Dedham Financial Policies Need Examination, Retooling, Committee Members Say

Several members of the Finance Committee and the Capital Expenditures Committee called for a review of policies in a number of areas as they considered budget proposals Saturday morning.

A member of the Finance Committee, Russell Stamm, argued that mitigation funds should go to town departments directly impacted by the source of the funds.

For instance, the fire and police departments should receive a lot of what is in the current mitigation fund to offset costs associated with increased calls to and. 

"We're using mitigation funds as kind of an open checkbook to fund projects that the [Mitigation] Committee thinks are important, but that don't necessarily have a direct relation to a project paid into the mitigation fund," Stamm said.

Stamm also said he'd like to see a policy that establishes a minimum that the Mitigation Committee could give for a project.

"I'm not questioning the merit of these particular projects, I'm questioning the way we are going about funding them," he said. 

Cherylann Sheehan, who heads the Mitigation Committee, said her board had the same questions and that town counsel advised them that nothing held them to giving money to projects that were not impacted by NewBridge or Legacy Place. She said some of her board members felt the same way, and that each member held their own views on how the money should be used.

"That was a big issue for us last year," Sheehan said. "I understand a lot of people feel the same way. It is a legitimate concern."

The Financial Policies Study Committee could take up the mitigation fund issue when it convenes this year. The committee was established last fall, and is chaired by John Heffernan, who also serves on the Finance Committee and the Capital Expenditures Committee [CEC].

Sure to come up during a policies meeting is the question raised during a vote on the Dedham Square Improvement Project. CEC member Michael Podolski argued against funding the project through bonding because town officials couldn't point to a town-wide policy that showed how they decided against putting it to voters as a debt-exclusion.

Town officials, including selectman Michael Butler, said during those discussions that the town could afford the $4.8 million pricetag in its carried debt, and precedent allows the town to fund  projects that cost more - including a $12.3 million Siemens energy project last year.

"We need to determine for now on how this is going to happen," Podolski said.

Heffernan added, "That is something I make sure we bring up [at the Financial Policies Committee meeting]. When I started with the committee I was wondering what we would talk about, and I can see that the list is getting long."

Later in the day, Heffernan heard what other policy - or lack of one - may need to be addressed when his committee meets.

The Finance Committee raised an issue with what should fall under a capital expense and what should be included in a debartment's operating budget. For instance, Finance Committee member Susan Carney said library books for the school department should be included in their operating budget, and they shouldn't seek it through capital.

Dedham schools requested $70,000 for books, which the Capital Expenditures Committee and Town Administrator William Keegan didn't recommend.

"We need to look at our policies about what is and what is not capital," Heffernan said.