WHITMAN — The town’s Override Evaluation Committee met for the first time on July 22 to evaluate the town’s financial needs and assess recommendations it would seek to make regarding an operational override in the fall.

Serving on the committee are: residents John Galvin and Christopher George as citizens at-large; Finance Committee members David Codero and Scott Lambiase; Fire Chief Timothy Grenno; Public Works Superintendent Bruce Martin; Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak; School Committee member Dawn Byers; Selectmen Justin Evans and Randy LaMattina, Town Administrator Frank Lynam and Assistant Town Administrator Lisa Green.

The meeting, held in the Selectmen’s Meeting Room in Town Hall, is being rebroadcast on Whitman-Hanson Community Access TV. The next meeting is scheduled for 5 p.m., Monday, Aug. 12.

The committee organized officers July 22, electing LaMattina, who had expressed interest in the post as chairman. LaMattina was not able to attend the meeting. Lambiase was elected vice chairman and Lynam as clerk.

“Obviously, I think I know what our community needs are overall, but I think the focus of the committee, most important here … is how we’re going to get from here to Town Meeting and get the information out,” Lambiase said.

While a Town Meeting is currently planned for October, Lynam said he would prefer to push it back to November if it means the town’s financial need would be more clearly understood in the process. The committee’s meetings are public and the issue will also be discussed frequently by Selectmen.

Lynam said the short-term task is to take the information already available and information on five-year expenditure estimates that he has requested on capital needs.

“Because no one has responded, I’ve compromised and asked for three-years’ estimates,” he said.

A proposed draft of a capital planning document Collins Center at UMass, Boston had composed — following an earlier version Lynam had sent back to address errors — were to be discussed with the center by Lynam and Selectmen Carl Kowalski and Dan Salvucci this week.

If the draft is acceptable, a public meeting will be scheduled to review it, Lynam said.

The replacement of a primary sewer main between Whitman and the wastewater treatment plant, which has come to town officials’ attention since the capital plan update was requested, will be significant in the upcoming budget. That work is estimated at more than $8 million within the “cheapest alternative” plan, he said.

“We are looking at whether there are impact funds, or anything else, that can help us with it but year-to-year you’re just going to get things that are going to skew the numbers,” Lynam said. “We need a long-term budget [of] at least three years … because the longer you go in an expenditure budget, the less accurate it’s going to be.”

Current budgets and projected expenditures for the following year, based on needs, are calculated for separate town government and capital needs budgets from each department.

“I’m actually confident that, if we just get these things together in a formal way and we look at them as part of a total picture, we should be able to put together a plan that works and can be given to the public in a way that makes sense,” Lynam said.

Grenno said his department has just completed its five-year plan “based on where we are today,” a cumbersome and time-consuming process.

He asked if the override is intended to make departments whole.

“The budget has to reflect what you believe is necessary to operate your department appropriately,” Lynam said. “Some of us can really accurately predict what our budget numbers are going to be because there’s very little room for variance. Others can’t.”

George said the committee should be looking at what the town is missing compared with towns around Whitman, adding that he is aware of where the schools fall short as a parent, but is not as well informed about other departments.

“What does that mean for you?” he asked. “That’s hard for me to see from a Fire perspective or a DPW perspective, or even a police perspective, so I think that will be helpful as you give us that five-year projection.”

Lambiase said the committee must also discuss what cuts would need to be made if an override question fails. He argued an Economic Development Committee, if not hiring at least a part-time town planner, make sense.

“The challenges are immense,” Lynam said. “Small towns can grow on small businesses and do well. As it sits today, we have a fairly productive downtown business center and we have a stretch of business on Route 27 and on Route 18, but trying to grow that business, we have to come up with things that attract people and when you are in our position TIFs are not an option.”

Tax Increment Financing, which provides tax-breaks to attract businesses, would not help Whitman’s need for revenue.

“People think they are over-burdened with taxes here and it couldn’t be further from the truth,” Lynam said.

They also discussed the format of a question — single question or menu approach — scope of work and timeline.

“I’m absolutely opposed to a menu,” Szymaniak said. “If we’re going to be sustainable as a community … it has to be all together.”

A tier of financial options, with every department having a piece of the override was preferred if a menu option were to be offered.

They also discussed going to a regular special town meeting in the fall, as Hanson does, for capital needs.

HANSON — Impressed LLC cleared the first regulatory hurdle toward opening a cannabis cultivation facility at 15 Commercial Way when the Board of Selectmen approved a revised host agreement with the company on Tuesday, July 23.

