HANSON — In a brief meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 15, the Board of Selectmen approved the provisional appointment of full-time police officer David Munn.

Selectmen Jim Hickey and Wes Blauss were unable to attend the meeting.

Police Chief Michael Miksch said the appointment was necessitated by a pending vacancy in the department as Sgt. Gene Andrews has given notice of his plans to retire in December.

“The past two people that we hired came with academies already,” said Miksch, noting he is working to get Munn, who has applied to be an officer in the past, into a spring police academy class. Munn is currently a full-time public safety dispatcher for the town for five years.

Munn is a combat veteran of the Marine Corps who has served a tour in Afghanistan in 2011, is a lifelong Hanson resident and graduate of South Shore Tech.

“I like his background,” said Selectman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett. “I like the fact that he’s been in that dispatch role and he is also a veteran … and then he’s going to go off to the academy. It just really seems like a great fit.”

Miksch praised Munn’s loyalty to the department and work ethic as well.

“If we can’t fill a shift, he’s stepped up to the plate and taken it,” Miksch said. “He’s been a great employee.”

The provisional hire would be contingent on his also passing a medical and psychological exam, background check and other tests and exams required by the department.

Selectmen Chairman Kenny Mitchell said he is familiar with Munn and lauded his character, especially in light of his work as a dispatcher.

A discussion of Green Community Grant applications was tabled until the Tuesday, Jan. 22 meeting.

A resident attending the meeting to request the lifting of “no trespassing” restrictions on Factory Pond, was informed the board could not discuss the matter as it was not on the agenda, but Town Administrator Michael McCue said he would seek an opinion on the issue from town counsel.

Selectmen approved a one-day liquor license request for a birthday party at Camp Kiwanee Jan. 19.

WHITMAN — The Finance Committee has been hearing dismal predictions of layoffs and reduced services as a result of even a 3-percent budget cut from almost all town departments in November and December — with projections of a 6-percent cut being even worse — as it has met with department heads in planning a fiscal 2020 budget.

Only the School District has yet to file a specific impact statement, but that is expected by the time it formally rolls out a budget next month.

The Finance Committee reported on the status of meetings with department heads at the Tuesday, Jan. 8 meeting of the Board of Selectmen.

“We appreciate the opportunity to present this information,” Chairman Richard Anderson said. “This committee … started the budget review cycle three months early with a very specific plan — to evaluate this community’s economic distress in fiscal 2020.”

He then provided a thumbnail outline of each department’s impact forecasts [see box at right].

“We’re looking for sustainability,” Anderson said.

“We have to get this information out that these are the impacts,” Selectman Scott Lambiase agreed.

Initial meetings with the departments have been held, and more are planned, to evaluate the impact of 3- or 6-percent cuts to level-service budgets.

“These percentages were not arbitrary,” Anderson said. “They were based on the estimate of a $1.8 million [budget] shortfall for this fiscal year.”

The Finance Committee has also been updating Selectmen on a regular basis to inform them as well as the public for a “clearer understanding of the need to improve communication with all the stakeholders in this process,” according to Anderson.

“I think we’re getting a comprehensive look at what these funding cuts would mean to the town,” he added, noting there is still two weeks of work ahead of them.

Selectmen Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski said the forecast was “sobering, but not unexpected” and asked about suggestions the Finance Committee might have.

Anderson said that, while they continue meeting with department heads, while developing a draft Article 2 budget with which to work in the second round of meetings.

“We need several different budget scenarios,” he said. “We can’t be caught at the last minute, as we have in years past, with no battle plan.”

Town Administrator Frank Lynam said there was a bit of good financial news — meals tax revenues were up to $166,000 from $140,000 and National Grid has finally worked with the town in time to obtain the grant for LED conversion of streetlights, which should be completed this month, which will “have a meaningful effect on our budget,” at a $35,000 savings.

But Lynam also cautioned that a power-share agreement to rebate 22 percent of electrical costs through National Grid, won’t be realized until the third quarter of 2019.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” he said.

National Grid’s property tax boost to the town is amortizing at a rate where the benefit will disappear in two years, and the tax burden is already shifting to homeowners.

“This board has to take a solid look at freeing up levy space,” said Selectman Randy LaMattina. He again argued for moving the debt for the new police station and Town Hall/Fire Station renovations to a debt exclusion. Officials agreed that, while funding the work within the levy limit seemed right at the time, things have changed.

“The town needs to look at some type of long-term investment back into the community,” he said. “I think the taxpayers will help us out, but we need to help them out.”

Lynam agreed.

“There’s no question that some expenditures have to be reduced,” he said. “The question is how do we do it in a way that makes sense. … To continue operating the kind of town that people are living in and happy to be in — we’re going to have to spend some money, there’s no way around that.”

Finance Committee Vice Chairman David Codero also reminded Selectmen that voters at the 2018 Town Meeting voted to spend $800,000 of capital stabilization funds to provide pay increases for department heads and capital spending.

“Infusing a budget with money from outside sources is not a solution,” he said. “That one-time money is no longer there. … I emplore the Board of Selectmen not to take another kick-the-can-down-the-road type of strategy this year. It’s not a great solution.”

School Committee member Fred Small said transportation reimbursement to the district is up a bit and the Maquan closing is beginning to be calculated.

If social media commentary is to be believed, as Selectman Brian Bezanson reported, there is no appetite in town for an override of any kind.

“You might get 1 percent who are in favor of any kind of increase. Period,” Bezanson said. “If you expect them to just stand in line, lock-step and go for whatever we can come up with … you’re not going to get the support for it. I believe they are tapped out.”

