Orleans Eyes Creation Of New Capital Budget Committee; Resignations Accepted From Remaining Capital Planning Members

ORLEANS – The three remaining members of the town’s long range capital planning committee have resigned, making way for a new capital budget committee that the town plans to establish in its wake.

 The select board on Nov. 20 accepted the resignations of Tim Counihan, John Ostman and Roger Pearson from the long range committee, which was first established in 2016.

 The long range committee’s charge calls for it to assist the town manager in preparing the town’s five-year capital improvement plan and to establish a long-range plan looking at projects 15 years out from the end of that five-year plan. 

In their resignation letters, Counihan and Pearson spoke of a perceived lack of support from the town regarding the long range committee's work. Counihan, the committee's chair, said that lack of support made the committee's work "increasingly less viable."

"I had hoped that we could help steer the Town towards a more structured approach to capital planning," he said. "Perhaps the Town will find a way to get there through other committees or Town employees. By no means should you take my resignation as an indication that I do not still consider capital planning to be essential to good Town governance."

"We have followed exactly what you established in the charter for this committee," Pearson wrote. "Unfortunately, the Town doesn't appear to be ready for this look down the road. From the lack of communication and support, there is no other choice."

But Town Manager Kim Newman said that charge was put together before a proper assessment of the town’s long-term capital needs was done. She told the board that a new committee needs to be established to more effectively guide the town’s capital improvement planning. That includes some participation and input from the finance committee.

 “They need to be involved,” she said.

 However, more clarity is needed regarding what role finance members can legally have in the new committee. The town’s charter specifies that finance committee members cannot be members of any other boards and committees in town to avoid any potential conflicts of interest. Newman said she is consulting with Town Counsel Michael Ford about how finance officials can be involved in the committee.

 Newman said in her experience, it’s unusual for the charter to disallow finance members from serving on other boards, especially those overseeing capital projects and planning.

 “If the finance committee can’t be appointed to be part of the committee, then maybe the committee lives with the finance committee, or maybe it’s the select board,” Newman said. “We have to sort of find a hybrid way to do this.”

Counihan in his letter recommended that the long range capital planning function be absorbed by the planning board, and that a financial analyst be hired to assist Jennifer Mince, the town's interim finance director and town accountant.

 The committee’s charge also specifies that it “periodically” provide an update to the select board on its work. But Kevin Galligan of the select board said the committee is being disbanded without any sense from his board of where the long-range work currently stands. Other boards have been updated on the committee’s work, he said, but not the select board.

 “We’ll act on an item to extinguish committee members, but where did their work go? It would have been nice if something dropped in,” he said.

 Mefford Runyon of the select board added that there’s been a “longstanding” desire in town to have a long range capital committee.

 “I guess I’m just going to voice my hope that the creation of such a tool in some form will be coming, and will at least in one version of it be something that’s accessible to the whole town,” he said.

 The creation of a new capital planning committee represents a “shift” in the way the town is looking to utilize its volunteers, including those serving on town boards and committees, in the future. Andrea Reed of the select board stressed that volunteerism is still welcomed and needed in town, even if those resources might be used in different ways on certain boards and committees.

 “I think it’s really, really important that we identify that we’re in a shifting of how we value and use our volunteer braintrust in town,” she said. “If the structure of some of that is shifting, it doesn’t mean that we’re sending a chilling message to volunteer input.”

 In a follow up email, Newman said she envisions the new committee to include representation from the finance committee and planning board, as well as at-large members of the community. At-large members could include former members of the long range committee, she said.

 Newman on Nov. 20 also offered a glimpse into how the capital improvement plan for the new fiscal year will be prepared and presented. Assistant Town Manager Mark Reil is preparing the capital budget, she said.

 “I really want to have a budget that has descriptive pages that really explain the projects, preferably with some photos and explanations of the verbiage related to these things,” she said. Newman added that discussions on capital budgeting and planning will be separated out from discussions about project debt. 

 “They’re slightly different, but you need a capital budget which is what’s missing here” she said. “So we’re going to work on that.”

 Select board chair Mark Mathison asked if there are any other amendments needed to the town charter to better bring it up to speed with current policies and procedures.

 “Charters are sensitive,” Newman said. “We have to take our time and do it right.”

Note: This article has been updated to reflect the positions of long range capital planning committee members through their letters of resignation.