There were no questions asked by the board or residents attending the meeting before the 5-0 vote was taken.

Selectmen Chairman Laura Fitzgerald-Kemmett summarized the changes sought by the board after a draft of the agreement was discussed July 16.

Those changes — which Impressed LLC agreed to incorporate into the host agreement — include odor mitigation and water conservation practices, board approval before any transfer or sale of the business ownership and payment of a 3-percent impact fee to the town for five years. The company may not apply for a nonprofit or agricultural tax exemption and has agreed to pay for the services of an independent third party, hired by the town, to peer reviewing plans for the facility.

“I cannot conceive that there is anything in Massachusetts that is as heavily regulated as cannabis,” said Selectman Wes Blauss.

“We tried to put in the kitchen sink there,” said Town Counsel Kate Feodoroff.

Fitzgerald-Kemmett noted that Impressed LLC has been “very responsive” to terms the town has asked for in the agreement.

“This is just the first of many chapters,” she said.

The company must now comply with all applicable local regulations as well as obtain a license from the state’s Cannabis Control Commission and comply with the CCC’s regulations.

Fitzgerald-Kemmett also noted that residents had originally voted by a 51 to 49-percent margin to support the state ballot question legalizing marijuana use in the state.

“Since that date, there have been several town meetings and ballot votes regarding marijuana-related businesses in Hanson, where the voters have had the opportunity to let the Board of Selectmen know their wishes with respect to marijuana-related businesses,” Fitzgerald-Kemmett said, reading from a prepared statement. “This board takes its role as the licensing authority seriously. It is our job tonight to determine whether the draft host agreement is acceptable to us and whether it is in the best interests of the town to agree to enter into this agreement with Impressed LLC.”

Town by-laws currently ban the sale of retail marijuana, but allow other cannabis-related businesses to locate in the zone that includes the Hanson Industrial Park on Commercial Way.

Impressed LLC has held several public outreach meetings, as required by the CCC, as their attorneys negotiated a host agreement with town counsel.

Vehicle chargers

Selectmen also voted to set a fee of $1.50 per hour for the two electric vehicle chargers installed at the upper rear parking lot at Town Hall. Each charger has two plugs.

The fee covers a portion of a $250 per plug networking fee, that electric vehicle owners can ping off to locate the chargers when their vehicle needs a charge.

Selectman Jim Hickey did not like subsidizing the networking fee, but Selectman Matt Dyer argued that, without the network’s advertising of the charging stations, it would be difficult to make them successful.

The board decided to try the project for a year and review it.

Cooling town

In other business, Fitzgerald-Kemmett read a statement lauding town employees and volunteers for helping residents cope with last weekend’s heat wave. She said such work behind the scenes is typical of the way they work together to get things done.

“It’s important to occasionally take some time to express our gratitude for all that they do, and this weekend was a perfect example of people working tirelessly for the benefit of the town,” she stated.

The Hanson Public Library extended its hours on Saturday and opened from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday. Cranberry Cove extended its hours each day by two hours.

She said the Cove crowd on Saturday reminded her of Nantasket Beach.

“Quite a few people ended up taking advantage of these extended hours, but these types of things don’t happen magically,” she said. “On behalf of the Board of Selectmen, I hope you’ll join me in thanking the director, board and employees at both the library and the cove and … [Interim Town Administrator] Merry [Marini] as well as Hanson Fire, Police and Highway for helping to get the word out.”

WHITMAN — In a joint deliberation with the Finance Committee on Tuesday, June 9, which also met that evening, Selectmen approved line item transfers required before closing the books on fiscal 2019.

Selectmen Vice Chairman Dan Salvucci said the Finance Committee had to vote on the transfers before Selectmen could vote.

“These should have been voted last week, but the Finance Committee didn’t have a quorum and today is the last day to make any of these moves for fiscal 2019,” Selectman Brian Bezanson said of a scheduled July 2 Finance meeting.

Selectmen Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski, who is traveling, and Selectmen Justin Evans were absent from the July 9 meeting.

Some transfers had been previously approved by Selectmen and had to be voted by the Finance Committee.

A transfer of $45,816.28 from Line 123 to Line 124 to fund vacation time accumulated by Police Chief Scott Benton was approved after some vigorous discussion.

“I don’t think its any secret that the chief of police is planning on retiring within the next year, possibly within the calendar year,” Town Administrator Frank Lynam said. “While we are developing policies to prevent this type of accrual in future years, we’re obligated to pay unused vacation on termination of employment.”

Finance Chairman Richard Anderson said his committee’s collective concern was for the policy, which while still in development, is “long overdue.”