Lambiase said Bezanson was probably right, but the board still has to put a plan together.

Lynam and Kowalski reminded the board and residents “screaming on social media” that the town’s tax rate and actual tax bills are lower than those of surrounding communities.

The Bridgewater State Community Assessment Survey’s 19 percent — or 1,037 residents (632 online, 405 on paper) — has been completed and will be available for review as a value statement of the town’s residents.

WHITMAN — The Feeney family is grateful this holiday season as they envision 2019 as a more tranquil year.

Their hearts are full of love for their three girls:  Shelby, 5, who has Charge Syndrome and twin girls Tamsin and Elyse who are six.

Settling in their newly renovated, handicapped accessible home Dan and Nicole are also expecting the birth of their baby boy Rhys (pronounced Reese) any day. The name is Welsh for enthusiasm.

Summing up the adventures of this past year the girls were eager to show off their new house. The playroom now an open floor plan with cozy spots for all three is accessible for toys and storage.

Charge Syndrome has significantly affected Shelby’s vision and hearing. She is diagnosed as deaf blind. She uses a gait trainer, which she can get in and out of by herself but she is developmentally delayed and walks only with assistance.

Although she will not continue to lose her current level of hearing and vision, it will not improve. Through occupational therapy they are able to maintain her present ability with hearing implants and glasses as well as strengthening her muscles.

Shelby and her family speak and use sign language to communicate. She doesn’t use Braille because of a tactilely defensive response. It has prevented her from wanting to touch things a common trait in Charge Syndrome.

She has a sensory swing that is supported by a ceiling beam for indoor play during cold weather and also for decompression. She explores her world using her other senses with a current favorite toy:  her yellow giraffe and a light up sensory board that sings.

Feeney hired a universal designer:  a company called Beige and Bleu who handled the functionality and aesthetics making the home truly accessible to Shelby’s needs. That work, along with an accessible van and travel for medical treatments have been aided by a Go Fund Me page (https://www.gofundme.com/shelbys-home-van-and-medical-trip) that has raised $44,891 of a $63,541 goal through donations by 298 people over the past 15 months.

“It’s amazing. It’s perfect,” said mom Nicole.

The days are long for Shelby who attends the Perkins School for the Blind. Her basic daily needs such as bathing; dressing and toileting will become slightly easier as they have the equipment to keep her safe.

A half bath with a full changing station allows Nicole to dress Shelby instead of laying her on the floor. With an accessible entry way there are zero thresholds throughout the house, which will allow her to use her walker freely. The insides of each doorframe are painted bright yellow for way finding.

The upstairs bath is fully accessible with a teak bench for her to be washed safely. She cannot care for herself so the burden is eased as both parents happily get accustomed to the new normal of proper equipment.

They no longer have to transport Shelby up and down the steep, winding stairs, which as she grows has become unsafe. She is buckled in a remote stair lift chair, which allows her to ride up instead of being carried.

Colors that assist with visional depth perception   were also used in blending color schemes and wood flooring.

Knobs are difficult for people with disabilities to operate so the kitchen has all pull hardware and lower level drawers for easier access.

The couple had a zoning board of appeals hearing in May after their story went public when a neighbor disputed their request to build a wheel chair ramp.  As a result there was an outpouring of support and donations of material and manpower to complete the renovations.  The family offered their thanks to local Whitman residents:  finish carpenters Bob Ells, electrician Bob Brown and Bellew Tile of Rockland who donated all the tiling for the upstairs bathroom.  There are several other anonymous donors who the Feeney’s also graciously acknowledged.

HANOVER — Vocational education costs for the eight communities making up the South Shore Regional Vocational Technical School District will increase by 3.1 percent, but that may not be reflected in local assessments when they are calculated early in 2019.

The School Committee heard Superintendent-Director Dr. Thomas J. Hickey’s presentation of the proposed fiscal 2020 budget on Wednesday, Dec. 19.

The proposed $13,816,872 budget represents an increase of $414,933 and a total assessment decrease of $10,216,what Hickey terms, in essence a “level-assessed budget” at the aggregate level.

“At the end of the day, the most important number is, ‘What is the assessment to my community?’” Hickey said. Such final figures await the governor’s budget figures released in January.

As of Oct. 1, there are 645 students, 581 within the district towns and 64 out of district. Whitman, with 145 students, and Hanson, with 76, are among the four biggest of the eight sending towns. Rockland tops the list at 159 students and Abington sends 94. All but Rockland, have seen a decrease in enrollment. Whitman’s was down by three and Hanson by four. Rockland gained five students and Abington declined by 21.

“What I’m happy to say is that, due to the projection that we have relative to non-resident tuition that we are collecting this year and a projection on regional transportation that we will get — 70 percent — the entire increase will be covered by outside revenue,” he said. Hickey is confident, based on last year’s regional transportation reimbursement that it will be the case.

“While those numbers still don’t provide any guarantee of what happens with each individual community, at least at that level, we’re able to strategize how to best deploy those available dollars,” he said

Hickey cautioned that assessments could increase a bit despite drops in enrollment.

“We’re going to say to each town, ‘this is your assessment,’ and it’s going to be based on the non-resident tuition we’re going to give back to them … and getting 70 percent [Chapter 70] reimbursement,” Hickey said Thursday, Dec. 20.

Whitman and Hanson could see increases in assessments but Hickey does not expect even  those assessments to be wildly different.

SST creates zero-based budgets, beginning each fall with classroom supervisors and department heads building a budget from nothing. “Nobody feels that, if I got $50,000 this year, I just have to add a couple of percent and call it a day,” Hickey said. “We start at zero and the way it works is, if you need it, it will be there.”

