HANSON – The Select Board on Tuesday, July16 grapples with the need to communicate the necessary operational override for the town next year, with the apparent logical conflict of spending ARPA funds to do it.
The good news, they were told as they met virtually with consulting firm Capital Strategic Solutions, was that those leftover federal funds are in an account that can only be used for municipal government purposes. The firm’s officials pledged to fine-tune cost estimates of about $50,000 plus an anticipated $5,000 for mailers – down to the $49,000 to $50,000 without an added cost for voter information mailers.
At the same time, they had another communication issue on their hands.
“We now sound like we’re on the Starship Enterprise,” Chair Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett said as she welcomed them to the meeting as an intermittent echo reverberated through the meeting room. “I have no way to control it.”
Whitman Hanson Community Access Television production assistant Paul Watson worked throughout the meeting to correct the problem.
Capital CEO Nicole Figueiredo led the presentation, which the Mass.-based, certified women-owned business specializing in municipal engagement and other forms of public administration, community engagement and project management – among other specialties – spoke to the firm’s expertise in Hanson’s need for explaining the need for an operational override for the town next year.
“Some of the key objectives in doing outreach and engagement for an override is explaining what an override is and outlining the specific needs the override will address, whether it’s funding for public safety, infrastructure and schools, etc.,” Figueiredo said.
While the Select Board has been emphasizing the need for such outreach, they also expressed concern about the cost.
“Your development of educational materials [is important], but then there’s an additional service for direct mailers, which would be delivering the educational materials to the townspeople,” Vice Chair Ann Rein said. “That’s an extra five grand. I noticed that – that wouldn’t come out of the cost of the contract.”
Figueiredo granted that would be an additional cost.
“That’s why I’m talking about costs, because we’ve been down this road before,” Select Board member Joe Weeks said. “[We] thought we had the costs figured out, and then, come to find out, it wasn’t what we thought it was. That’s why I want to be very clear what this is, because it’s going to be, already, a hard sell if we’re asking people for an override, by spending $15,000 that we say we don’t have to spend.”
“Which makes no sense,” Board member Ed Heal said.
Rein said Capital did a marvelous job getting the town social media running properly, proving themselves worth the money, but the question is, does the town have the money.
Town Administrator Lisa Green said leftover ARPA funds from the treasury bucket could be used for Capital’s costs as a general government services expense.
“That’s why we’re even talking about this,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said.
Michael Gallagher, a professional consultant with Capital Strategic Solutions, is a retired administrator in North Attleboro where he participated in the town’s change of government and a recent Proposition 2 ½ override.
“We were able to get an override passed because of the outreach we had done,” he said, noting he has a lot of experience in both the public and private sector.
“One of the things that was very important and a key to the process was part of our public outreach and making sure we were very open and had a plan in place,” Gallagher said of his experience in North Attleboro. “We also did a lot of making sure we were very specific about where every dollar went.”
He and the North Attleboro Select Board had provided a spreadsheet where every expenditure was outlined down to the dollar to show where the override would be spent for the following three years, he said.
Figueiredo agreed that municipal finance can be very challenging to explain to residents.
“We highlight the benefits and address the potential concerns,” she said, adding that press releases, the town website, media channels and community meetings are leaned on to get the word out.
Feedback from the community during the process is really important, Figueiredo said.
“You don’t really know what your community members do understand and don’t understand about an override,” she said. Both representatives of Capital Strategic Solutions have override experience under their belts.
They start with data-gathering centering on historical revenue and expense information, which they described as critical, then they can do projections on “what it might look like without any type of revenue enhancement through an override,” building their strategic plan on how the town intends to use that information.
“If you show them what’s happening to their town – because it is their town, it’s their money – people understand when you show them all the data,” he said.
“You’re giving them ownership on how these funds are being spent,” Figueiredo agreed.
As the town moves into the voting phase, providing maximum access to that information ensures people know what they are voting for, encouraging as many people as possible to vote, regardless of which side of the question they favor.
Weeks, satisfied that leftover ARPA funds could be used for the voter education project, asked if there wasn’t a more pressing need in town for that $50,000 wallet.
“I have to ask the question, because someone’s going to kick me if I don’t,” he said.
“The most important thing is to collect the data and get the information out there,” Green said. “Given the staffing in the office, we can’t do this alone, we really need the support of Capital Strategic Solutions, where they have people who have been through this process, that have a lot more insight – this is what they do every day.”
