article 14)
FINANCE COMMITTEE VOTE: 8-0
FINANCE COMMITTEE DISCUSSION: The Finance Committee supports adoption of this motion to hear the
reports of standing committees appointed at prior Town Meetings.
APPROVED__________DISAPPROVED__________
29Source page 31
ANNUAL TOWN MEETING – MAY 11, 2026
ARTICLE 4
ACT ON “CONSENT AGENDA”
Article 4 To see if the Town will vote to dispose of certain articles in this warrant by a single vote, in accordance
with a so-called “consent agenda” or to take any other action related thereto.
Select Board
MOVED: That the following articles be disposed of by a single vote, in accordance with the Finance
Committee motions as written in the report of the Finance Committee: 6, 7, 11, 12, 13, 20, 37, 38, 39,
40, 41.
FINCOM
Article Description Motion VOTE Reason
There are no
6 Personal Service Contracts Postpone
9-0 personal service
under the Select Board. Indefinitely.
contracts to fund.
Pay Bills of Prior Fiscal
7 Adopt this article. 8-0 Non-Controversial.
Year.
Authorize Certain Non-Controversial.
11 Adopt this article. 7-0
Revolving Funds.
There are no
Postpone
12 Insurance Proceeds. 9-0 insurance proceeds
Indefinitely.
to appropriate.
There are no General
Accept General or Session
Postpone or Session Laws to
13 Laws Enacted by the 9-0
Indefinitely. be accepted under
General Court
this article.
Appropriation to Create Postpone Article has been
20 9-0
Safe Streets Indefinitely. withdrawn.
Vote to Accept Stonewood Postpone Article has been
37 9-0
Drive as a Town Way Indefinitely. withdrawn.
Vote to Accept Isabella Postpone Article has been
38 9-0
Circle as a Town Way Indefinitely. withdrawn.
Vote to Accept Holly Way Postpone Article has been
39 9-0
as a Town Way Indefinitely. withdrawn.
Rescind Prior Vote Taken
Postpone Article has been
40 on Article 38 of 2006 9-0
Indefinitely. withdrawn.
Annual Town Meeting
Accept MGL Ch.31 61A Postpone Article has been
41 9-0
61B Indefinitely. withdrawn.
FINANCE COMMITTEE VOTE: 8 - 0
FINANCE COMMITTEE DISCUSSION: The consent agenda is a list of articles that are voted as a group.
Articles placed on the consent agenda are considered non-controversial and can be voted in one block. If voters
would like an article removed from the consent agenda, they may place a hold on that article. If a hold is placed on
an article, it will be deleted from the consent agenda and acted on separately in the normal course of the meeting.
The discussion on each article in the consent agenda can be found under the individual article.
APPROVED__________DISAPPROVED__________
30Source page 32
ANNUAL TOWN MEETING – MAY 11, 2026
ARTICLE 5
COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENTS UNDER THE SELECT BOARD
Article 5 To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate, transfer from available funds, or transfer from Free
Cash, a sum of money for the purpose of funding any new cost items contained in any collective bargaining
agreements entered into by the Select Board, on behalf of the Town, with any group of employees, serving under its
jurisdiction; or to take any other action related thereto.
Select Board
MOVED: That the sum of Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000) be transferred from Free Cash
(Undesignated Fund Balance) to increase the appropriation voted in Article 36 of the May 2025 Annual
Town Meeting to the Police Department (210) budget in Fiscal Year 2026, for the purpose of funding
cost items contained in the collective bargaining agreement executed by the Select Board.
FINANCE COMMITTEE VOTE: 7-0
FINANCE COMMITTEE DISCUSSION:
APPROVED__________DISAPPROVED
ARTICLE 6
PERSONAL SERVICE CONTRACTS UNDER THE SELECT BOARD
Article 6 To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate, transfer from available funds, or transfer from Free
Cash, such sums of money as may be necessary to fund new cost items contained in contracts for personal
services with any individual employee; or take any action related thereto.
Select Board
MOVED: That the subject matter of Article 6 be indefinitely postponed.