If there is a “big ask” in the budget, Hickey said it is in a $720,000 request for capital projects including $60,000 for flooring abatement/replacement in the cafeteria and a renovation of the boys’ locker room in the 1962 wing; $230,000 to add to the stabilization fund; and $430,000 for fields upgrades.

“We have an influx of money — one-time increase of that tuition — better to couple it with one-time capital expenses rather than over-building operating expenses that you then have to maintain over time,” he said. There are also no requests for major vocational equipment in the fiscal 2020 budget.

The fields work would involve drainage improvements to the practice field and baseball field, which have both been in poor condition for awhile. Once the improvements are made, the new horticulture department will be key in maintaining them.

“We have deferred maintenance on exterior needs so as to prioritize the building,” he said. “But the timing is right for such a undertaking.”

There was a setback in planning for needed renovations and expansion plans, however.

While the school’s master facilities plan is underway, the district was again passed over for Mass. School Building Authority (MSBA) funding assistance and will be resubmitting a Statement of Interest for funds next year.

At its December board meeting, the MSBA approved only 13 of 56 projects proposed by 70 school districts across the state, Hickey announced.

“But in calling the MSBA … the feedback that I got was that the level of detail we have provided is more than sufficient,” he said. A walk-through done last summer by an MSBA group, while not a guarantee, could lead to a follow-up visit next summer and provide evidence of the information in the district’s past SOIs.

“We have to continue to ask,” Hickey said. The stabilization fund will be used to fund any feasibility studies involved in future invitations into the MSBA core program. “That was the initial reason for starting the stabilization fund several years ago.”

The stabilization fund has grown over that time to a level where it can be used, if necessary to fund larger maintenance issues that might crop up, but Hickey said he sees no reason to tap it now.

Personnel requests for the year are low, with only a part-time school resource officer, a JV golf coach and stipends for after-school music and art program advisers included.

The $11.78 million in projects on the Master Facilities Plan are not being addressed in the 2020 budget.

“Having a stabilization fund is very important, but under no circumstances do I see this as anything more than our local version of OPEB (other post-employment benefits),” Hickey said. “We’re attempting to make a good effort to fund for things in the long-run, that we’re going to need. … But for now, I don’t see any crisis and so we’re not going to ask for something we don’t need.”

Staff spotlight

The School Committee also heard an update on the new Horticulture and Landscape Construction program during a Staff Spotlight on the department’s new instructors Tom Hart, who helped start the program last year, and Cassi Johnson.

Both are graduates of Norfolk County Agricultural High School and the Stockbridge School of Agriculture at UMasss, Amherst.  Hart was a landscape operations student at Norfolk, and earned a associate’s degree from the Stockbridge School and a bachelor’s degree through the university, taking jobs with commercial landscaping firms after graduation.

“We’re really excited about this new program,” Hart said. “Our ultimate goal for the future is to get these kids involved in small outdoor projects on the school grounds … getting involved in the industry and, essentially, growing the program to what we want it to be.”

Johnson focused on ornamental horticulture at Norfolk and earned an associate’s degree in horticulture from the Stockbridge School and a second associate’s degree in business from Massasoit Community College. She also worked with golf courses and interior landscapers and flower shops and was a manager in the floral department at Wegman’s, and earned her bachelor’s degree in environmental science from Southern New Hampshire University when she decided to pursue a career in education.

“We definitely have a focus with landscape instruction, but we also get to touch upon things like greenhouse management — we have a greenhouse going up — and floral design,” Johnson said, noting the hope with the latter is to participate in a lot of community events. “We have a lot of ideas … and we’re just looking forward to building the shop and gaining more students.”

Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak presented a proposed draft version of the fiscal 2020 regional school budget to the School Committee on Wednesday, Dec. 12 at a meeting attended by town officials, state Rep. Josh Cutler, department heads and residents from Whitman and Hanson.

“We thought it prudent to get into the budget, and discuss where we are with the budget,” said School Committee Chairman Bob Hayes. “As you know, our budget is a lot dependent on what happens with the governor’s budget, so these numbers are preliminary off the history we’ve taken over the last [seven] years.”

Hayes said the intent was to give select boards and finance committees an early indication of what the schools’ numbers might be, with a budget discussion planned for every School Committee meeting until the May town meetings.

“It will give the towns the opportunity to see what the budgets of the departments are, where we’re going, how we’re going to get there and how we can possibly make it all work,” Hayes said.

The official school budget will be rolled out in February.

“I just wanted to apologize and take ownership if I have misled anybody in the process of this budget,” Szymaniak said, noting he had planned to give the finance committees the first look at it, after internal talks began in November. “Nothing formal has come out.”

He and district Business Services Director Christine Suckow had met with a budget working group over the fall to develop a capital plan for the next five years. He presented the budget numbers to the Whitman Finance Committee Tuesday, Dec. 18, despite some social media claims that it had already been discussed.

Szymaniak stressed he would not have done that before presenting even preliminary numbers to the School Committee.

“They represent their folks in the communities,” Szymaniak said of the department heads and town officials attending. “I represent the kids and the 600-plus employees here. I want to do my best for them.”

The budget at this point — and Szymaniak also stressed its preliminary status — is $53,457,929 [See site-based breakdown at top right]. That represents $2,934,748 over current budget of $50,523,181 for a level-service budget. Szymaniak said the preliminary numbers do not include revenues.

“This is a discussion,” he said. “This isn’t our formal presentation to the community.”

A budget book will be presented to town officials and the community in February, but the rough numbers provide information on the issues the schools are facing.