FitzGerald-Kemmett also responded to Week’s question about whether there are more important uses for the money.
“I don’t think there is,” she said. “We are at a critical crossroads here, and if this does not happen, we are looking at catastrophic cuts – not just town government, but schools – the whole way across. This is it. … This year, we felt a little bit of the pinch and next year, we’re going to feel the full blow.”
She also pointed out that residents often complain about rising tax rates.
“No,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “The tax rate has not been raised. Your value of your property has increased because that’s what property values do. The tax you are paying is based on the value of your property.”
The Board of Assessors sets the property values based on state formulas, not haphazardly does.
“I wish they would realize they could work with us,” Rein said. “We all have to work through this. It is not an easy thing to do.”
Weeks said that, while he agrees the outreach is one of the only permitted uses for these ARPA funds, he wanted to ensure the cost would not increase.
“I just want to make sure that that $50,000 doesn’t turn into $100,000 or $75,000 and then we’re pulling it out of free cash,” he said.
“If we hold the budget, I think it’s a good thing,” Rein said.
Figueiredo said Capital’s goal is to work side by side with Green and the board to help them communicate the financial health of the community, its revenue sources and expenditures, and develop the strategic plan to get out before the voters.
“We’re going to provide the support services they need that they don’t [already] have,” Figueiredo said. “A lot of communities that do overrides have a lot of staff.”
They will review the data and financial reports with Green and develop a game plan for how the override revenue is going to get back to the community in a positive light, as well as what would happen if an override failed – from impacts on snow plowing and public safety to infrastructure permits that communities need.
“That’s the backbone of your community right there,” she said.
The town’s financial health – revenue sources, expenditures and capital projects – will also be reviewed in order to develop a comprehensive voter education and engagement plan, including meetings and forums with community members.
FitzGerald-Kemmett characterized the plan as “a little bit vague” in terms of numbers the town stands to receive and she asked Capital to reconsider – after seeing what officials have already done with other consultants hired with ARPA money to do some fiscal forecasting.
“I’d like to see the mailer included in the $49,000,” she said. “Clearly, we have to do a mailer and we don’t have another $5,000 kicking around. That may be the only way to reach all these people.”
Figueiredo agreed to re-examine that and come back at another meeting or otherwise submit a clear, concise plan for what they need to do in terms of public meetings and the number or mailers needed.
“I think we’d like more meat on the bones in terms of a project plan and timeline, with costs,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “We’re really excited about our staff … and us having support in trying to educate people and get the facts out there.”

HANSON – Police Chief Michael Miksch said salary issues have already motivated one police officer to leave the department, acknowledging to the Select Board on Tuesday, July 9 that the main reason was money.
Despite the sobering personnel news, Miksch saw reason for optimism in how the department handles persistent issues of addiction and mental health needs of residents.
“It is what it is,” Miksch said of the salary motivation behind departures, adding that the department’s shared clinician, who often accompanied officers on non-violent calls involving mental health issues, also departed for the greener pastures of higher salaries city departments could offer.
“Obviously, the budget is a challenge, every year maintenance on the building is difficult,” he said. But despite two of the HVAC systems going down on the first day to go over 90 degrees, there were funds in the fiscal 2024 budget to fix it.
“Eric, don’t panic, I’ve got some money to turn back to you,” he said to Town Accountant Eric Kinsherf.
While the grant which four towns used to fund the clinician they all shared, Miksch said his department would not be able to replace the officer who recently left.
“It’s very difficult,” he said. “I can’t fill that position, at least until January.” The departure also left a supervisory position [that of a sergeant], vacant.”
During the next two weeks, he plans to hire a consulting company to come in and give a written exam, based on policies and procedures, Massachusetts case law and criminal law, followed by an assessment center for those passing the exam, which puts them through real-life scenarios geared toward assessing their skill. Within three or four months, the process should yield a new supervisor, which Miksch had already planned for and budgeted, meaning the vacancy would then be that of a patrol officer.
Another lieutenant or deputy chief assessment center may also be needed, but that would be further into the year, he said.
In the meantime, calls for service remain a challenge. But where there was some concern about the numbers, Miksch focused on the positives in how his department approaches the people making those calls, or who are the subject of the calls.
making a difference
Miksch said there have been 5,640 calls so far this year.