FINANCE COMMITTEE VOTE: 9-0
FINANCE COMMITTEE DISCUSSION: The Finance Committee concurs with the assessment of the Select Board
that this Article be indefinitely postponed until such time as collective bargaining negotiations between the Town and
Employee Unions reach a point that new wage and benefit costs can be accurately quantified.
APPROVED__________DISAPPROVED__________
31Source page 33
ANNUAL TOWN MEETING – MAY 11, 2026
ARTICLE 7
PAY BILLS OF PRIOR FISCAL YEAR
Article 7 To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate, transfer from available funds, or borrow pursuant to
any applicable statute, a sum or sums of money to pay any unpaid bills of any prior fiscal year; or to take any
other action related thereto.
Select Board
MOVED: That a total of Two Thousand Two Hundred Sixty Five Dollars and Sixty Six Cents
($2,265.66) be appropriated to pay bills from prior fiscal years for the purposes and vendors set
forth below, and to meet this appropriation a total of Two Thousand Two Hundred Sixty Five Dollars
and Sixty Six Cents ($2,265.66)be charged to the listed Fiscal Year 2026 appropriation accounts voted
pursuant to Article 36 of the 2025 Annual Town Meeting as follows:
Vendor Purpose Amount Source of Funds
Sensus Metering System Water Meter Repair $317.19 56000-53406
Republic Services Fuel Adjustment Error $1,218.47 14332-52901
Canton Citizen Police Audit Community $730.00 12102-53406
Forum
TOTAL $2,265.66
FINANCE COMMITTEE VOTE: 8-0
FINANCE COMMITTEE DISCUSSION: The Finance Committee voted unanimously to pay these prior year bills.
State Law requires a current year appropriation of funds to pay prior year expenditures.
APPROVED__________DISAPPROVED__________
ARTICLE 8
ADJUST FISCAL ’26 ACCOUNTS
Article 8 To see if the Town will vote to increase/decrease or otherwise adjust the appropriations heretofore made
for the Fiscal Year 2026 beginning on July 1, 2025 and ending on June 30, 2026 and the revenue sources to meet
those appropriations, as voted pursuant to Article 36 of the warrant for the 2025 Annual Town Meeting, and to
raise and appropriate, or borrow pursuant to any applicable statute, transfer from available funds to meet any such
increases or adjustments; or to take any other action related thereto.
Select Board
MOTION 1
MOVED: That One Hundred Fifty Two Thousand Nine Hundred Ninety Five Dollars ($152,995) be
raised and appropriated from FY26 State Aid to the Town to supplement the voted School Department
Budget voted under Article 36 of the warrant for the May 2025 Annual Town Meeting.
FINANCE COMMITTEE VOTE: 8-0
FINANCE COMMITTEE DISCUSSION: The Finance Committee voted unanimously to accept an increase in
the FY 26 budget totaling $152,995. These funds will supplement the School Department budget voted under
Article 36 of the warrant from the May 2025 ATM. The increase in State Aid is the result of the State budget
signed by the Governor in June 2025, after Town Meeting had already been concluded. The Town received the
revised Cherry Sheet at the end of June which consisted of several changes resulting in a net sum increase of
$152,995 for FY 2026.
32Source page 34
ANNUAL TOWN MEETING – MAY 11, 2026
MOTION 2
MOVED: That Two Hundred Four Thousand Dollars ($204,000) be transferred from the FY26
Trash Collection Budget, account # 14332–52901, voted under Article 36 of the warrant for the May
2025 Annual Town Meeting to the Department of Public Works Solid Waste Disposal Budget, account #
14332-52905-REPSV, voted under Article 36 of the warrant for the May 2025 Annual Town Meeting.
FINANCE COMMITTEE VOTE: 8-0
FINANCE COMMITTEE DISCUSSION: The Finance Committee unanimously voted to transfer funds from the
Trash Collection Budget to the Solid Waste Disposal Budget. The Town received a credit from Republic Services for
last summer's disruption in trash collection, and this transfer uses that credit to cover the increased costs incurred
by Department of Public Works manning trash disposal at 99 Pine St.
APPROVED__________DISAPPROVED__________
ARTICLE 9
RESCIND UNUSED BORROWING AUTHORIZATIONS
Article 9 To see if the Town will vote to rescind unused borrowing authorizations previously voted by the Town; or
take any other action related thereto.