Salvucci wanted to know if there were any employees who could be grandfathered under any policy change.

Lynam recommended setting aside what is anticipated to be unexpended funds in the police salary line to lessen the financial impact when the chief does retire. The funds would be encumbered in an appropriation number created for that purpose, according to Lynam.

Finance Committee Vice Chairman David Codero said department heads had told his committee over the last budget season that they would be able to absorb any increases to their line items in order to save money for the town.

“This line item transfer is going to represent about $80,000 of money that was transferred from one police account to another,” he said. “The concern that I have is that, in a fiscal year that we were asking department heads to really tighten the belts, we’re getting $80,000 of transfers for unexpected expenditures. I don’t think it was prudent for that particular department head to have $80,000 to be sitting in an account when it could be used for other town services.”

Lynam argued the $80,000 represents 2.2 percent of the entire police budget. Unlike Town Hall or other departments, where schedules and costs are fixed, “in public safety, we have a number of items that are unpredictable.”

Line-of-duty injuries, for example, cannot be foreseen and not all shifts are always filled, he argued.

“If we were not doing these transfers, at the end of the year, we would be turning back $80,000 to the General Fund,” he said. “That money could easily have been spent by filling shifts we didn’t fill and for doing things that we probably should be doing that we don’t do because we’re trying to be fiscally prudent.”

He added that the only reason the transfer is being sought now is that the opportunity now exists to do it without needing to go to a special Town Meeting vote — which may still need to happen depending on how things play out.

“We’re paying for something that, essentially, the town agreed to,” Lynam said.

Benton asked what the $80,000 figure represented. Finance officials said it was cumulative transfers, including $12,000 in unanticipated costs for computer repairs.

“I come to the Finance Committee every year and I tell you that we don’t fill about 500 to 700 shifts and I tell you I can’t anticipate snow, emergencies and things like that,” he said. A mild winter helped this year.

“I didn’t know we were going to have a joint Selectmen/Finance Committee meeting that wasn’t posted, I didn’t know my name was going to come up, I didn’t know we were going to get into this, but I have no problems with getting into it,” Benton said.

Benton said he told Lynam that he thought transferring the funds was preferable to crippling the Police Department budget for the next year.

An additional $355.28 (over the $750 already approved by Selectmen) for a shortfall in payment for hours worked by the Selectmen’s administrative assistant was also approved. That salary covers hours that are uncertain from year to year, according to Lynam, who said the $355.28 — an additional shortage found when year-end payroll was completed — is being transferred from a line used to fund all salary increases when contracts were settled last year. Both boards approved the transfer.

A transfer from Line 172 (Norfolk County Agricultural High School) of $12,000 for legal costs was approved by both boards. A transfer from Line 256 to Line 257 of $2,230.42 for the FICA payment based on total salaries paid, a figure that is not clear as a year-end total until the June payroll is complete was approved by both boards. A transfer from Line 48 of $140.30 to Line 50 to close a minor shortfall in salary for the treasurer-clerical employee in the collectors’ office was approved by both boards.

Selectmen also voted to increase ambulance rates for the first time since 2016, at the urging of Fire Chief Timothy Grenno.

“It’s a sign of the times,” he said. “Insurance rates are going up. Also, some legislation has been filed — which sits in conference committee right now — which will limit the level to which you are able to bill insurance companies for the use of emergency services.”

That bill would include a rollback date governing when rate increases would be allowed, after which it would be limited to a benchmark of 2 or 3 percent, Grenno said.

“These rate increases are in line with what our billing company has recommended,” he said. “It is the same Medicare billable rates which most of our neighboring towns are using.”

Salvucci said he has noticed that Whitman has, in the past, been much lower than neighboring towns.

The Board of Selectmen appointed a nine-member Budget-Override Evaluation Committee.

Serving on the committe will be: residents John Galvin and Christopher George as citizens at-large; Finance Committee members Codero and Scott Lambiase; Grenno; Public Works Superintendent Bruce Martin; Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak; School Committee member Dawn Byers; Selectmen Evans and Randy LaMattina and Lynam.

“The town cannot show that we are approving it — even though we are approving [of] it — the taxpayers have to make that decision,” Salvucci said of the committee’s title.

Police Chief Scott Benton said he and Grenno had decided to have one public safety representative on the committee.

Grenno asked why there was no representation of the town accountant or assessor’s office on the committee, but Assistant Town Administrator Lisa Green said the accountant would be actively involved, reviewing figures.