“We get Cadillacs for Chevys [price-tag],” Szymaniak said of teacher and administrator salaries. “But we won’t be able to maintain that if we’re not successful in a level-service budget next year. I will need to go back and do some damage to the good things and the positive things that we’ve done.”

Szymaniak ran through each school’s site-based expenses, especially utilities, custodial, transportation, phone and trash fees as well as district technology, facilities, debt, tuitions and special education and administrative costs.

Also included in technology services — at $1,371,365 — are salaries, contracted services, equipment maintenance and replacement, supplies and travel. Facilities costs — at $1,498,591 — include salaries, snow removal, contracted services, supplies, building and equipment maintenance, emergency repairs, fuel/oil, gas, police details and overtime.

Special education costs — at $6,177,353 are up by $750,000 from fiscal 2019 and include tutoring services, administrative support salaries, supplies, summer materials, travel, contracted services, legal costs, out-of-district placements and summer salaries.

Administration costs — at $4,103,043 — include central office salaries, School Committee expenses, supplies, legal costs, principals’ salaries, curriculum directors’ salaries, photocopying costs, contracted services and instructional materials.

Insurance — $8,171,802 —and debt — $890,938 —are also included in debt calculations.

“These are rough numbers, but I wanted people … to understand where we are,” Szymaniak said. “We are not adding any programs. What [Assistant Superintendent] George [Ferro] and I have done is restructuring things that we currently have and renegotiating … which might make some funds available to add programs out of the current level-service budget. We’re not adding people, we’re restructuring positions to potentially add services that are needed in the elementary schools.”

The district employs 664 staff members, including daily substitute teachers. There are 3,823 students enrolled in W-H, ages 3 to 22.

Ferro noted that the district is “on the hook for 100-percent of transportation costs” of students educated by out-of-district placements in special education programs.

School Committee member Fred Small agreed that the district is obligated to pay those transportation costs.

“I think the one key that’s missing, obviously, is to fine-tune what the revenue side is going to look like,” Small said.

Transparency

While he agreed that some people object to the level of administrative salaries, Szymaniak ($164,532 to increase to $168,645) said he and Ferro are transparent about their pay, which he said is in line with the rest of the state, excluding areas of western Massachusetts, where the cost of living is lower.

“Whatever you need to know, you just have to ask a question,” Szymaniak said, noting he is always available to answer resident’s questions on the phone or in-person at his office or even a local coffee shop. He will not discuss budget issues on social media, he said.

“I will not answer questions on Facebook,” he said. “I can’t win.”

Hayes reminded residents that the annual reports of both towns list salaries of all School Department employees.

“There is nothing hidden in this budget,” Hayes said. “This is a large operation for both towns to run and it gets expensive.”

Per-pupil expenditures in W-H, as of last week’s figures from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, show the district spends  $12,175.19 compared to a state average of $15,449.62.

W-H gets a bit less than 50 percent of its budget from the state.

Cutler discussed the state revenue picture with the School Committee.

The legislature has already begun its budget process with the consensus revenue hearing last week, Cutler said. Revenue growth for fiscal 2018 was stronger than previous years and fiscal 2019 is so far 4.1 percent over benchmarks, with potential for upsides, as surpluses are now called. For fiscal 2020, predictions are in the range for a $29.2 to $29.38 billion, or an increase of 2.9 or 3.5 percent, including a reduction in state income tax.

“On the economy, generally speaking, if I were a meteorologist I’d classify as it as mostly sunny with a chance of showers,” he said. “They were careful not to talk about the word recession — nobody wants to talk about that word —they did stress this kind of growth can’t continue, it’s not sustainable.”

Cutler said a recession is not forecast for 2020, but a slowdown is not ruled out.

Unfunded mandates

School Committee member Christopher Howard asked if Szymaniak could quantify all the unfunded mandates facing the district. Small suggested the under-funded mandates be included in that list as well as areas where revenues can be increased.

“What I would like to see our state do, somehow, is tie up our Chapter 70 money to a percentage,” he said. “Instead of a $20 to $25 increase per pupil, if the gave us a 2 or 2 ½-percent increase … I think we could solve a very large problem.” Increased state reimbursement for regional transportation, circuit-breaker funds and homeless transportation are the areas he cited were local representatives to the General Court could advocate for the district, according to Small.

The average cost to run W-H buses every day is $8,811.64, according to Szymaniak.

“The push-back that I hear at the state level in terms of the regional school transportation issue is they don’t want to give 100 percent,” Cutler said. “They feel if they do that, town’s don’t have skin in the game.”

Small countered that the district has skin in the game, having changed starting times on bus routes to save money and made efforts to obtain a better contract.

“Lack of competition when you go out to bid on a busing contract is really, really a big problem,” he said.

HANSON — The Board of Selectmen has lost patience with JJ’s Pub owner Patricia Harrison on her continued failure to meet court-ordered Dec. 15 clean-up deadline regarding debris from the July 5 fire that destroyed the building.

Selectmen authorized Town Administrator Michael McCue to give Town Counsel Katherine Feodoroff the green light to go back to court on Monday, Dec. 17 to seek enforcement of the clean-up order until it is cleaned or the property is sold to someone who will clean it up.

“From what we’re hearing, the property is under agreement,” McCue said during the Tuesday, Dec. 11 Board of Selectmen’s meeting. “I don’t disagree with this board [that] we want to see something in writing, but all that being said, it’s my strong opinion, along with the Building Commissioner [and] town counsel … that it’s not going to be cleaned up — and we’re not entirely sure that the new person who is supposedly buying this property is going to clean it up.”

Feodoroff recommended that Selectmen authorize her to go into court Monday, but was not necessarily seeking that OK yet, as she was trying to reach the potential buyer’s attorney to determine their real intentions.

