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HomeMy Public PortalAboutGovernment Study Committee -- 2015-07-09 Minutes \\\1W1h1""11 11!!//p////��� Approved/Voted: ockE si- °'� 2198 Main Street GSC: 08/13/2015 7-0-0 dipµ B9�,� F,, Brewster, Massachusetts 02631-1898 BOS: ??' iliLlyi ;,D` (508) 896-3701 • R. 4 �i 1 r $ iGr jiFrG -, E , o _11 ;t-"_ ti FAX(508)896-8089 YeA---- oiia/mumluomn�a\\\e\ BREWS ER TOWN CLERK BOARD OF SELECTMEN AND GOVERNMENT STUDY COMMITTEE JOINT MEETING at The Brewster Town Office Building, 2198 Main Street, Brewster, MA 02631 Meeting Minutes of July 9, 2015 Board of Selectmen (BOS) Members Present: Chair Ben deRuyter, Pat Hughes, John Dickson, Peter Norton, and Jim Foley. Government Study Committee (GSC) Members Present: Chair Colin Odell, Jerri Carlin, Chris Kenney, Dave Whitney, Elbert Ulshoeffer, Don Arthur, and Todd Montgomery. Also present: Town Administrator Charles Sumner, Assistant Town Administrator Jillian Douglas, Finance Chair Mike Fitzgerald, and others. Selectman Chair deRuyter called Board of Selectmen meeting to order at 6:30 pm. Chair Colin Odell called the Government Study Committee meeting to order at 6:30 pm. Video&Audio Recording or Taping Notification: "As required by the Open Meeting Law we are informing you that the Town will be audio taping this meeting. In addition if anyone else intends to either video or audio tape this meeting they are required to inform the chair." 1. Presentation to Board of Selectmen - Phase I Chair Odell gave an overview of what the Government Study Committee has done to date. The GSC has met 25 times including tonight since its first meeting on July 15, 2014. They have conducted a public survey with over 600 responses and have held a public forum. They have invited and/or interviewed numerous town boards, commissions, committees, and employees and there is a public speak at the beginning of each meeting for anyone who wants to participate. Joint BOS and GSC Meeting July 9, 2015 Page 1 of 6 There was a review of the initial findings where the Government Study Committee has identified five major areas for further investigation. These include (1) Assessing Brewster Departments, Boards, and Commissions that was divided further into (1 A) Examining day to day operations, and (1B) Exploring areas where processes and procedures could be improved; (2) Evaluating changes to Brewster town government; (3) Enhancing Brewster's planning efforts; (4) Increasing public awareness and engagement; and (5) Strengthening Brewster's financial capabilities. 1A. Assess Brewster Departments, Boards, and Commissions Examine day-to-day operations Inspectional services and finance functions need to be explored for optional forms of administration under Chapter 43c, 11 and 12 to make the regulatory process easier to navigate with better compliance. There will be further investigation with how the organizational chart aligns with town code for better alignment and reporting as an example the Board of Selectmen is listed being the Board of Assessors and though it was true at one time, that is no longer the case. Develop a process to review and identify unfunded mandates known by Department Heads so that legislative representatives can be solicited for support of necessary changes that could save the town money. The voter registration process was used as an example. Implement improved training for new members on boards, commissions and committee members beyond current open meeting law and ethics requirements, to include required general training on related Brewster by-laws and specific training for board, commission and committee responsibilities. Examples were given of regulatory boards such as Finance, Planning, and Zoning. There are regional associations that can provide training and perhaps the BOS needs to make this a requirement of serving. 1B. Assess Brewster Departments, Boards, and Commissions Explore opportunities for improved processes and procedures A major item that became apparent is establishing a Human Resources Director position. These responsibilities appear to be taking a large amount of town time resources of the Department Heads. A Human Resources Director position will establish a centralized knowledge and management of Joint BOS and GSC Meeting July 9, 2015 Page 2 of 6 HR functions and improve support for department heads. A uniform policy for the standing committee appointment process needs to be established and public interviews needs to be a requirement as part of the process. There was brief discussion on which boards should be appointed, which boards should be elected or if some form of a hybrid should be adopted. There should be a review of all of the Boards, Commissions, and Committees to see if there are too many committees, an overlap of responsibilities, multiple memberships as well as the development of an appointment and removal procedure. It is a recommendation to use county resources/regionalization where available and though Brewster does a good job in this area, there may be some other areas that could be explored for a cost saving benefit. Help is requested in identifying areas of improvement around the Committees and engagement of outside resources and this does occur but needs to have a more consistent process. This will be addressed in more detail in Phase II. There was further discussion on silos as they relate to Inspectional Services and Board approvals. 2. Evaluating Changes to Town Government There should be a Town Meeting Review as to whether there could be a better day and time to meet and if electronic voting would improve the process. A By-law review needs to be implemented to eliminate inconsistencies and conflicts with state law, town by-laws, and internal policies. There needs to be an examination of different forms of Government such as Charter vs. Special Legislation vs. Status Quo. Items to be investigated are Town Administrator vs. Town Manager and the authority he may have as well as Open Town Meeting or a Representative form of government. An examination for inconsistencies in the by-laws for land use planning needs to be done to make sure there are no conflicts with state, town laws and internal policies. The intent of all of these reviews is to clarify the information. 