Over the next few months, The Whitman Department of Public Works Water Division will begin its Water Meter Replacement Program. This is a mandatory replacement program for all residential and commercial business customers. There is no cost to the homeowner or business owner for the meter replacement. We ask all property owners to allow us to enter each property to replace the meter. The new meters will provide the Town with accurate water usage readings which will ensure accurate billing. Once the new meters are installed, the Town will be able to collect the usage readings electronically using a drive-by system.  Residents and business owners will no longer be responsible for manually reading and submitting their water usage to the Department of Public Works.   

What to expect:

Employees of the Whitman Department of Public Works Water Division, will visit your property to remove the old meter and install the new meter. The employees will have proper identification and will be driving clearly marked Town vehicles. We ask that the property owner allow us to enter the property to replace the meter. If you wish to confirm the identity of the employee, contact the Department of Public Works at 781-447-7630. An adult over the age of 18 must be present in your home during the meter change. If it is not a convenient time or if no one is home at the time, a notice will be left with information to schedule an appointment. You may also receive a call from the DPW to schedule an appointment. Most meter replacements will take about 30 minutes.   

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q: When will my meter be replaced?

A: The water meter replacement project will commence in the next few months and continue until all water meters are replaced with the new Allegro Master meter. Water meter replacements will be done during regular DPW business hours. There are also some limited appointments for after normal hours and weekends. Please contact the DPW as soon as possible to reserve one of these appointments.

Q: How do I schedule an appointment?

A: Call the Whitman Department of Public Works at 781-447-7630 Monday thru Friday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. In the event your call is not answered, please leave a message with your name, address, telephone number, and a time that is best to return your call.

Q: How will this affect my service?

A: Any interruption of water service will only occur during the meter changeover, it typically will be less than 30 minutes, in some cases it may take longer. The new meter will allow reading from outside your home and remove any need for a meter reader to enter your home to read the meter, or having to phone in the reading yourself. This will end estimated bills. The new meter system can enter readings electronically to billing resulting in complete accuracy and elimination of hand entries.

Q: What is expected of the homeowner?

A: Homeowners are obligated to provide clear and unobstructed access to the water meter. Any boxes or stored items should be cleared prior to the arrival of the meter installer. If for any reason, the water meter has been covered by drywall or paneling it is the homeowner’s responsibility to ensure that access be created. The water meter is the property of the Town of Whitman, Clear and free access to it must be provided.

Q: What might prevent the meter changeover to occur?

A: In some cases, plumbing repairs may be required prior to meter installation. If defective plumbing, inoperative shut off valves or deteriorated pipes prevent meter replacement, you will be required to hire a licensed plumber to make the necessary repairs. A fully functioning main shut off valve before the water meter, knowing the location and how to operate this valve is an absolute must for homeowners and household members. The main valve is the one to stop most plumbing catastrophes, such as a burst pipe. If your main shut off valve does not work you must replace it.

Q: Will the DPW replace or repair my plumbing to install the meter

A: NO, pipes and plumbing on your property are installed by private contractors and are the responsibility of the homeowner. The homeowner owns the pipes and plumbing from the curb stop shut off valve (usually located at the property line by the street) into and thru the entirety of their home. In order to connect to and continue to receive water from the Whitman Water Distribution System it is a condition of the Town of Whitman Department of Public Works Water Rules and Regulations that “Consumers shall keep their own water pipes and fixtures connected therewith in good repair and protected from freezing at their own expense”

Q: Why is my meter being replaced?

A: The new meters will have technology that permit faster and more accurate reading. This will also make billing processes faster and more efficient. The new meters eliminate any need to access the property for a reading.

Q: Will I be able to read my own meter?

A: Yes, the new meters have a digital display to be read manually.

Q: What if I don’t want my meter changed?

A: Water meter replacement is mandatory. All meters belonging to the Town of Whitman Water Distribution System will be changed. If you do not allow the Town to install the new water meter, you will no longer receive   service from the Whitman Water Distribution System or the Whitman Sanitary Sewer System. Your water service will be turned off.

For more information call the Whitman DPW at 1-781-447-7630.

HANSON — Impressed LLC owners Ralph Greenberg and his daughter Alli held another community outreach meeting at the Hanson Library/Multi-Service Senior Center Thursday, June 27.

The cannabis grow facility planned for 15 Commercial Way in the town’s industrial park off Route 27 is co-owned by the Greenbergs and Dover dentist Shahram Moghaddam, who currently owns three practices on the South Shore — and plans to attend a Tuesday, July 2 community outreach session or a Tuesday, July 9 meeting with Selectmen. Both July meetings are planned for the Selectmen’s meeting room in Town Hall — at 6 p.m. July 2 and at 7 p.m., July 9.

