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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Bourne Finance Committee Meeting – September 11, 2025: Review of Special Town Meeting Articles on Budget Adjustments, Easements, and MBTA Zoning

Planning Board — Thursday, September 11, 2025

BodyBourne, Massachusetts

SessionPlanning Board

DateThursday, September 11, 2025

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 54:50

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:06

I can tell them thank you.

0:09

If anyone in the audience is recording or videotaping, they need to acknowledge such at this time.

0:15

I'm trying to, uh, but my request to record this meeting was uh disallowed.

0:20

Oh.

0:21

Yeah, we do not we do not create the recording through Zoom using the town account.

0:26

It creates a public record for us.

0:29

So feel free to use your own device to record, not the Zoom.

0:34

And they're on born TV, right?

0:36

Yep, and you are on born TV.

0:40

Okay.

0:41

Use of flash photography during finance community meetings is prohibited.

0:44

If anyone for the public wishes to access the meeting, they can do so by calling the following conference line 1929-205-6099.

0:53

Zoom meeting ID 889-3244-2865.

0:59

Password FinCom, all capitals F-I-N C O M.

1:03

The Zoom chats will not be monitored.

1:05

Participants who wish to speak much raise the hand icon until the chair has them to unmute all items within the meeting agenda subject to deliberation and votes.

1:14

So first is um no excused members.

1:18

Carla is away.

1:19

Everyone else is here.

1:21

And then review special town meeting articles, starting with Article 1 committee reports.

1:26

Yes.

1:27

So Article 1 is a standing article that we have on every town meeting warrant.

1:34

At this time, I'm not aware of any committees who will be making a report, but if there are committees who do want to make a report to the body, they should reach out to the moderator for that.

1:47

Thank you.

1:49

Next operating budget adjustments.

1:52

Thank you.

1:54

So I did hand out a sheet to everyone at the table, and I will follow up with an electronic copy after the meeting.

2:10

So Priscilla can hear it as well.

2:16

So the first department you see listed is the fire department.

2:22

And we are proposing adjustments to four of their wage lines, salaries for supervisors, salaries for firefighters, holiday pay, and longevity.

2:36

All of these salary adjustments are tied to the settled contract between the town and the IAFF.

2:48

So these are the adjustments that are necessary to fund that collective bargaining agreement for the current fiscal year, FY26.

3:01

No, it is a three-year agreement, but these are the budget adjustments for the current fiscal year.

3:13

But this contract was open when we voted the budget in um May at the Maytown meeting.

3:22

We since closed with them and are going back now to make those salary adjustments.

3:28

Okay.

3:28

And um, can we have the percentage?

3:32

Or you want to ought to hold off on that?

3:35

Yeah, it's okay.

3:36

I can't really you mean the percentage for these adjustments.

3:41

No, no, it in other words, what was the percentage of the rate raise increase?

3:46

So it was a two and a half percent cola, but there were all other sorts of adjustments.

3:53

So it's not it wasn't just a straight percentage.

3:57

There were there were step changes, there were you know, um so I can't necessarily give you just a straight percentage for the contract.

4:08

I can tell you what these lines are.

4:10

If if that's helpful.

4:12

Oh, that's okay.

4:13

No, okay.

4:14

All right.

4:16

Um other questions for I the IAFF adjustments.

4:26

Okay.

4:28

Um the next group of budget adjustments are for the fire department and the police department in their overtime lines.

4:42

Overtime for the public safety departments is something we can't necessarily budget for accurately year after year.

4:51

We just we don't know what gaps will be in the schedule in any certain year and what sorts of calls will be responded to.

5:00

However, we do know that we are not fully funding this line.

5:07

And I'm not proposing to bring this budget up to fully funding it, but I do want to catch up the budgeted amount a little bit.

5:15

I know that the budget for police and fire overtime for FY26 is it's not enough at the end of the year.

5:24

We will make adjustments like we always do, but for the fall town meeting, I am recommending that we increase the fire department overtime line by $15,000, and the police department overtime line by $5,000.

5:43

And this is both of these are just about 13% increases for these budgets, and right now there are a lot of vacancies due to injury in the fire department.

6:02

So there's a lot of gaps in that schedule that we're backfilling with overtime, which is why I'm proposing more to be added to the fire department over timeline right now.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Affordable Housing██████████████████████████████████████████42%

Budget Capital Planning██████████████████18%

Procedural████████8%

Engineering And Infrastructure████████8%

Land Use Planning████████8%

Public Safety█████5%

Capital Budget Planning███3%

Public Engagement███3%

Grant Funding███3%

Summary of Proceedings

Bourne Finance Committee Meeting – September 11, 2025: Review of Special Town Meeting Articles on Budget Adjustments, Easements, and MBTA Zoning

The Bourne Finance Committee met on September 11, 2025, to review articles for the upcoming October 20 special town meeting. Topics included operating budget adjustments tied to collective bargaining agreements, a request for easements for road improvements, and a proposed MBTA multifamily overlay zoning district. No votes were taken; further discussion is scheduled for the next meeting on September 22, 2025.