“If there really is a buyer, that buyer is going to want to clean it up” McCue said, suggesting he come back with more information at the Tuesday, Dec. 18 with Feodoroff ready to go to court Dec. 19, if necessary.

McCue had argued against wasting more time and money going back to court against the current owner, and waiting until it can be determined if the property has been sold.

Selectmen were not feeling as lenient.

“We can’t control that, and I think this board has voted enough on that,” said Selectmen Chairman Kenny Mitchell. “If it’s not cleaned up on the 15th, send [Feodoroff] to court on Monday morning. If the property’s conveyed to a new owner, then we deal with that.”

Mitchell said that would not be a bad idea in any case, because a new owner would likely clean it up. He said the board was behind “Whatever it takes to get the damn fence up” or the debris cleared.

Selectman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett agreed.

“Let’s get on with it already,” she said.

She said residents are fed up with the continued presence of the pile of burned debris at the site.

“You’re saying all the hearings and [court] orders and everything else that we’ve had with the current owner are going to be right out the window if that property is sold to somebody else,” FitzGerald-Kemmett asked McCue. “We’re going to have to start all over again?”

McCue said that would be the case if the property changes hands.

“How do we know if it’s in the process of changing hands right now?” she asked.

“We don’t know,” he replied. “Through the Building Inspector, we have it on rather good authority that it is going to be sold and I can’t confirm that.”

Mitchell said Harrison’s lawyer sat in a Selectmen’s meeting in October, saying the property was going to be  conveyed.

“I want Kate in court at 8:30 a.m. on the 17th,” he said. “We don’t want to talk about it anymore. Keep moving forward until somebody can bring me a deed that’s conveyed with a new owner. Then we can stop.”

McCue said a vote authorizing court action is required each time the property owner fails to comply with a previous order.

Sewer district

In other business, Selectmen voted to authorize McCue to explore a potential sewer district along Main Street (Route 27) in South Hanson with the city of Brockton and other state and local entities.

McCue has already attended one meeting with legislators and area officials “to start the conversation.” FitzGerald-Kemmett had also raised the issue at a recent meeting of the Old Colony Planning Commission (OCPC), McCue noted. OCPC indicated they would be willing to assist with evaluations and other groundwork, but the town will have to apply for a technical services grant.

“I think we’ve reached the point where, not only do I want the board’s support in going forward with requesting this grant — which we will get — but I want the board to, on a more official level, support the exploration,” McCue said. “You’re not making a commitment to go forward with a sewer district, but it is a rather massive undertaking.”

Brockton and Whitman — for carrying costs through Whitman’s system — are among the area communities involved, along with state legislators and other state government officials.

“I think it’s an extremely worthwhile endeavor in moving forward our vision for that particular stretch of road in South Hanson,” he said.

FitzGerald-Kemmett said she has also talked with state Sen. Mike Brady, D-Brockton, and state Rep. Josh Cutler, D-Duxbury, and OCPC to find out what they can do collectively to help.

“There’s a lot of hurdles, we’re not looking to bankrupt the town of Hanson to do this project — so it’s all about state funding, grants — and because it’s contiguous to a lot of very important bodies of water, and I have reason to believe that there might be some grant money and then we can talk about how the rest of this project could be funded,” she said. “This is just a preliminary discussion.”

FitzGerald-Kemmett said that, while the issue has been raised before, Brockton had not been open to allowing new connections in the past but are now revisiting it.

“Brockton has had the capacity,” McCue agreed. “They’ve had a great deal of capacity for years, but for whatever reason … wouldn’t allow any hookups.”

Maquan reuse

Selectmen also approved a request for proposals on the reuse of Maquan School. Survey responses from residents overwhelmingly favored use of the building for a community/senior center, but the Reuse Committee is not opposed to leasing at least part of the land or other underused properties in town.

“People want us to keep some playing fields there and they would like that community center/senior center,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “We keep hearing the middle school-aged kids have got nowhere to go … they’re getting into trouble, and I think with the opioid epidemic and all the other dangers out there, we can’t really risk having nowhere for them to go.”

The library has already begun studies on expanding at their existing space, but the Senior Center officials have expressed interest in using a portion of Maquan.

WHITMAN — While town officials prepare the fiscal 2020 budget, resident Shawn Kain has advocated a more transparent document outlining the needs behind various funding requests.

Selectmen got a glimpse of how that might look in Fire Chief Timothy Grenno’s departmental report, which focused on how budget cuts might affect fire and EMT services in town.

Selectmen are also advocating a pre-Town Meeting, perhaps in March, to help explain the budgetary needs facing the town.

“This is the kind of document that, kind of, Shawn wants to have,” said Selectman Randy LaMattina. “As the chief was speaking, I’m thinking to myself, if this had a fixed asset list and a little bit of Article 2 numbers on it, then our Fire Department [report] is complete. The taxpayer’s going to be able to make an educated decision based off this.”

He said it may be the kind of document that all other departments should produce and, “with that, the budget document falls into place.”

Selecman Brian Bezanson said he did not think the board had ever been supplied that kind of comprehensive information before.

Grenno’s report was sobering.

“It has taken 10 years to get to where we are with six members per shift — shift staffing is what it’s all about — maintaining six people per shift gives this community the service that they demand,” Grenno said of his current budget outlook. “Anything less than what I have requested for fiscal 2020, will not be level-budgeted, but with contractual obligations, is a detriment to the fire service and the public safety in Whitman.”