The most recent meeting was less contentious than a previous session held on June 13, and this time focused more on resident’s questions about water and power consumption during draughts or heat waves as well as the ability of the HVAC system to prevent odors from escaping the facility, any plans for future expansion and how damaged plants might be disposed of.

Once again, Bob Hayes, who hosts WHCA-TV’s “Bring It On!” show moderated the discussion, this time presenting some questions of his own from research he has done into the issue.

The Greenbergs, originally from Randolph, have moved to Pembroke to be closer to the business location, saying they are happy to be so close to the facility.

“Our goal is to have a discreet, secure clean company and provide a revenue stream to the town,” Ralph Greenberg said. “We only have one investor, it’s not a holding company, it’s not some big corporation coming in.”

He said the three owners hoped to close on the building this week, once septic upgrades are completed and approved.

“We know you sometimes have water issues in the summer,” Ralph Greenberg said, pledging to have tanker trucks deliver water to the facility for the high-demand summer growing season if there are draught conditions. Wastewater discharge would be minimal, he said.

Hayes’ questions included how the town could track revenue owed.

Alli Greenberg said every plant is assigned a barcode and is “completely tracked” until it is sold and the owners have crop insurance based on expectations of how much would be produced in a given crop.

They stressed it is not intended to be a high-volume business, describing it as more akin to a “craft cultivator.”

“We’re only supplying two retail stores with our company,” Alli Greenberg said. They will price their product as a craft brand and retailers will have to be willing to pay it to do business with them.

They hope to be able to start a crop by Thanksgiving.

Hayes also noted some growing businesses expand through the use of pod trailers. But Ralph Greenberg said their growing would be done only in a clean grow-room inside the building and that they have no plans for expansion. A proper reverse-osmosis wastewater system will be used to control contamination of groundwater, they said.

The multi-million dollar renovation of the building includes an investment of about $1 million in lighting.

The Greenbergs also told residents living near the facility that they were welcome to come to them if odor became a problem.

“I would hope that you would come because we’re trying to explain to you that it’s not going to happen,” Alli Greenberg said. “It is the one concern I see in every town [that host grow facilities].”

Ralph Greenberg compared the smell of growing cannabis to a pine tree being run through a wood-chipper “times 80 percent.”

“It’s a fresh smell,” he said. “There is no smoky smell.”

Some residents compared it more to a skunky smell.

Regarding security plans, Alli Greenberg said a letter outlining them has been sent to Hanson Police Chief Michael Miksch and they are waiting for his reply, but there is no need for traffic details anticipated.

Employees will be asked to sign non-disclosure agreements because of growing techniques the company wishes to protect. Alli Greenberg said she does not know at this point whether the company can commit to refusing to hire applicants with past minor drug convictions on their record, as is permitted under social equity laws, saying she does believe in second chances.

Plants being disposed of for any reason will be trucked off-site and treated with a chemical that renders them non-consumable before they are incinerated.

Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak reported which personnel cuts would be made within the fiscal 2020 budget during the Wednesday, June 12 School Committee meeting.

“There’s been some questions about where we ended up in terms of staffing,” Szymaniak said. There were 19 positions cut as well $292,000 cut from budget items such as supplies, legal costs and other areas. Some others were moved to other areas.

The personnel cuts include; a central office accountant, a facilities building use coordinator, the technology director, six paraprofessionals — none involved in one-to-one individual education plans, a high school business teacher, a high school science teacher, a science teacher at Hanson Middle School, a grade teacher at Indian Head, a grade teacher at Duval, two grade teachers at Conley, and a duty aide at each elementary school. A part-time music teacher who did grade five band was also cut.

“We also eliminated foreign language at the middle schools because of equity issues,” Szymaniak said. “We recycled those positions into three elementary adjustment counselors because we had to work in our social-emotional need.”

He explained the district had been inequitable in how it offered middle school foreign language.

“Before the state came at us and said there’s an issue of equity there, we recycled that with the hopes of looking at a better budget in the future — putting together a solid foreign language program, either six through 12 or, in our vision K to 12,” Szymaniak said.

He said class size was not severely impacted, but there will be a student population bubble in the fourth grade at Indian Head and the fifth grade at Conley and Duval.

Szymaniak said he is “cautiously optimistic” about returning some classroom teachers when the state budget is finalized and the fiscal 2019 budget is closed out, but is not looking to resolve any other budget issues.

School committee member Fred Small asked if a budget meeting between the committee, town administrators, selectmen and finance boards had yet been scheduled.