Select Board
MOVED: That the following unused borrowing authorization previously voted by the Town be
hereby rescinded:
FINANCE COMMITTEE VOTE: 8-0
FINANCE COMMITTEE DISCUSSION: The Finance Committee voted unanimously to rescind this unused
borrowing authorization of $793,657.50. The MA Water Resources Authority (“MWRA”) provided MWRA funds as a
primary funding source and therefore this borrowing is no longer needed to finalize this project. This action
rescinds the borrowing authority for those funds and returns the rescinded amount to our debt capacity limits.
APPROVED__________DISAPPROVED__________
ARTICLE 10
APPROPRIATE FUNDS FROM OVERLAY SURPLUS ACCOUNT
Article 10 To see if the Town will vote to appropriate funds from the Town’s Overlay Surplus account for purposes
voted by the Board of Assessors; or take any other action related thereto.
Select Board for the Board of Assessors
MOVED: That Seventy-Five Thousand Dollars ($75,000) be appropriated from Overlay Surplus
Account 100-12326 to Assessor’s account # 11412- 53126 Professional Services Legal.
FINANCE COMMITTEE VOTE: 7-0
33Source page 35
ANNUAL TOWN MEETING – MAY 11, 2026
FINANCE COMMITTEE DISCUSSION:
The Finance Committee voted unanimously to support the transfer of $75,000 from the Overlay Account to the
Assessor's Account. The Overlay account is a reserve account used to ensure that the town has funds set aside
primarily to address abatements. Given both the current balance in the account and the allocation of these funds for
one time professional/legal services expenses the Finance Committee supported this transfer.
APPROVED__________DISAPPROVED__________
ARTICLE 11
AUTHORIZE CERTAIN REVOLVING FUNDS
Article 11 To see what new or additional revolving funds, pursuant to c. 44, section 53E ½ of the General Laws of
the Commonwealth, the Town may establish by amendment to Article VIII (“Financial Regulations”), Section 16
(“Departmental Revolving Funds”) of the General Bylaws of the Town and to see what amendments if any the town
may vote to existing revolving funds contained in the Town’s Bylaw, and to determine the limit on total amounts that
may be expended from the Town’s revolving accounts, for various boards, commissions or departments of the town,
for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2026 and ending June 30, 2027; or to take any other action related thereto.
Select Board
MOVED: That the spending limits for the revolving funds established pursuant to General By-
Laws Article VIII, Section 16 pursuant to the provisions of MGL chapter 44, section 53 E ½ for the 2027
fiscal year beginning July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027 as set forth below, and that each
Revolving Fund shall be credited with the balance remaining in such fund at the end of the FY 2026 as
follows:
Revolving
Fund # Name of Revolving Fund FY27 Spending Limit
110 Veteran’s Services Special Revenues $100,000
119 Library Revolving Fund $75,000
130 Recreation Revolving Fund $650,000
134 Pequitside Farm Rentals $50,000
135 Greenlodge Street Parking Fees $100,000
136 Beautification Fund $10,000
137 Animal Control Special Revenues $50,000
138 Library Building Rentals $50,000
140 COA Revolving Fund $150,000
141 Board of Health Special Revenue $50,000
Paul Revere Heritage Site Rolling
142 Mill and Open Space Fund $250,000
145 Traffic Mitigation Fund $50,000
Paul Revere Heritage Site Museum
152 Fund $100,000
FINANCE COMMITTEE VOTE: 7-0
FINANCE COMMITTEE DISCUSSION: The Finance Committee supports this article which sets annual
spending limits for each revolving fund. This article also specifies that each fund be credited with the balance
remaining in the account at the end of FY26. There have been no changes recommended to the Spending Limits
from FY26 to FY27.
APPROVED__________DISAPPROVED__________
34Source page 36
ANNUAL TOWN MEETING – MAY 11, 2026
ARTICLE 12
INSURANCE PROCEEDS
Article 12 To see whether the Town will vote to appropriate all sums over $150,000 recovered under the terms of
any insurance policy and any other insurance proceeds paid to the Town in connection with any losses suffered by
the Town; or to take any other action related thereto.
Select Board
MOVED: That the subject matter of Article 12 be indefinitely postponed.
