Advisory Committee Recommendations for Town Meeting - June 15

ARTICLE 1: Annual Town Elections Board of Selectmen

THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS APPROVAL OF ARTICLE 1: VOTE OF 10-0-0

No recommendation required

ARTICLE 2: Annual Town Reports Board of Selectmen

THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS APPROVAL OF ARTICLE 2: VOTE OF 10-0-0

No recommendation required

ARTICLE 3: Report of Committees Board of Selectmen

THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS APPROVAL OF ARTICLE 3: VOTE OF 10-0-0

No recommendation required

ARTICLE 4: Operating Budget Board of Selectmen

THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS APPROVAL OF ARTICLE 4: VOTE OF 10-0-0

The Town of Foxborough FY21 Total Operating Budget proposal of $83,952,924 is being Recommended by the Advisory Committee. The recommended amount represents $1,750,006 less than the originally requested FY21 Total Operating Budget amount of $85,702,930.

Following is the summary breakdown by department of the FY 2021 proposal vs. the FY 2020 Budget:

FY 2020 Department Budget / FY 2021 Recommended / Variance % of Budget

General Government $3,382,371 / $3,507,760 / $125,389 (3.71% increase) 4.2%

Public Safety $10,054,893 / $10,097,573 / $42,680 (0.42% increase) 12.0%

Education $36,596,761 / $38,182,233 / $1,585,472 (4.33% increase) 45.5%

Public Works $2,354,674 / $2,388,912 / $34,239 (1.45% increase) 2.8%

Health & Human Services $1,109,575 / $1,095,597 / ($13,979) (1.26% decrease) 1.3%

Culture & Recreation $1,281,274 / $1,271,847 / ($9,427) (0.74% decrease) 1.5%

Debt Service $2,958,362 / $3,713,923 / $755,561 (25.54% increase) 4.4%

Insurance & Other $14,527,583 / $15,122,059 / $594,475 (4.09% increase) 18.0%

Stabilization Fund $100,000 / $100,000 / Unchanged 0.1%

OPEB Trust Contribution $964,069 / $0 / ($964,069) (100.0% decrease) 0.0%

Total General Fund $73,329,563 / $75,479,904 / $2,150,341 (2.93% increase) 89.9%

450 Water Enterprise Fund $5,784,449 / $6,778,667 / $994,218 (17.19% increase) 8.1%

460 Sewer Enterprise Fund $1,658,583 / $1,694,353 / $35,771 (2.16% increase) 2.0%

Total Enterprise Fund $7,443,032/ $8,473,020 / $1,029,988 (13.84% increase) 10.1%

Total Operating Budget $80,772,594 / $83,952,924 / $3,180,330 (3.94% increase) 100.0%

In summary, the growth rates above highlight how the Total Operating Budget is increasing at levels that are consistent with the needs of the community. Any available funds not expended are turned back to help support future capital needs and to provide adequate reserves for the protection of the Town’s long-term financial health.

This budget proposal is inclusive of a recommendation by the Advisory Committee to lower a previous estimate of Local Receipts Revenue by $500,000 and increase usage of Free Cash by the same amount. With this change the Advisory Committee was comfortable recommending the Fiscal 2021 Budget Proposal.

ARTICLE 5: CIP Budget Board of Selectmen

THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS APPROVAL OF ARTICLE 5: VOTE OF 10-0-0

This Capital Improvement Plan was developed by the CIP Committee, subsequently reduced by the Town Manager, and then approved by the Board of Selectmen. The CIP Committee is responsible for reviewing spending requests for major, non-recurring tangible assets (including vehicles and equipment) that have a useful life of at least 5 years and cost $25,000 or more. The most common funding sources of the CIP budget include Free Cash, Water Receipts, Meals Tax, Sewer Receipts, State Aid, and Municipal Borrowing.

The total amount of the FY 2021 CIP Budget request is $11,016,500, (of which $9,400,000 is requested in Article 9). The Advisory Committee voted in favor of supporting the remaining $1,616, 500 in capital expenditures in order to maintain town infrastructure and support the operational needs of the various town departments.

ARTICLE 6: Fund Stabilization Board of Selectmen

THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS APPROVAL OF ARTICLE 6: VOTE OF 10-0-0

The Advisory Committee voted in favor of supporting the accepted financial policy of contributing to reserve funds that enable financial flexibility and help to ensure solvency.