That meeting was slated for 7 p.m., Monday, July 22.

“We’re going to take a look at the whole budget, going a little bit backwards for comparison and see what our increases might be,” Chairman Bob Hayes said. “Maybe get a little bit better forecast for the towns before they get into their town meetings or special town meetings.”

Small said his vision is also to determine what the committee wants to see, in the event there is an override, to restore services and to enhance services the district should be providing.

“I really think we have to address our short-comings and the only way we’re going to do it is to ask the public,” Small said.

School Committee member Christopher Howard suggested a three-year look forward so the towns understand what lies ahead. Szymaniak said union and bus contracts have two more years left, which could help with that process. School Committee member Dan Cullity advocated a five-year approach.

Where money would go from an expected operational override in the fall for Whitman remains a question, Szymaniak said, adding Hanson has said nothing about any plans for an override.

Szymaniak also reported that he has received a letter from the Whitman DPW, which stated the high school’s water and sewer meters have been misread since the school opened — and $307,000 is owed by the district.

“They apologized for the error,” he said. “My problem, outside of the letter I got yesterday, is I have no budget projection on what we use for water in this building now.”

He had not consulted legal counsel yet, but had Business Director Christine Suckow call the district’s insurance company “just because.”

School Committee member Alexandra Taylor said it is her understanding that the problem is town-wide in Whitman due to old meters. Whitman has begun the process of replacing water meters this month.

Small said the sewer portion should not be a problem because of the high school’s graywater system.

The committee heard an overview of what constitutes unfunded and underfunded state mandates from Ben Tafoya, director of the Division of Local Mandates with the State Auditor’s Office.

“The Division of Local Mandates was actually created by the voters when they passed Proposition 2 ½ in 1980,” Tafoya said. “The law also said that the state could not impose unfunded mandates on our cities and towns and created our division to help guide the state auditor in determining what was or what wasn’t an unfunded mandate.”

Several hundred requests for review of potential unfunded mandates have been received since the 1980s, but Tafoya said the number has been decreasing in recent years.

“The good news is since the founding of our office, we have been able to help municipalities claim over $350 million in funding for various activities that were found to be unfunded mandates,” he said.

Cullity asked how the school district could file a request for review of some of the unfunded mandates straining the WHRSD budgets.

Tafoya said a letter should be filed with State Auditor Suzanne Bump’s office at the statehouse, advising that a single letter from the School Committee detailing the issues — or from town administrators, boards of selectmen or the superintendent of schools.

“If it’s from the School Committee it has to be an official act that is documented in the public record,” Tafoya said.

State laws passed after Jan. 1, 1981 must have cost implications for municipalities accepted by the city or town or the commonwealth supplies funding to make compliance possible, according to Tafoya.

“These were things that weren’t optional … and they represented a significant expense,” he said.

In 2017, portions of the early voting law were determined to include an unfunded mandate, necessitating reimbursements to towns for the hours outside normal voting hours for towns. In 2012, portions of the McKinney-Vento homeless transportation requirement were determined to be an unfunded mandate, with the legislature partially reimbursing cities and towns — $9 million for fiscal 2019.

Exceptions over the years have included the imposition of “incidental administrative expense” involved in the municipalities complying with the mandate as a condition of receiving state aid, or when towns have the option of participating in a program or not.

Regional school transportation is not considered an unfunded mandate because it was a requirement imposed on regional school districts prior to 1981, Tafoya said.

“But we all understand that underfunding of that kind of requirement has a substantial impact on the regional school districts in our Commonwealth,” he said.

Small, who had arranged for Tafoya’s visit, questioned special education transportation reimbursements. That expense, Tafoya said is the largest single category of the $785 million spent on school transportation by all state school districts.

School Committee member Dawn Byer also questioned special education reimbursement, particularly whether it met the requirement under Mass. General Law to be considered an unfunded mandate.

“The difficulty with that is that it’s a requirement that pre-dates 1981,” Tafoya said. “That would be its exemption from the local mandate law.”

“Where that is supposed to be funded, I’d like to ask if there’s anything that you can do to help out this region,” said Taylor.

Tafoya said the division has been informing the legislature, regional school district and other stakeholder groups about a report issued in 2017 on the issue, “To try to remind people that these expenses are out there, they’re rising faster than school aid or taxes are coming in and the reimbursement accounts are significantly underfunded.”

He pledged that the division would continue to do that.

COHASSET — During a boisterous and joyful ceremony at South Shore Music Circus on Friday, June 7, 155 students from eight communities graduated from South Shore Technical High School as “a class of true individuals.”