FINANCE COMMITTEE VOTE: 9-0
FINANCE COMMITTEE DISCUSSION: According to Massachusetts General Law, Town Meeting must vote to
approve all sums over $150,000 recovered under the terms of any insurance policy. The are no insurance
proceeds to appropriate at this Town Meeting, therefore, the Finance Committee voted to indefinitely postpone.
APPROVED__________DISAPPROVED__________
ARTICLE 13
ACCEPT GENERAL OR SESSION LAWS ENACTED BY THE GENERAL COURT
Article 13 To see if the Town will vote to accept any general or session laws enacted by the General Court for the
benefit of cities or towns or of benefit to the Town of Canton; or to take any other action related thereto.
Select Board
MOVED: That the subject matter of Article 13 be indefinitely postponed.
FINANCE COMMITTEE VOTE: 9-0
FINANCE COMMITTEE DISCUSSION: The Finance Committee voted unanimously to postpone this article
indefinitely, as there are no general session laws enacted by the General Court to be accepted.
APPROVED__________DISAPPROVED__________
35Source page 37
ANNUAL TOWN MEETING – MAY 11, 2026
ARTICLE 14
APPROPRIATION TO SUPPLEMENT THE COMMONWEALTH’S CHAPTER 90 PROGRAM
Article 14 To see if the town will vote to raise and appropriate, transfer from available funds, transfer from water
enterprise surplus (retained earnings), or borrow pursuant to any applicable statute, a sum of money to be spent
by the Select Board acting as the Board of Public Works to supplement the amount received from the Chapter 90
Roads Program with improvements done in accordance with improvement specifications as determined by and
subject to, the approval of the Board of Public Works and consistent with locations identified in the Town’s
Pavement Management System, or to take any other action related thereto.
Select Board
Select Board Discussion: This article allows the Town to supplement the Commonwealth’s Chapter 90 funding to
maintain and improve Canton’s roadway infrastructure. State Chapter 90 allocations alone are often insufficient to
address the full scope of roadway maintenance needs identified in the Town’s Pavement Management Plan.
Providing additional local funding enables the Town to complete priority road improvements in a timely and cost-
effective manner, helping preserve infrastructure, enhance public safety, and reduce more costly repairs in the
future. Vote 5-0-0
MOVED: That Six Hundred Thousand Dollars ($600,000) be appropriated to be spent by the Board
of Public Works to supplement the amount received from the Chapter 90 Roads Program with
improvements done in accordance with improvement specifications as determined by and subject to the
approval of the Board of Public Works and consistent with locations identified in the Town’s Pavement
Management System and to meet said appropriation Six Hundred Thousand Dollars ($600,000) be
transferred from Free Cash (Undesignated Fund Balance) in the Treasury of the Town with the intent
that said funds shall be available in FY26.
FINANCE COMMITTEE VOTE: 8-0
FINANCE COMMITTEE DISCUSSION: The Finance Committee unanimously supports the motion to transfer
$600,000 from Free Cash (Undesignated Fund Balance) to supplement funds received from the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts under the Chapter 90 roads program. The funds will be allocated to the Town DPW to be spent on the
repair and upkeep of public ways. The Finance Committee supports the Town DPW Director’s strategic plan to
monitor and maintain the quality of the Town's roads. In addition to providing extra funds to address the significant
needs that exist, by making the funds available in FY26 (instead of having to wait until FY27), this article allows the
town to begin the bidding process for some of the work earlier in the season, rather than waiting until the passage
of the state budget. The amount of Free Cash supplemental funds being proposed at this year's Annual Town Meeting
is less than has been presented in some other recent years to allow Free Cash to be used for other priorities as well
as the roads. The efforts to repair and improve the Town's roadways are a priority for the Town and there is a need
to address road conditions to ensure road quality and safety. While more funding for road repairs and improvements
would be helpful in the long-run, these funds will be helpful toward that goal. It is important to note that the
necessary redeployment of DPW personnel to manage trash collection during the Republic trash strike during July,
August and September of 2025, significantly impacted DPW’s ability to make progress on road improvements in the
peak season of when that work is done. As a result, there are remaining funds from this past year that will be added
to this supplement so more road improvements can be accomplished this year.