3. Enhancing Brewster's planning efforts It is evident that Brewster needs a comprehensive master plan for its future needs. Does the town need a fire station or a community center? A lack of a local comprehensive plan creates government by reaction. This will require outside consulting skills to complete the process. This has been attempted in Joint BOS and GSC Meeting July 9, 2015 Page 3 of 6 the past and the process made it to the Cape Cod Commission, but it was never was completed. There needs to be a Library Review in clarifying the town and library responsibilities and library employee status should the library funding change. There should be preparation for the next library lease cycle that needs to go before town meeting and the question that should be answered is if the library should become a town library. An Information Technology road map needs to be looking forward in a formal way to develop comprehensive inventory of current systems and identify current needs and voids as well as to develop a 3-year plan to integrate IT structure, connectivity, and software platforms. Planning is a full-time function though possibly not a full-time job and state and county resources can be utilized for some cost savings where appropriate. 4. Increase public awareness and engagement Many areas in town received commendations but the citizen feedback needs a mechanism for tracking it. Procedures need to be implemented for citizen feedback in all departments. It is suggested to send out a notice in the tax bill — "How are we doing?" A written communication plan needs to be established on how to get information out on what is happening. Explore participatory budgeting to engage people in government. This is a unique way to establish public interest with a small level of open funding such as a local mini-grant process. Many communities around the world participate in some form of participatory budgeting with a very small portion of their operating budget. This galvanizes people to access real money for pet projects, but it is important for boundaries and processes to be established for it to be successful. There were significant comments on the betterment process and private road regulations. Establish a written process for initiating town projects to reduce complaints and problems later in the process to allow people a voice. Mass DOT has a similar process and this helps to avoid the last minute hassles and problems. Enhance Town and School Collaboration with student internships and community service. As an example a student at 4C's may want to improve the town's website as a school project. School collaboration and community service would be a great connection to Brewster as Brewster's middle and high school students attend school outside of the town. Joint BOS and GSC Meeting July 9, 2015 Page 4 of 6 5. Strengthening Brewster's financial capabilities There needs to be a review of the Captain's Golf Course with a view to its future, its financial impact to the town and also in exploring operational options such as town operated, lease operated, or sale. Researching alternative revenues such as the room occupancy tax, perhaps instituting a recreational sticker and impact fees that could be instituted with the master plan. Expanding use of enterprise accounts such as golf and recreation and perhaps exploring other areas. This allows for a build up of funds to address certain areas. Review of fee structures and establish selectmen as oversight body for setting all fees and examine appropriateness of all fees by passing Ch. 40, 22f. Investigate current practices on handling unfunded liabilities. The Lockbox legislation has been passed in the Town of Brewster for health and pension funds and does not allow the town to borrow in the future from these funds. Phase II was read: "Identify best practices and relevant experiences from other towns. Focusing on the issues, challenges, and opportunities identified in phase one the GSC will work with a consultant who will charge with identifying best practices and experiences from other towns that might serve as models for Brewster." Phase II will further explore items identified in Phase I. The Board of Selectmen would like to review the surveys and perhaps have them scanned and posted to the website. About 150 surveys were completed on Survey Monkey. The Government Study Committee would like to make a presentation of this Phase I report to the general public. Monday, July 20, 2015 is the next Board of Selectmen's meeting and the Selectmen will be asked for their feedback on the report at this meeting. The draft Phase I PowerPoint report will be posted to the website. The original amount of money designated for this purpose has been spent on the survey and the secretary's time. Additional funding for the Government Study Committee will be put forward at the fall town meeting to cover the consultant and professional secretarial time. A scope of work for Phase II needs to be developed to receive a number from the Collins Center or perhaps go out to bid to receive a number for the fall town meeting. Public comments can be Joint BOS and GSC Meeting July9, 2015 Page5of6 made about the Phase I report in writing or via e-mail to the Board of Selectmen. Finance Committee Chair, Michael Fitzgerald spoke about the opportunity he was afforded in representing the Finance Committee before the Government Study Committee. 6. Items the Chair did not anticipate. There were no other items discussed. 7. Adjournment Motion made by Jerri Carlin to adjourn the meeting at 8:23 pm. Chris Kenney seconded. VOTE: 7-0-0 Motion made by Peter Norton to adjourn the meeting at 8:24 pm. John Dickson seconded. VOTE: 5-0-0 Respectfully submitted, J Donna J. Moberg, Record ng Secretary Items used in the meeting: • PowerPoint presentation to BOS from GSC Joint BOS and GSC Meeting July 9, 2015 Page 6 of 6