“You have hidden talents that many rarely got to see,” said Principal Mark Aubrey, putting on his trademark cowboy hat to the students’ cheers. “Josia Silva [of Rockland] got the acting bug as a youngster and has been performing ever since, including as an extra on the Netflix show ‘Community’ on a number of occasions … Student body President Cody Campbell [of Rockland] has flown an airplane. … you have grown in so many ways.”

Aubrey pointed to athletic achievements such as the Mayflower League Champion girls’ volleyball team, “a couple” of Eagle Scouts and the growth of “picky eater” Tim Murphy of Whitman into a Culinary Arts graduate moving on to employment in the food industry.

“[His] mom is happy to say he will try almost anything,” Aubrey said.

Others are heading into the military, including Hanson resident Trent Quinn-Percivalle who is joining the Air Force cyber-security team.

Aubrey closed by making a request of them in return for the success SST has helped them accomplish.

“Be ambassadors for our school and the excellent education we provide our students,” he said, urging them to return to speak to shops about life in the trades or in college. “As you step out beyond our doors, please know that we do not want our relationship to end with this evening.”

Student speakers also touched on academic and personal growth during their four years at SST.

Brevity was key for Valedictorian Benjamin Doucette of Abington.

“In this class before you are some of the smartest, bravest and funniest people I have met so far in my life,” he said. “After this ceremony, some of us will stay in touch and some of us won’t. Some of us will use the trade skills we’ve learned, and some of us will go into completely different fields. … We’ve grown a lot, but we still have some growing to do.

Senior Class President Alexis Burke of Hanson also expounded on the themes of personal and academic growth.

“It will be very hard to part ways with a place that has given me so much,” she said. “It was here where I cemented friendships, it was here I got to explore my passions, it was here I learned to be a better person, it was here where I discovered myself.”

Rockland’s Cody Campbell introduced himself to students who may have been “living under a rock for the last four years: I am the student body president for the Class of 2019.”

“Yeah, you are!” a fellow graduate shouted to cheers.

Campbell related how his favorite quote by hockey great Wayne Gretzky — “You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take.”

“Speaking from experience, I can say that it is impossible to have a fulfilling life in a shell, afraid to take chances,” he said. “Try something new, make mistakes, fail epically. …I am confident that you will all do amazing things.”
Superintendent-Director Thomas J. Hickey equated the education process as a way of discovering one’s “superpower,” based on the number of popular superhero movies making huge amounts of money — and a teacher’s T-shirt he recently saw which read: “I am a teacher, what’s your superpower?”

Hickey played audio of nearly a dozen seniors discussing what they see as a superpower. Academics, perseverance, art, problem solving, humor, leadership, welding, listening, story-telling and hard work were mentioned.

“You know you have and value and you are confident that you can make an impact on the world around you,” he said. “Continue to discover those super powers, in the workforce, in service to our country, for the love of your family and friends and as a positive influence on your community. The world needs heroes. We need you now more than ever.”

Local SSVT graduates are:

Cameron N. Bagley, Jacob T. Barbato, Erin M. Bizier, Dylan R. Burgio, Alexis J. Burke, Jacqueline E. Clifford, Tucker A. Cobis, Rebecca R. Cooke, Owen M. David, Cameron J. DeStefano, Jeffrey A. Ford, Shane A. Fougere, Jonathan G. Gillan, Josie C. Head, Brendan R. Hogan, John P. Hubbard, Ryan P. Keeley, Liam R. Kernan, Mackenzie E. McGraw, Kyle J. Mishou, Christopher M. Osbourne, Trent Quinn-Percivalle, Noah S. Rodri, Alex J. Spicuzza, Nicole E. Stalker and Samuel L. Stowell of Hanson.

Peter A. Achin, Jacob J. Austin, Justin T. Bennett, Evan J. Cadorette, Kaitlin A. Chatsko, Patrick F. Dolan, Laurel L. Durfee, Maxwell G. Elfman, Casi B. Ezekiel, William F. Keating Glover, Ayla A. Hebert, John B. Jolliemore, Asten N. Knight, Jillian M. Leafer, Cyairra D. Lowe, Kimberly P. McPhee, Nykera N. Mandes, Richard M. Miller, Ashley E. Millett, Kayla E. Mills, Hayley R. Murphy, Timothy M. Murphy, Codey J. Murray, Nicholas D. Podgurski, Kristen E. Saccone, Danielle R. Smith, Aiden M. Toy, Emily L. Vega-Morley, Jade A. Watts, Patrick S. Wilson and Evan M. Young of Whitman.