APPROVED__________DISAPPROVED__________
36Source page 38
ANNUAL TOWN MEETING – MAY 11, 2026
ARTICLE 15
“OMNIBUS” CAPITAL OUTLAY PROGRAM
Article 15 To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate, transfer from available funds, or to authorize the
Town Treasurer, with the approval of the Select Board, to borrow (and to issue bonds or notes therefore) any sum
or sums of money, or by any combination of these methods of financing, as may be necessary or desirable, make
available funds for the purpose of purchasing, leasing, re-conditioning, improving or replacing any motor vehicles
or other items of equipment or machinery or other items of personal property for any town agency, or for the
purpose of contracting for any service, or for the design, repair, acquisition, construction, replacement or relocation
or improvement to any town building or other structure, public works facility (including highway needs and traffic
safety items), any other town owned facility or real property, or for any other purposes for which borrowing may
be authorized, to purchase, or to take by eminent domain, any land or easements necessary for any such purposes
and, where applicable, to authorize the trade-in of any presently owned motor vehicles, equipment or machinery to
reduce the purchase or acquisition cost of any item to be acquired, and to include in any new capital project
borrowing authorization and/or to amend such borrowing authorizations from prior years Town Meetings to provide
for the application of any bond premiums to reduce the cost of such borrowings or to apply same to payment of
project costs; or to take any other action related thereto.
Select Board for Capital Planning Committee
MOTION 1
MOVED:
(a) The acquisition of all vehicles and other motorized equipment that is authorized to be purchased or
otherwise acquired by any motion made under this warrant article shall be under the responsibility of
the Finance Director/Chief Procurement Officer. In addition to the procurement, the “trade-in” or other
disposition of all vehicles and other motorized equipment being replaced is also authorized and shall be
under the responsibility of the Finance Director/Chief Procurement Officer. In all cases where by a
motion made under this warrant article, a vehicle or other piece of motorized equipment is to be acquired
by a town agency such purchase or acquisition shall be subject to and bound by the detailed
specifications regarding such purchase or acquisition on file in the office of the Town Clerk; provided,
however, the Finance Director/Chief Procurement Officer, may, in appropriate circumstances, waive or
modify the said detailed specifications, subject to a vote of the Finance Committee, taken within 30
(thirty) days following a decision to waive or to modify the foregoing provision requiring full compliance
with the specifications on file.
(b) All building related projects which are approved and or funded by any motion made under this article
shall be under the responsibility of the Building Renovations Committee appointed pursuant to Canton
By-law, Article X, section 4, except as may be provided by any specific motion made pursuant to this
article.
FINANCE COMMITTEE VOTE: 7 - 0
Article 15 – Motion 1
FINANCE COMMITTEE DISCUSSION: This motion authorizes the Finance Director to supervise the acquisition,
trade-ins, or other disposition of vehicles and other motorized equipment. This motion also authorizes the Building
Renovations Committee to oversee all building/land projects.
APPROVED__________DISAPPROVED__________
37Source page 39
ANNUAL TOWN MEETING – MAY 11, 2026
Article 15 - MOTION 2
MOVED: That One Million One Hundred Eighteen Thousand Four Hundred Thirty Dollars
($1,118,430) be appropriated from the Fiscal Year 2027 tax levy and other general revenues of the Town
to be spent by the Finance Director (in his capacity as Chief Procurement Officer) with the approval of
various Municipal Departments designated below and with the approval of the Select Board for the
purposes set forth below as follows:
FINCOM
RECOMMENDATIONS AMOUNT
Board of Health
SUV Replacement $35,000
Vaccine Refrigerator / Freezer Replacement 6,000
MIS
AV/Firewall & Anti-Virus Renewal 89,000
4 Server Replacements & Additional Storage 80,000
70 Computer Replacements 89,000
Software Upgrades – Office 365 120,300
Fire Department
Feasibility Study 110,000
Police Department
4 Police Cruiser Replacements 214,615
7 Tasers 41,520
Central Maintenance
Fire Department Boiler Replacement 46,019
Air Conditioning System for American Legion Hall 13,800
2004 Kubota Tractor Replacement 41,395
Police Department Headquarters Building Repairs 89,156
2017 CM2 F350 Vehicle Replacement with Hybrid 45,280
Upfitting/Outfitting of 5 Central Maintenance Vehicles 10,325
New Ride-On Leaf Blower 12,399
2003 Trailer Mounted Leaf Vac Replacement 8,500
Replace CMT1 & CMT2 Landscape & Utility Trailers 9,290
Department of Public Works
Hosting Migration Services for Asset Management Software 20,000
Revere & Son Heritage Trust
Storage Space at Museum 21,478
Vestibule in Rolling Mill Building 15,353
_________
GRAND TOTAL $1,118,430
The amounts listed above for particular acquisitions are not to be construed as individual appropriations.