Operating Budget Adjustments (Article 2)

Fire Department Wage Lines: Adjustments for supervisors, firefighters, holiday pay, and longevity are tied to the settled IAFF contract (2.5% COLA plus step changes). No single percentage increase was provided.
Overtime Increases: Fire department overtime increased by $15,000 (≈13%) and police department overtime by $5,000 (≈13%) due to vacancies, particularly injury-related gaps in the fire department.
Town Administrator’s Office: Correction of a math error for assistant town administrator salary ($2,721 for 2.5% COLA). Reorganization of administrative assistant: previously 70% general fund/30% sewer, now proposed at 100% general fund, with a new DPW administrative assistant position (70% general fund/30% sewer) to handle facilities tasks.
Facilities: Upgrading facilities manager to facilities director with an additional $12,765.
Library: Converting a vacant part-time (20 hrs/wk) benefited position to full-time (37.5 hrs/wk) at an additional $9,893, to improve scheduling flexibility for evening and Saturday hours. The previous employee passed away.
Other Adjustments: 2.5% BEA COLA increases for finance, assessor, treasurer, collector, and DNR department head lines.
Funding Sources: $100,000 increased use of the ambulance reserve fund (from $1.5M to $1.6M) to offset fire department increases; remainder from previously allocated salary reserve.
Questions from committee members (Marlene, Amanda, Wayne) focused on percentages, the split between general fund and sewer enterprise fund, and the rationale for the library change.

Easements for Barlow's Landing Road (Article 11)

Matt Swickey, DPW Director, presented a request for two permanent easements (302 sq ft and 57 sq ft) for the Barlow's Landing Road and Shore Roosevelt intersection improvements, approved at the May 2025 town meeting.
The project has a $423,000 cost with a pending $264,000 state grant. Easement appraisals are underway; the grant decision is expected soon. No additional funding may be needed if the grant is awarded.
Locations identified: 375 and 369 Barlow's Landing (Corner Cafe and Graziellis). Draft plans were provided to the committee.

MBTA Zoning (Article 12)

Jennifer Copeland, Town Planner, presented a proposed Multifamily Overlay District (MFOD) in Buzzards Bay to comply with the MBTA Communities Act (M.G.L. c. 40A §3A). Bourne is an "adjacent small town" required to zone for at least 557 multifamily homes (5% of 11,140 homes).
The proposed district consists of two areas (Area 1: 34.4 acres, Area 2: 10.8 acres) with a modeled capacity of 750 homes at a gross density of 16.6 units per acre (above the 15-units/acre minimum).
Key features: by-right zoning (no special permit), no age restrictions, reduced parking (1 space per unit from 1.5), and no requirement for the town to build infrastructure. Mixed-use required on Main Street parcels.
Consequences of non-compliance by the December 31, 2025, deadline: ineligibility for state grants (including Chapter 90, library, council on aging) and potential fines/penalties. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has upheld the law.
The article requires a simple majority vote (not two-thirds) due to the Affordable Homes Act.
Discussion: Marlene asked about affordable housing requirements (town currently at 7% on the Subsidized Housing Inventory; a proposed 300-unit Chapter 40B development could bring it to 10%). There is no local preference or rent control in MBTA zoning. The annual MBTA community fee is ~$3,000.
Committee members expressed concerns about infrastructure, traffic, and the lack of control over who builds. Copeland noted extensive public outreach planned (Canal Day booth, website).

Key Outcomes

No votes were taken on any article; the committee will continue discussions at its next meeting on September 22, 2025, and will finalize recommendations for the October 20 special town meeting.
A motion to adjourn was made by Amanda, seconded by Wayne, and passed unanimously by roll call (all in favor).
Minutes from the June 30 meeting were not available and will be reviewed at a later date.

Meeting Transcript

I can tell them thank you. If anyone in the audience is recording or videotaping, they need to acknowledge such at this time. I'm trying to, uh, but my request to record this meeting was uh disallowed. Oh. Yeah, we do not we do not create the recording through Zoom using the town account. It creates a public record for us. So feel free to use your own device to record, not the Zoom. And they're on born TV, right? Yep, and you are on born TV. Okay. Use of flash photography during finance community meetings is prohibited. If anyone for the public wishes to access the meeting, they can do so by calling the following conference line 1929-205-6099. Zoom meeting ID 889-3244-2865. Password FinCom, all capitals F-I-N C O M. The Zoom chats will not be monitored. Participants who wish to speak much raise the hand icon until the chair has them to unmute all items within the meeting agenda subject to deliberation and votes. So first is um no excused members. Carla is away. Everyone else is here. And then review special town meeting articles, starting with Article 1 committee reports. Yes. So Article 1 is a standing article that we have on every town meeting warrant. At this time, I'm not aware of any committees who will be making a report, but if there are committees who do want to make a report to the body, they should reach out to the moderator for that. Thank you. Next operating budget adjustments. Thank you. So I did hand out a sheet to everyone at the table, and I will follow up with an electronic copy after the meeting. So Priscilla can hear it as well. So the first department you see listed is the fire department. And we are proposing adjustments to four of their wage lines, salaries for supervisors, salaries for firefighters, holiday pay, and longevity. All of these salary adjustments are tied to the settled contract between the town and the IAFF. So these are the adjustments that are necessary to fund that collective bargaining agreement for the current fiscal year, FY26. No, it is a three-year agreement, but these are the budget adjustments for the current fiscal year. But this contract was open when we voted the budget in um May at the Maytown meeting. We since closed with them and are going back now to make those salary adjustments. Okay. And um, can we have the percentage? Or you want to ought to hold off on that? Yeah, it's okay. I can't really you mean the percentage for these adjustments. No, no, it in other words, what was the percentage of the rate raise increase? So it was a two and a half percent cola, but there were all other sorts of adjustments. So it's not it wasn't just a straight percentage. There were there were step changes, there were you know, um so I can't necessarily give you just a straight percentage for the contract. I can tell you what these lines are. If if that's helpful. Oh, that's okay. No, okay. All right. Um other questions for I the IAFF adjustments.

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