ARTICLE 7: Unpaid Bills Finance Director

THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS APPROVAL OF ARTICLE 7: VOTE OF 10-0-0

The purpose of this article is to obtain approval to pay National Grid for a prior-period electric bill in the amount of $ 61,208.08. This amount represents the following costs:

• $6,235.89 - LED Lighting Initiative (South Street) for the period January 2019 - June 2019
• $54,972.19 - (Main Street) for the period April 2018 - December 2019

This should be the final bill from the LED Lighting Initiative, and the Advisory Committee agrees that the town is obligated to pay this amount. It is the expectation of town management that the FY 2021 budget will sufficiently cover electricity costs going forward.

ARTICLE 8: Revolving Fund Annual Spending Limits Town Manager

THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS APPROVAL OF ARTICLE 8: VOTE OF 10-0-0

The purpose of this article is to authorize the annual spending limits for the Town’s six revolving funds. The proposed total for the funds is $645K, split between Recreation ($375,000), Police and Fire Apparatus Utilization ($100,000), Highway Department ($40,000), Council on Aging Senior Trips & Programs ($120,000), Council on Aging and Human Services ($5,000), and Council on Aging Community Events ($5,000).

The amounts for Recreation, Police and Fire Utilization, and Highway Department are unchanged from fiscal year 2020 levels. The Council on Aging Senior Trips & Programs includes an increase of $60,000, and the Councils of Aging and Human Services and Aging Community Events represent new items.

Revolving fund revenues are sourced from users and/or participants of the services provided by each fund’s board or department, and funds are prohibited from running deficits. With these controls in place the Advisory Committee was comfortable with the spending limits as written in the proposed article.

ARTICLE 9: DPW – Water Borrowing ($9.4M) Board of Selectmen

ADVISORY COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS APPROVAL OF ARTICLE 9: VOTE OF 10-0-0

The purpose of this article is to ask the town to appropriate 9.4 million dollars ($9,400,000) for investments in water system improvements (including testing, engineering, design, specifications, contracts, permitting, construction, and administration costs). Improvements include the following: construction of a new water tank ($4.5M), installation of a new water main on West Street ($2.5M), rehabilitation of the Route 1 water tank ($2.0M), and construction of a storage building at the Pumping Station Rd property ($400K).

The Town Treasurer (with approval of the Board of Selectman) would borrow $9,400,000, with subsequent principle and interest payments to be paid out of water revenues. The Advisory Committee was in favor of the borrowing, primarily to support the need for ongoing maintenance and efficient operations of the water infrastructure of the Town. Secondarily, the Town should be able to take advantage of interest rates that are significantly lower than historical averages.

ARTICLE 10: Land Swap Board of Selectmen

THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS APPROVAL OF ARTICLE 10: VOTE OF 10-0-0

The purpose of this article is to see if the Town will vote to authorize a land swap with the Foxborough Housing Authority. The Town owns the property at 17 Centennial Street, as a result of a previous tax lien issue. The Foxborough Housing Authority owns the unoccupied property at 15-17 Market Street. With a swap, the Town would use the Market Street property to increase parking in the downtown area. The developer of the Fire Station Conversion Project has agreed to remove the house at 15-17 Market St., pave the lot, and mark it for parking at no cost to the Town. The properties have similar value. The Advisory Committee voted in favor of the land swap as it was considered a low-cost enhancement to the Downtown Development Plan.

ARTICLE 11: Animal Control Animal Control

THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS APPROVAL OF ARTICLE 11: VOTE OF 10-0-0

The purpose of this article is to request several changes to Chapter 78: (Animals) in the Foxboro Town Code. First, the bylaw as currently written references only dogs in the definition of a “Public Nuisance”; this article would broaden the scope to include any animal that meets the stated criteria. The article also proposes replacing the existing fine structure with an updated structure that includes higher penalties for nuisance violations. Lastly, the timing associated with the licensing of dogs would be updated to allow for more flexibility and the fine for noncompliance would be make explicit at no less than $50.

The Advisory Committee unanimously agreed with the changes to Chapter 78 in that they are intended to give Animal Control the tools needed to promote safety for residents and animals alike.