I still don't know of another town meeting member who has publicly volunteered how they voted and why.
That said; as with the prior Town Meetings, we'll start with the blanket vote. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, town meeting simply agrees with the printed recommendation in the warrant booklet. I won't review these articles since we could spend a lot of time going over them and the controversial issues - the ones worth discussing - are (almost always) the ones that get held and voted individually. Articles 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 16, 19, 20 and 22 passed on the blanket vote.
We didn't address the articles for the Special Town Meeting. That's for Tuesday, April 8.
Article 1, "Choose Town Officers": This was basically routine business; the appointment of the Finance Committee. New additions this year include Joseph Drolette and Precinct 6 Representative Dan Shearer. Both are fine men with good, solid fiscal and common sense.
I voted "Aye"; it passed.
Article 2, "Hear Report of Committees and Town Officers": Several reports were heard, the most memorable (and one we'll undoubtedly hear more about in the future) was by Jerry Potamis, Falmouth's new Wastewater Superintendent.
Last year, $500 million was tossed around as a possible cost for this project, but Potamis mentioned $100 million during his presentation. I'm still inclined to believe the former figure, given that recent estimates for sewering in Mashpee hover around $500 million - not to mention the cost overruns at the high school.
One thing that bothered me was his use of the word "wastewater" when referring to the nitrogen problem. There's a significant difference.
We also heard from Gary Anderson, chair of the Finance Committee. He offered some rather interesting statistics...
-- Falmouth's expenses (growing at about 5.7 percent) are outpacing it's revenues (growing at about 5.2 percent).
-- The biggest increases are coming from four categories:
1) Debt service at 19.2 percent;
2) Employee benefits at 9.9 percent;
3) Salaries at 3.6 percent;
4) "All other" categories at 2.5 percent.
-- Total town debt is currently about $127 million; to be about $133 million by year end.
The most troubling part of this is the debt service. To put it another way, the amount we pay to cover our debts has increased by 19.2 percent.
These were just reports, so there was nothing to approve; we simply accepted what was presented.
I voted "Aye"; it passed.
Article 9, "Amend Zoning Bylaw - Article V, Section 240-23, -28, -33 and -38": I've a neighbor - a bus driver - who had to get a special permit from the Zoning Board of Appeals to park the bus in her yard during lunch. There was no opposition, but it was one of those annoying technicalities. This article simply allows this by right.
Ed Marks, a Precinct 3 representative and our former selectman, requested an amendment specifying that buses not be parked in a public way (a town road).
I voted "Aye" on the amendment and the article; it passed.
Article 14, "Amend Zoning Bylaw - Article III Section 240-13 (Structure)": This simply alters the language in the zoning bylaw to cover fixed sports venues without having to list every possible configuration by name. The words, "but not limited to tennis or similar sports courts," were inserted.
I voted "Aye"; it passed.
Article 15, "Petition - Rezone Beagle Lane (F. Alfano)": This would have rezoned a lot on Beagle Lane from Agricultural B to Business B-2. Basically, it's spot zoning, so I wasn't inclined to support it from the start. However, the clincher for me was when Cheryl Williams, a Precinct 3 Representative and President of the Teaticket Civic Association, noted that the Cape Cod Commission had this area (the Teaticket Post Office/Beagle Lane area) on it's "Top 10" worst intersections. It is a messy area.
I voted "No"; it failed.
Article 17, "Petition - Amend Zoning Bylaw - Article Section 240-192 and 192 (P. Hartel)": This article would have clarified the intent of the bylaw by putting more emphasis on curb cuts related to fast-food (i.e., drive-thru) restaurants.
I voted "Aye"; it required a 2/3rds majority to pass, but on a counted vote of 96-91 it failed.
Article 18, "Petition - Amend Zoning Bylaw - Section 240-3 (M. Grozier)": There's a vacant lot across from McDougal's Boatyard on Scranton Avenue that has, apparently, been used for parking for over 50 years. This article would've allowed that use to continue as a grandfathered operation, but most of town meeting disagreed with it.