WHITMAN — The board of Selectmen on Tuesday, May 28 received an update on municipal finances ahead of the Monday, June 17 special Town Meeting.

The town has $971,546 in available free cash after the debt exclusion was approved in the May 18 Town Election, and $154,674 available in the capital stabilization fund.

The town voted to use free cash to pay the debt associated with a bond, but with the approval of the debt exclusion, $532,000 can be transferred from that appropriation because it can’t be replaced into free cash, Lynam explained.

Selectman Randy LaMattina suggested the board vote to recommend placing $150,000 from free cash back into either the stabilization account, which now holds $2.6 million, or into capital stabilization, which now holds $154,600. Lynam advocated placing another $200,000 into capital stabilization. The board voted to place the $150,000 into capital stabilization to build the fund back up, leaving about $824,000 available for appropriation.

“At that point we will be able to make a determination on what articles to act on and to amend the source be capital stabilization because they are all capital articles,” Town Administrator Frank Lynam said. “Certainly, if we spent all the money we had, we could approve all those articles, but I don’t think that would be a prudent thing to do.”

Lynam said he has spoken to WHRSD and Hanson officials to determine what has been voted by Hanson for school capital projects. He will relay that information to Whitman’s Finance Committee.

He said Whitman would be responsible for $17,946 for the W-H gym floor refinishing; $41,874 for a handicapped ramp at the football field (Hanson approved its share of that work in Oct. 2018); $20,973 for thumb-latches in all interior classrooms at the high school; $14,955 for repairs to the existing fire lane; $59,820 for repair of rooftop units over the performing arts center which have failed and a more expensive temporary system is being used for the remainder of the school year. Hanson had passed over the roof-top units at its Town Meeting. There is also a need to replace lighting, before Green Communities reimbursement, at the Conley and Duval.

An appropriation of $125,622 to repave the high school roadway and $134,595 for resurfacing the track at the high school are being sought as Whitman’s share. There are also articles pertaining to town equipment purchases pending.

“My guess is they’re going to have to be prioritized and it’s unlikely that all these articles will be voted,” Lynam said.

Capital plan

The Collins Center at UMass, Boston, which has been working with the town on both a capital plan and budget model, is working to correct “a number of errors” Lynam flagged before returning the draft document for corrections.

Forest Street resident Shawn Kain has asked to see the draft document, asking whether it is considered a public document.

“I’m not comfortable sending it out, because it’s inaccurate,” Lynam said. “My experience with handing things out while they’re under development is that they typically come back to bite you.”

He told Kain he would discuss it with the board, but preferred to hold it until it was “mostly accurate,” perhaps not before the next draft is received in a week or so.

A capital report has not been received as yet.

Kain asked if the Collins Center report was pubic information. Lynam replied that such reports are not generally considered public until official received by the Board of Selectmen. The Board has not yet received the report.

“It’s not public information yet,” Selectmen Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski said.

Kain said he would follow up with his concern with the Collins Center, as he argued it should be public.

“This whole process is going to be interactive,” Lynam said. “When they prepare to meet with us on a capital plan, there will be a public meeting, there will be a document presented — presumably, at least to the Board of Selectmen and the Finance Committee — to begin the analysis and say, does this work, where does it work, how does it work?”

He said the report draft contained misidentified departments and organizational charts.

“I don’t want to release a report like that, because it’s defective,” Lynam said.

“Those are valid discussion points, but to have it open, I think will be helpful,” Kain said.

LaMattina, who described himself as a “transparency guy,” pointed to the numerous draft Article 2s was an example of confusion caused by releasing draft documents.

“If it’s actually wrong, that’s what I don’t want put out there,” LaMattina said. He did, however request that some type of timetable be established to ensure accountability.

John Galvin, a High Street resident, asked about when Selectman Brian Bezanson might present an economic development plan, which was one of his campaign issues, to the board.

Bezanson said he has begun working with Assistant Town Administrator Lisa Green on the “first leg” of the proposal.

“It’s going to take a while to get all the moving pieces together,” he said. “I have to speak with the assessors and the treasurer and collector … to get their opinion on how things are going to go and then speak to state officials on exactly what’s legal and what’s not legal and how we can go forward with this.”

He said he hopes it can go forward as quickly as possible because, “the town needs that kind of money policy.”

In other business, Bezanson said a bronze plaque that had been stolen from the Civil War monument, and was not discovered until the Memorial Day observances. The plaque has been recovered by DPW workers and they will work to replace it, he said.