By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — The state of the town is strong, but there are a number of challenges on the horizon.
That was the message Town Administrator Rob Dolan sent during a tri-board meeting between the Select Board, Finance Committee and School Committee on Oct. 28. Select Board Chair Dick Dalton said the purpose of the tri-board meeting was to “send a clear message out to the public that these three boards will work in a collaborative fashion going forward.”
“This is highly unusual to have the three of us here in one room and meeting,” said Dalton. “I think this is the beginning of a new era with how business is done.”
Dolan agreed.
“Important policy decisions and community priorities are not made in a vacuum in Lynnfield,” said Dolan. “The citizens of Lynnfield can serve their town in big and small ways. It can be as big as drafting a citizens’ petition, volunteering on a board or committee, confronting and solving controversial issues, simply showing up to a meeting to have your voice be heard and, most importantly, show up at Town Meeting and vote. In many ways, each citizen has the ability to participate in so many ways or they have the right not to participate. Clearly, all are welcome and we need everyone’s help.”
Dolan said local officials have “partnered to develop responsible long-term planning models” for the town’s future. He said a five-year capital improvement plan (CIP) will be completed by the holidays. He also said local officials are developing a three-year hazard mitigation plan.
“That is identifying areas in our community that are subject to weather and other natural disasters that need federal and state funding to improve,” said Dolan. “We have seen across the country the need for that planning.”
Dolan recalled that the $63.5 million public safety buildings and Town Hall project is underway. He said the town’s fiscal year 2025 operating budget included two career full-time firefighter positions in order to improve the Fire Department’s response calls overnight. He also noted that the Federal Emergency Management Agency awarded the Fire Department a $1,199,469.08 Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant that will “fully fund” four additional firefighters over the next three fiscal years.
Additionally, Dolan said A Healthy Lynnfield was at risk of losing grant funding this year.
“Through the efforts of many, many grants were secured to maintain this life-saving work,” said Dolan.
Dolan said the Police Department and A Healthy Lynnfield have established the Community Outreach Team, which works to provide access to appropriate mental health, substance use and other support services to residents in crisis.
While Dolan said the town has had a lot of accomplishments over the course of the year, he also said the community is facing challenges.
“Double digit inflation continues to be a burden and is really doing a number on all of our budgets in every department,” said Dolan. “That remains a challenge.”
Dolan said new growth, which helps fund the town’s operating budget, is “very limited.”
“It remains a question when construction will start at Sagamore and whether new growth will be seen in FY26 or FY27,” said Dolan.
Dolan also said the state is “not hitting its revenue goals.”
“They haven’t for some time,” said Dolan. “That will certainly come home to roost at some point and will affect local aid for next year.”
Dolan said the town’s health insurance provider, the Group Insurance Commission (GIC), had the “largest rate increase in 15 years” in FY25.
“Nothing is stable in the health care market,” said Dolan.
Dolan said the three-year collective bargaining agreements with school and town employees will be expiring next summer.
“We have all seen the negative tone and conflict of collective bargaining negotiations across Massachusetts in recent years,” said Dolan. “It is shocking, but I will say that has never been the Lynnfield way. It is my hope and I believe the hope of everyone in this room that we can work with our dedicated staff and union partners to negotiate fair contracts for all that successfully balance the realities of increased cost to deliver services, the skyrocketing costs of benefits and health insurance while at the same time respect the realities of limited or capped revenue. But regardless of the results, we know that, with 80 to 90 percent of all departments are personnel, this is will be a significant increase for our town and schools over the next three fiscal years.”
Dolan said, “The state of our town is strong by all public, financial and operational standards.”
“Home prices are very strong and community investment continues to increase,” said Dolan. “It is my hope that we can all continue to work together and advance our community in every possible way.”
Chair Kristen Grieco Elworthy said the School Committee will begin negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement with the Lynnfield Teachers Association soon.
“Looking forward to the schools’ budget as residents are considering the other financial needs of the town this Town Meeting, the School Committee is at a very early stage of its budgeting process right now,” said Elworthy. “As Rob mention already mentioned, the most notable item for this year is we are entering a collective bargaining year. And while I am not going to begin negotiating a contract in public, I can say we are looking around the state and knowing that, along with the other needs in our district, there is a high likelihood that the schools are going to have a financial ask of the town in the course of the next year. We do plan on working very closely with the other boards in town that are sitting here. This is a great first step and we are happy to be here to navigate this. We really appreciate the opportunity for everyone to get on the same page.”
Finance Committee Chair Tom Kayola thanked the Select Board and the School Committee for agreeing to participate in the tri-board meeting.
“Our desire is to hold these meetings two or three times a year,” said Kayola. “FinCom’s objective in asking for these meetings is to take a step back from the tactical discussions that accompany the annual budget cycle and look more broadly at issues and trends that may arise down the road so we can best plan to address them. The Finance Committee wants to focus on ways to support the community in planning for responsible budgeting. This means a focus on both challenges and opportunities, and finding ways our committee can partner with both the Select Board and the School Committee in discussions of reasonable and prudent investments in capital and operating budgets. That partnership, however, must be a two-way street.”
Kayola said the Town Charter stipulates that department heads must submit each department’s budget to Dolan by the end of December.
“It is FinCom’s expectation that all departments will be prepared to start discussing their budgets come January,” said Kayola. “We are also optimistic there is a robust capital planning process underway through the new CIP Working Group. We await the final product and are pleased this will be an annual exercise in planning that helps us to forecast and identify investment needs over the coming years.”
Hilltop Securities, Inc. Senior Vice President Kristy Tofuri informed the three boards that the town’s bond rating is still AA+.