Grenno forwarded his report to Selectmen, including a cost justification study. As of the Nov. 27 writing of his report, Grenno said the department had responded to 2,249 emergency calls in 2018 — 58.7 percent for EMS and 41.3 percent for fires — illustrating that the shift had gone from all fires in the 1960s to mostly EMS by the 1990s when the difference began to even out by the 2000s.

“Those numbers justify what we’re doing every day,” he said. “That type of call volume demands the level of service that we’re currently providing.”

The three firefighters added in 2016 marked the first addition of staffing to the department since it went full time in 1965, according to Grenno. Fire-based ambulance had been added in 1973 with no addition to staffing.

“It’s a document that we need this year, obviously we need it,” said Selectmen Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski, apologizing that he had not yet had the chance to study the report.

On a positive note, the number of overdoses responded to by the Fire Department is down to 29, from more than 40 last year. Grenno said the availability of Narcan may be helping some people treat family members or friends without calling 911. He did caution that Narcan is short-acting and one dose is often not enough to counteract some of the opiate drugs out there.

“So the overdoes we are seeing are very significant,” he said.

Key points of Grennos’ cost justification study were:

• A second ambulance is “saving a significant amount of critical patients” who would be at risk without it. “Without staffing, these patients, who would have had to wait an excess of 10 or 15 minutes for an outside ambulance, it would have been fatal to them,” Grenno said.

• Grants are a significant revenue source, including a $6,500 SAFE grant, which funds fire education in the schools. A grant for a bit more than $230,000 replaced outdated self-contained breathing apparatus. Grenno has also applied for a $35,000 grant to replace the generator system at the fire station.

• A budget cut of between 3 and 6 percent would have a “significant impact” on services, according to Grenno, who has asked the Finance Committee for the number they predict will be available to the Fire Department before he provides a specific impact statement.

Feeling the cuts

Fiscal 2020, begins the third year of a collective bargaining agreement that would put the deputy chief on days and add new OSHA regulations, which go into effect in February 2019, under his responsibility.

“We need $300,000 just to make our building OSHA-compliant,” Grenno said. “We’ve got a lot of problems facing us down the road.”

A 3-percent reduction of $3,737,895 would eliminate that position, keeping it on shift. It also “pulls the Fire Department back 10 years from where we are today,” Grenno said, eliminating any small services for the community, including touch-a-truck events for fundraisers, banners and other events.

The IT position, which includes reporting software for providing data to the state, as well as building the database of critical information to firefighters in the field through the dispatch system, would also be eliminated. Light maintenance would also be cut from the budget under a 3-percent reduction, with out-sourced repairs costing about $260-$300 per hour.

Storm coverage would have to be eliminated, as well, Grenno said. Instead of up-staffing at a cost of between $30,000 and $40,000 to respond to downed trees and power lines as they happen, calls will be prioritized and stacked as they come in.

“When we get there, we get there,” he said.

The two-member call department would be eliminated and reduce training officer availability to eight hours per month. The EMS officer would be reduced to 20 hours per month, where Grenno had planned to negotiate placing that officer on days in a supervisory role.

“That will threaten our certification, quite frankly,” Grenno said. Call-back and overtime would also have to be reduced, risking an empty station at times.

Budget document

Kain, a former member of the Finance Committee, had kicked off the meeting with a request for an update on progress toward a capital plan and budget document during the public forum.

Town Administrator Frank Lynam said the process is underway, but staffing shortages affect it. The town has received grants for both the budget model and capital planning. The Collins Center at UMass has presented a proposal and two others are being looked at for a capital plan, but all are telling the town they are looking at about three months of work.

That will be done parallel to the current process in order to complete the budget.

“Having a professional budget document is excellent, but something for the public to analyze as this process continues will be extremely helpful,” Kain said, noting that Article 2 is helpful for people who know what they are looking at, but that it is not detailed or user-friendly.

Lynam said a general outline is not yet available but that Article 2 is detailed, but that a format with historical background will take more time and argued the public has been well informed of the budget cost, increasing percentage of debt and school budget impact.

“What we have are departments projecting what would happen if the budget is cut 3 percent or if the budget is cut 6 percent,” he said. “I stated at our last meeting, I don’t think that is the approach we should be taking. We should be building parallel budgets — one with cuts and one that will identify what we need to seek in additional funding to make that work.”

WHITMAN — Town officials are preparing worst-case budget scenarios to help prioritize needs.

Town Administrator Frank Lynam and Selectman Scott Lambiase reported to the Board of Selectmen Tuesday, Nov. 20 on progress with the fiscal 2020 budget. Lynam said he has begun receiving budget proposals including 3-percent and 6-percent budget cuts, to help forecast the effects if such cuts are needed as the town addressed the current levy limit and town financial obligations.

The problem Lynam said he has seen so far is that the budget proposals have included expense lines, such as debt payment and utilities, where cuts can’t be made.

“I would be remiss not to point out that, while we’re working on this, there is still an elephant in the room and I think we need to step up the pace,” Lynam said.

He also said net metering and the change to LED streetlights will help save some money, but there are other obligations such as health insurance and contractual obligations that must be paid.

“The purpose of asking for the 3-percent and 6-percent budget from everybody was to get that exercise going and to get them to realize that its going to be deep and meaningful cuts if we have to make them, and we have to get everybody’s head wrapped around what that is going to look like if we want people to understand that we may be — or most likely will be — looking for some sort of operational override,” Lambiase said.

Benton said he has already begun talking to his officers about the “very real possibility of layoffs.”

“The quickest that we can get to a number that we, as department heads, can figure on it’s going to help us,” Benton said. “I don’t want to wait.”