“Which is actually up a fair amount from last year at this time by 800 to 900 calls,” he said, chalking up some of that to the department’s increased traffic enforcement this year. But while calls are up, arrests have decreased this year, according to Micksch in his regular report to the Select Board. To date there have been 26 arrests this year.
“One of the main reasons those numbers are down is there’s been a shift – and we try to do that through training, too – to some minor, non-violent offenses, we try not to bring anyone in the station,” the chief said. “We’re doing the same amount of work, whether we summons somebody to court or we lock them up.”
Cases involving violence, obviously call for talking a person into custody, Miksch said, but charges stemming from someone not having their drivers’ license, unless the suspension involved OUI or another substance issue where they don’t present a danger to the public or a similar offense, may skew the numbers away from the higher numbers of people in custody Hanson had seen in the past.
As the Police Officers’ Standard Training (POST) Committee, established a couple of years ago to certify officers, enters its third year, Miksch said he thinks complying with the new requirements should prove to be getting easier.
“It’s not that difficult, but it is time-consuming,” he said of procedures demanded of department leadership, rather than patrol officers, and May and June have proven to be their busiest months because of training deadlines.
Hanson has partnered with Halifax, Plympton and Carver to obtain a grant to hire a clinician, who was in place for a few months.
“She was absolutely wonderful,” Miksch said. “I’m a huge fan of this co-response model … if there was a nonviolent thing, we’d bring her along and she was extremely helpful.”
But Braintree had an opening, and she took that job.
“What tends to be a problem in the small communities, we’re not going to compete with them financially, so she left” he said. “Mental health right now – if you’re trying to find a clinician or anybody in the mental health field, good luck – they’re few and far between.”
The four communities are still looking and trying to find another clinician.
The department has also partnered with a new group in the area called The Loss Team, trained volunteers who come in to assist victims of suicide, the family members and friends of people who have committed suicide, Miksch said.
“Sadly, I’ve had to already use them,” Miksch said. “But, once again, it’s another great resource. [We’re] constantly trying to find those other groups, those other entities that can help us and still serve the citizens of the town.”
Hanson has for years, also part of East Bridgewater Hope, the substance abuse interdiction program, which has received another grant for training of Hanson officers.
“The good news is our fatal overdoses last year, were zero,” he said. There were 17 overdoes that required sending an officer out with a recovery coach.
“Most of the county was up a couple of percentage points, even in fatalities,” he said. “So, we’re doing well there.”
The office of District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz is working on a grant that would enable bringing community resource dogs in with the recovery coaches to help people with their anxiety and trying to work their way through their addiction problems.
Select board member Joe Weeks lauded Miksch and his department’s support for mental health services.
“A lot of people are afraid to access [these] services because they’re afraid they’re going to be arrested or penalized, or it’s going to follow them the rest of their lives,” Weeks said. “They’re isolated for a thousand different reasons, and you’ve really tried to make sure that people feel safe – and I feel it has to be said out loud – that I really hope that this legacy continues, because you’ve done an amazing job.”
Miksch said it is the “connection with the other chiefs” in the area that has done that. The big push for the clinician, for example, came from Carver, he said, noting that the officers have bought in and understand the need.
“But that’s a legacy, too,” chair Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “You’ve now got officers [for whom] this is a routine part of what they’re used to – what is part of the job. It’s destigmatized [mental health], that’s important, so that’s a legacy.”
contract votes
In other business, the Select board voted to reaffirm executive session votes on:

• A three-year contract, July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2027 for Deputy Police Chief Michael Casey involing the compensation rate of $147,900 per year and a $2,00 stipend for inservice training each year; paid the last payroll each August, he is allowed detail work, but only after all other officers have been offered the details.
• A three-year contract for town Administrator Lisa Green, July 1. 2024 to June 30, 2027 to include: a 2-percent pay increase to $151,541.64 in the frst year, $154,571.88 n the secnd year, $158,43.18 for the third year; an educational stipend of a juris doctorate degree, which she holds, of $5,000 for each of the first two years and $4,500 for the third year, payable in the first payroll date of December each year; 30 vacation days with a possible carryover of not more than 10 days or a buyout with permission of the Select board; sick time accural of 1.25 days per month with a maximum carryover of 30 sick days per fiscal year and professional development and fees for professional memberships.