As I see it, if it's been going on for 50 years but only now has someone raised an issue (a neighbor apparently complained), it should be grandfathered. After all, what if a neighbor complains about a horse farm or gun club that's been here for decades? It reminds me of people who buy homes near airports and then complain about the noise.
I voted "Aye", but it failed.
Article 21, "Amend Zoning Bylaw - Article XXII Section 240-108.1B": This amended the town parking requirements - with respect to handicap spaces - to use the Massachusetts Architectural Access Board standards. Basically, it removes the overhead associated with maintaining parking standards. If the Architectural Access Board standards change, then the town bylaw changes automatically to match them.
I voted "Aye"; it passed.
Article 23, "Amend Town's Position Classification Plan - Town Counsel": This article generated a lot of discussion. The long range plan for the town was to have a permanent assistant town counsel (at a cost of about $100k/year), but it is something that - like many things this year - the Finance Committee didn't think we had the money to fund.
The Board of Selectmen and Frank Duffy, Falmouth's Town Counsel, argued in favor of the position. Their take was that the cost of contractual or hourly assistance would exceed the cost and value of having a paid town employee. Arguments made in favor of the additional position included the town's current legal caseload (43 cases) and the fact that Mr. Duffy is putting in overtime (nights and weekends, he said) to keep up.
Now, I know that between matching Social Security, Medicare, retirement and medical benefits, there's a cost beyond the salary to an employer, so I asked for that figure. I was told that this amounted to about $20k on top of the quoted hourly rate ($33-$44/hr). At $40/hr, we're looking at $80k/year, plus the $20k in benefits (honestly, I think this is a little low) = $100k.
I also asked whether there were other, similarly-sized towns which could be used as examples. Barnstable was mentioned (they have four in the town counsel's office), but it is considerably larger than Falmouth.
In the end, I was amongst a minority that wasn't convinced of the urgency of the need. While town counsel may need assistance, I wanted more evidence that a permanent, salaried position would be cheaper than contract help. After all, if there's no work for the contractor, they don't get paid, but paid staff gets paid no matter what. Moreover, once you have someone on staff, cutting that expense is next to impossible.
I voted "No"; it passed.
Article 24, "Amend Town's Position Classification Plan - Department of Public Works": This article would have been a step toward implementing the DPW reorganization.
A few years back, we paid a pretty penny for a consultant to offer some suggestions about how we could improve the efficiency of the DPW. I'd like to see those recommendations implemented, and this would've funded the recommended positions. However, we have to set priorities, and as with the town counsel's office, the money just isn't there.
I voted "No"; it failed.
Article 25, "Fund Fiscal Year 2009 Operating Budget": This is the town's annual budget, which this year came in at $103,462,827.
Just as with the Finance Committee report, there were some interesting things learned...
-- It used to be that money in the Waterways Fund (revenues from moorings, etc.) could only be used for capital projects (such as rebuilding boat ramps). Town Manager Robert Whritenour explained that the law was recently changed, which allows this to be used also for salaries. This is a welcome change, given that Falmouth has a lot of revenue from moorings and the like. With the tight budget, funding the harbormasters' salaries from the Waterways Fund is both good fiscal and common sense.
-- Falmouth spends about $9.5 million for employee health insurance.
-- Nick Lowell, a Precinct 5 representative, suggested a separate worksheet so we can get a better picture of the per-employee costs for benefits (such as health insurance); currently those expenses are broken-down by the expense category. I like this idea.
-- It costs the town about $3,000 every time we need to update the Charter/Code, but the money hasn't been there lately, so what's available online is outdated. To address this, former selectman and Precinct 5 representative Troy Clarkson offered an amendment to add $10,000 to the Town Clerk's budget.
I voted "Aye" on the amendment and the budget. Both passed.
We didn't get to the rest of the articles; 11pm rolled around far too quickly. If we can get through the Special Town Meeting warrant quickly enough, then we may see the high school issue Tuesday.
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