Lynam said the schools had projected a 5-percent increase due to rising operating costs — a $1.4 million increase — with no anticipated increase in Chapter 70 aid.

“We’re not talking increases this year — we’re talking reductions,” he said, noting there have been recommendations from some town officials against using the $1.2 million in free cash for levy expenditures, including on the $836,000 debt service for the police station.

Combined growth is $900,000.

Police Chief Scott Benton said that, since town administrators’ salaries are voted on at Town Meeting, that information concerning school administration salaries are, in the interest of greater transparency.

“Ultimately, the schools are responsible to the town, just as the selectmen are and the other departments are,” Lynam said. “It doesn’t make sense not to give people what they’re looking for, because if you want someone’s support, they need to understand why you’re asking for it.”

Lambiase said he has the impression from budget discussions that the school district intends to do that and wants to do so.

“They know the predicament that we’re in,” he said.

Selectman Brian Bezanson said the district has to remember that Whitman was “very kind” to the school budget last year, and that there could be “a lot of ill-will in this town, going forward, if these town departments get ruined and they are just going merrily on their way.”

Lynam cautioned against pitting the schools against the town.

“Remember, they are part of us,” Lynam said. “It can’t be an ‘us and them’ but there has to be an understanding among us, too. If we’re able to present a sound, well thought-out, well-justified budget, then it’s up to Town Meeting to say yes or no. If they say yes, we all benefit from it — if they say no, we all lose.”

Police chief report

Benton reported to Selectmen that there has been some good news in town concerning the opioid crisis.

While there have been 29 overdoses, with two fatalities, so far this year — compared with 40 overdoses with five fatalities at the same time in 2017. But he cautioned that it might not be a complete picture of the situation.

“To bring it into focus, the more Narcan that’s present, and people are also able to get Narcan from the pharmacy, sometimes you won’t even have anybody call on an overdose situation,” Benton said.

He added that education and enforcement have made a significant improvement. Plymouth County Outreach has won a national community policing award as well as a $500,000 grant to allow hiring a full-time administrator and records keeper, pay for recovery coaches, host officer and team member training and to fund a data base.

Whitman, Bridgewater, Middleborough, Bridgewater State and East Bridgewater are also jointly applying for a Jail Arrest Aversion Grant to address mental health issues relating to calls for police services.

“Obviously in an emergency [if] a person is in distress, threatening to harm themselves of something, they’re going to be transported right away, but the follow-up will be when this clinician comes in, similar to what we do with the Plymouth County Outreach,” he said. “I think we can all agree that mental health is at the forefront of a lot of issues we deal with.”

A grant was also secured for radio infrastructure, to clear up the town’s communication dead spots, through the efforts of IT Director Josh MacNeil.

“What makes this grant amazing is we had so little time,” Lynam said. “We found out literally days before it had to be submitted.”

Benton also reviewed recent high-profile arrests, including the arrest of a Rockland murder suspect and several drug and weapons arrests.

He also said enforcement regarding parking on sidewalks had not been done much in the past, but in light of a complaint on an ADA basis from a resident who uses a wheelchair, the department has begun issuing warning cards as they plan to begin enforcement.

“I will tell you this,” Benton said. “If the officers realize this is the third time they’ve put a warning on your car, you may wind up getting a civil fine anyway.”

Winter parking ban

Lynam announced that the annual winter overnight parking ban — 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. — goes into effect on Saturday, Dec. 1 through April 1, 2019 to enable snow removal. Tickets will be issued to violators and, if a vehicle impedes snow removal, it will be towed. That includes the town parking lot next to the former First Baptist Church on Washington Street.

Solid waste fee

The board voted that trash fees are going up $36 to $285 for fiscal 2019. A $25 discount for seniors who own their homes was approved for trash fees for the 596 residents receiving water discounts to begin in fiscal 2020.

Nov. 6 Election

Lynam also shared some observations about the recent state election.

“It was really an incredible turnout — over 4,000 people came out and that’s in addition to the 2,000 people who voted early,” Lynam said. While he said the day went rather smoothly, the one observation he would make it was that parking was “an absolute disaster.”

“Part of that can attributed to the fact that employees — both town employees and election workers or part-time employees — parked in the town parking lot,” he said. “That should not happen.”

Lynam recommended that in any future years in which a state or national election is held, parking in the Town Hall lot and in front of town hall be reserved for citizens trying to vote. Parking would be provided near the police station, with transportation to Town Hall provided by COA vans.

Veterans affairs

Veterans’ agent Thomas McCarthy reported that Whitman was well represented at the annual Tri-Town Veterans Day Parade with the Fire Department Honor Guard winning first place and Police Department Honor Guard taking third. The WHRHS band won first place for the band performances and the W-H majorettes took third.

McCarthy said a Veterans Day Parade committee is being formed to improve planning. Selectman Dan Salvucci noted that both Abington and Rockland have longer routes that Whitman and that the town should organize a longer route when it hosts the parade next year.

HANSON — Selectmen on Monday, Nov. 19 completed the last of five first-round interviews with law firms seeking a new contract for labor and/or general counsel services to the town.

The process, begun Nov. 13, is expected to continue with a discussion and selection of two final candidates at the Tuesday, Nov. 27 meeting for a second round of interviews on Tuesday, Dec. 11. Town Administrator Michael McCue hopes a decision can be made by Dec. 18. He began the process in an effort to ensure Hanson was getting the best legal advice it could afford as part of his goals for the year.

“This is a major decision and I strongly advise the Board of Selectmen to choose two … and have them back again for a second round,” McCue said. “You’re not married to the 18th. If his board can’t come to a decision — if they’re not comfortable, if there’s not a majority — we can revisit the way we’re doing it.”

