HomeMy Public PortalAboutRev Comm 2017-01-03 ORLEANS TOWN CLERK
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Revenue Committee Minutes—January 3, 2017
John Laurino-Chairman
Robert Renn-Vice Chairman
Paul Kelleher
Frank Lucibella
Kenneth Rowell
The January 3rd meeting of the Revenue Committee was called to order at 11 :39 AM by
chairman John Laurino in accordance with the precise advance notice guidance from
the Town Clerk. Present and constituting a quorum were: Mr. Laurino, Mr. Paul
Kelleher, Mr. Ken Rowell, Mr. Frank Lucibella, and Mr. Robert Renn.
There was no public comment.
The minutes of the December 20, 2016 meeting, as revised, were approved - motion by
Mr. Rowell, seconded by Mr. Lucibella, approved unanimously.
At 11:45 AM Town Attorney Michael Ford entered the meeting accompanied by
Selectmen Sims McGrath and Alan McClennen, Town Administrator, John Kelly, and
Town Finance Director, Cathy Doane. Atty. Ford proceeded to address the five
questions that were previously submitted by the committee (copy attached):
• Question 1 - If the Revenue Committee were to recommend a new, uniform, and
overarching policy for how User Fees were established...and maintained...what are
the steps in terms of form, presentation,public notice,agendas, votes and Warrant
Article for the Town Meeting would be required?
• Atty. Ford advised the committee that:
• User Fees are set by various entities - the State of MA, the BOS, and various
town boards. Mr. Kelly agreed to provide the committee a list of town fees
indicating which are set by state statute and which are set locally by town
boards or commissions.
• Chapter 94-8 of the Town of Orleans By-laws describe the creation and
imposition of User Fees; this By-law limits annual increases to 5%;
• This proposed policy may require amendment of this By-law in which case the
following process must be followed:
Revenue Committee Minutes —January 3, 2017
• A Town Meeting Warrant Article in the form of a petition, signed by a
minimum of ten town residents, must be submitted to the Town
Administrator.
• The BOS and Finance Committee will review the petition and vote whether
or not to recommend approval of the Article at the next Town Meeting. The
BOS may also call for public hearing(s) on the proposed By-law change.
• A majority of the voters at the Town Meeting must vote in favor of the Article
(and By-law amendment, if necessary) to advance it.
• If the town's By-laws must be amended, such amendment must be
submitted to the MA Attorney General's office for review/approval.
• If approved by the MA AG, the Article is returned to the next annual Town
Meeting and a simple majority of the voters must be in favor in order to
enact the Article.
• Part two of Question 1 - How could this policy be enacted to include a requirement
that the Finance Committee review and approve all User Fees annually as part of their
duties?
• Atty. Ford advised the committee that this would require an amendment to the
town charter; however, the Finance Committee could review and recommend User
Fee changes.
• Question 2 - If the Revenue Committee were to recommend that an Enterprise Zone
be established for the operation of the Town's Beaches, what steps in terms of form,
presentation, public notice, agendas, votes and Warrant Article for the Town Meeting
would be required?
• Atty. Ford advised the committee that this will require an amendment to the town's
charter because Section 2-5-1 states that "all proposed operating expenditures
shall be included in a single, omnibus-type article in the Town Meeting Warrant".
An Enterprise Fund requires a separate budget article. Hence, Section 2-5-1 as
well as Chapter 8 would have to be amended. The same process as outlined in
response to Part one of Question 1 above would have to be followed.
• Mr. Kelly interjected that this had already been addressed at the 2/3/16 BOS
meeting. (The minutes of that meeting indicate that Mr. Kelly presented the
advantages and disadvantages of such an enterprise fund; he did not comment on
the process that must be followed. Mr. Kelly did express his recommendation that
the town not go forward with establishing an enterprise fund; he favored increasing
the daily non-resident parking fee. The BOS moved to conduct a public hearing on
increasing the non-resident fee by $5).