The sums shown are intended to be estimates of individual items but the amount appropriated is one-
line item in the total sum of One Million One Hundred Eighteen Thousand Four Hundred Thirty Dollars
($1,118,430). The Finance Director and Town Administrator, acting jointly, are hereby authorized to
distribute such funds in such a manner as may be needed to accomplish the foregoing list of purchases;
provided, however, that each item contained in the list is procured and that the excess funds are available
because one or more items cost less than estimated and not because an item intended to be procured is
not so procured.
FINANCE COMMITTEE VOTE: 7-0
38Source page 40
ANNUAL TOWN MEETING – MAY 11, 2026
ARTICLE 15 - MOTION 2 CAPITAL PLANNING DISCUSSIONS (Municipal Cash Capital):
Board of Health
SUV Replacement ($35,000)
The Capital Planning Committee supports this request 4-0-1.
This cash capital request is to replace the Department of Health’s 2013 Ford Focus used by the Health Director for
supplies, deliveries, and inspections with a new larger SUV, which, in addition to being a 2026 model, will be an EV
vehicle that will reduce operating costs over time.
Vaccine Refrigerator / Freezer Replacement ($6,000)
The Capital Planning Committee supports this request 4-0-1.
This cash capital request is to replace the current refrigerator, used principally to store the Department’s inventory
of vaccines for public distribution, with a larger capacity combined refrigerator/freezer unit that will add key
functionality for this important Department of Health program.
MIS
AV/Firewall & Anti-Virus Renewal ($89,000)
The Capital Planning Committee supports this request 4-0-1.
This request is for a multi-year renewal of the MIS Department’s subscription to anti-virus software and firewalls. It
will be funded from $89,000 cash capital and $7,000 from other MIS surplus funds.
4 Server Replacements & Additional Storage ($80,000)
The Capital Planning Committee supports this request 4-0-1.
This cash capital request is to replace four system wide host servers to maintain compliance with hardware
requirements, including additional storage capacity to meet the identified needs of the police department.
70 Computer Replacements ($89,000)
The Capital Planning Committee supports this request 4-0-1.
This cash capital request is an annual request to replace numerous desktop computer systems of various departments
so that they run the latest operating systems.
Software Upgrades – Office 365 ($120,300)
The Capital Planning Committee supports this request 4-0-1.
This cash capital request is to upgrade system wide computers with Office 365 licenses and professional services.
Fire
Feasibility Study ($110,000)
The Capital Planning Committee supports this request 4-0-1.
This cash capital request is to study the current fire department properties and buildings at Stations 1 and 2 to
determine how best to modernize or optimize them to meet the needs of our growing community. The study will
deliver cost estimates and comparative analyses for each potential option identified.
Police Department
4 Police Cruiser Replacements ($214,615)
The Capital Planning Committee supports this request 4-0-0.
This dual-sourced capital request will use $214,615 from cash capital (requested in this motion) and $117,064
redirected from the Police Fire-Suppression System Project [ATM 2025, Article 13, Motion 14] for a total of $331,679.
This is an annual request from the Canton Police Department to routinely replace the worn-out cruisers in their fleet
with new ones for safety and performance. Police vehicles have a much shorter lifespan than the average vehicle due
to heavy wear and high-performance needs. As a result, the Canton Police Department is following the standard
practice of replacing vehicles once they reach 80,000 to 90,000 miles driven, unless reliability issues warrant
replacing a vehicle sooner. Replacing police vehicles using these parameters is a more cost-effective way to manage
the fleet than potentially costly repairs and maintenance, and the loss of access to these vehicles while this work is
performed.
39