The firms interviewing have been: Clifford & Kenny LLP of Pembroke and Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane MHTL of Quincy on Nov. 13 and current town counsel Mead, Talerman & Costa of Millis; Brooks & DeRensis of Boston and current labor counsel Norris, Murray & Peloquin LLC of Norwood on Monday.

Clifford & Kenny and Norris, Murray & Peloquin are applying for labor counsel services only and the other three are applying to offer both general and labor counsel services.

McCue said any of the five would be a qualified selection.

“What I’ve requested the Board of Selectmen to do is, by Nov. 26, send me the two top firms that you’d like to see again,” for general counsel and labor counsel, McCue said. He and Selectmen Chairman Kenny Mitchell had discussed the process and agreed on that step, but Selectman Jim Hickey asked why a discussion in open session was not being considered as the next step.

“As a group we don’t get to discuss at all what we think?” he said.

“I have a problem with sending Mike a vote email,” Dyer agreed. “I think we should have a group discussion about all five of them between all five of us here. We all come from different expertise, you guys have been on the board longer than I have, and I think your insight would be really valuable to my vote — and then there’s open government. … I think we need to be open and transparent with this,”

Selectmen Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett and Wes Blauss also saw merit in public discussion before narrowing the field of candidates.

“I want to hear [the others’ thoughts] because maybe I missed something,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said, noting that some sort of rubric by which to judge the firms.

“I’m all for efficiency, I’m all for transparency [but] Matt represents a new generation who, nationwide, are demanding transparency in government — and not necessarily getting it,” Blauss said. He volunteered to start off discussion at the next meeting, explaining his top two picks.

McCue, who had provided on-page summaries on the firms, including their size, how long they have been in business, client base and proposed cost, said all five are qualified.

“All five of them are highly qualified firms, the only differences … have to do with how many people work for that firm, the years of business and the amount of municipalities they represent,” he said. “I have experience with all of these firms.”

He said he had no objection to any process the board wished to pursue, but was concerned that a “free-wheeling conversation” about five different firms could result in the board being at loggerheads.

Mitchell said his experience on the police chief search committee, which had narrowed a field of 49 applicants to the two finalists brought before Selectmen for interviews.

“I don’t know that it makes sense taking all five and all of us have the same opinion about one, two or three, when we could narrow it down and then have that deep discussion about those one or two,” Mitchell said.

Applying as labor counsel, Clifford & Kenny is a small firm with two partners and three associates founded in 2013 by partners with a dozen years of legal experience a piece. They currently represent 20 municipalities including Rockland, East Bridgewater, Marshfield and Fall River.

“We’re very respectful of the relationship with the unions,” said partner Jamie Kenny on Nov. 13. “We don’t go scorched-earth. … These employees are normally long-term employees, they are valued employees and we want to work together to try and reach a resolution that everybody can live with.”

Applying as both general and labor counsel, Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane has a team of 31 attorneys and was founded in 1986 with a 150-municipality or government department client base, but assured selectmen they don’t practice the “hot potato” approach to client representation, according to associate Michael Maccaro.

“We want you to know that, when your issue comes up, that’s the most important issue to us that day,” he said.

The firm has dealt with all labor unions active in the state and a diverse group of municipalities.

“We just make the policy decisions and help you get to where you want to go,” said associate Cynthia Amara.

Current town counsel firm Mead, Talerman & Costa is also applying to become labor counsel this go-round. Founded in 2004, the firm has 10 attorneys, but Jay Talerman would remain as lead general counsel — as he has been since 2014 — with Kate Feodoroff taking the role of labor counsel. She has been lead union contract negotiator for the city of Brockton before joining the firm. The firm represents 16 towns as general counsel and five as labor counsel.

“I hope that we’ve been responsive to you in the past and we will continue to do so,” Feodoroff said. “We like to address problems before they become problems and have solutions — and multiple solutions — so that you can choose from them.”

She said the firm has an open-door policy with McCue.

Brooks & DeRensis, founded in 2018, is also applying for both general and labor counsel. The firm’s 10 attorneys have deep experience  on “both sides of the table” in both political and legal service, and also represent Canton, Mansfield and Randolph for both general and labor counsel. They represent several regional school districts, and have experience helping towns with economic development, as well.

“We’re the ones who are practical and are driven by common sense,” said partner Paul DeRensis.

Current labor counsel Norris, Murray & Peloquin has four partners and Leo Peloquin would remain the lead attorney for Hanson. Founded in 1997 as Collins, Loughran & Peloquin LLC, the firm represents 24 cities and towns and 13 school committees as well as Middleborough Gas & Electric and the Wareham Fire District/Water Department.

“I hope when you look at our record with the town that I treated it like a privilege,” Peloquin said, noting that less than 1 percent of cases he works goes to litigation. “We help [you] get things done.”

They provide towns with a monthly newsletter updating developments in labor law.

“They can say to you, ‘This is what we can do for you,’” Peloquin said of the competing law firms he knows and respects. “I’m sitting here tonight saying, ‘This is what we’ve done for you.’”

All firms except Norris, Murray & Peloquin have partners or associates who have served in elective office. All five noted the need for regular reviews of sexual harassment policy, especially in the wake of the #metoo movement. The firms provided fee estimates for both hourly and flat rates, while most advised that hourly rates may be more a accurate reflection of services received.

If a conflict arose between the towns of Hanson and East Bridgewater, which is involved in an inter-municipal IT agreement with Hanson, firms applying as general counsel indicated they would either step back from the issue or did not represent East Bridgewater. Full interviews can be viewed on WHCA-TV or its YouTube channel.