• Part two of Question 2 - How could a 'Beach Management Board' (similar to the Water
Commission) be created to manage this activity and over see the fund?
• Atty. Ford advised the committee that this would require an amendment to the
town's charter because the beaches are currently under the
management/oversight of the Parks Commission.
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• Question 3 - If the Revenue Committee were to recommend that an Enterprise Zone
be established for the operation of the Town's Transfer Station, what steps in terms of
form, presentation, public notice, agendas, votes and Warrant Article for the Town
Meeting would be required?
• Atty. Ford advised the committee that this may require an amendment to the
town's charter. He also advised that the Transfer Station is currently under the
management/oversight of the Board of Health.
• Question 4 - If the Revenue Committee were to recommend that a 'Rental License' be
established for anyone renting a room or a house, what steps in terms of form,
presentation, public notice, agendas, votes and Warrant Article for the Town Meeting
would be required? Could it be tied to 'sunset' if/when the State enacts a rental tax as
previously proposed?
• Atty. Ford advised the committee that such a Permit could be established via a
new town By-law. He further commented that the costs associated with this permit
must be covered but can't be exceeded - if so, it becomes a tax (which is restricted
by MA statute).
• He also commented that Rental Permits are established to protect public health
and safety - not to generate revenue. The permit cost must be limited to the cost
of the program. In other Cape towns the Board of Health oversees these permits.
• Question 5 - How could the Revenue Committee best recommend a policy that would
require all capital improvement items to undergo a professional review for qualifying
grants as part of any design/planning stage/process?
• Atty. Ford advised the committee that this could be included as part of the CIP
preparation process. I for grants until the project
• Ms. Doane commented that the town couldn't apply any 9
had been approved and funded by the Town Meeting.
• In a follow-up email message Alan McClennen advised that at the 2015 Town
Meeting the town charter was revised at Section 8-5-2 as follows: "In addition, the
CIP shall include regional, county, state and federal grants that may be used to
.support and finance capital improvements, facilities and equipment through
grants,loans or inter-municipal agreements." The CIP presented this year on
January 15th will be the first time where this requirement is in effect.
Atty. Ford was thanked for his presentation to the committee. He and the other town
officials departed the meeting at 12:50 PM.
Note: Mr. Kelleher had departed the meeting at 12:45 PM.
The committee discussed the information it had just received and decided to proceed to
draft Town Meeting Warrant Articles for Questions 1. thru 3. and submit them for review
by Atty. Ford.
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Revenue Committee Minutes —January 3, 2017
Next, the committee heard a report from Mr. Rowell and Mr. Renn regarding their
12/30/16 meeting with DPW Director, Tom Daley regarding potential enterprise zones
for the beaches and the Transfer Station. Mr. Daley has extensive experience in
establishing and operating EZ's for transfer stations in other towns and was very
supportive of this proposal because of its economic and environmental benefits (less
trash processing, more recycling).
Next, the committee reviewed the results of the survey responses from the Chamber of
Commerce and the Orleans Taxpayers Association.
• Ms. O'Brien was commended for her work in expeditiously compiling and transmitting
the results to the committee.
• She was asked to combine the results for each question from both entities in bar
graph fashion, similar to the format used for the OTA responses.
• She also advised the committee that only two towns (Eastham and Brewster) had
responded to the Inter-town survey. She is directing her efforts to compile the User
Fee data for Chatham, Dennis and P-town.
• She shared the text of P-town's Article 10. Room Occupancy Tax: A Home Rule
Petition with the committee.
Next, the committee discussed the draft outline of the Revenue Committee's
BOS/FinCom presentation. Mr. Laurino will update the charts and distribute them to the
other committee members.
The committee then discussed the date and time of the next meeting. It is scheduled
for Friday, January 13, 2017 at 2:00 PM at the Town Hall.
There being no further business to discuss, a motion was made by Mr. Rowell,
seconded by Mr. Lucibella, and approved 4-0-0, to adjourn at 1:55 PM.
Respectfully submitted, Robert D. Renn
•
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