Not bored by Wellesley’s All Board meeting

Wellesley’s town government this week held its version of a United Nations meeting, congregating reps from its many boards and committees at the Tolles Parsons Center to preview resource needs and cost drivers to help the Select Board formulate its guidance for capital and operating budgets ahead of Annual Town Meeting in the spring. (See Wellesley Media recording of Sept. 17 meeting.)

Select Board Chair Colette Aufranc called attention at the start of the meeting to her fashion statement, an official Wellesley t-shirt with a Town Hall image on the arm sending a message that “we are all one town.” Aufranc said it’s important for the Select Board to hear from other boards, but also for other boards to hear from one another. An example of how having board reps all in one room fostered mutual support came when Board of Health Marcia Testa Simonson offered to help the Council On Aging Board review plans as it readies the Tolles Parsons Center kitchen for real use.

Aufranc noted that the Select Board has five scheduled discussions as it preps to develop budget guidelines, and that started with a meeting earlier this month with the town’s human resources director. That’s only natural since salaries make up the bulk of operating costs (simplifying things is the fact that most union contracts are settled).

Wellesley Celebrations Committee Treasurer Carl Nelson stepped forward to make his pitch first. The small Committee, known largely for its orchestration of Wellesley’s Wonderful Weekend, seeks to boost funding from the Select Board from $4,700 to $20K per year to make the Committee’s operations sustainable given the rising cost of seemingly everything, including marching bands. Funding from the Board has fallen from representing more than 25% of the Committee’s budget to less than 8% after remaining flat for years as expenses have risen, said Nelson, who described the current funding-to-expense ratio as being “unsustainable.”

Next up was Marc Zawel from another small group, the Wellesley Cultural Council, which is pledging to raise its profile in an effort to boost the arts in town. “The Cultural Council is undergoing a real revitalization,” he said. Zawel’s ask on behalf of the Council: That the town match the $8,500 that the group gets annually from the Mass Cultural Council.

Julie Moore from the Human Resources Board, alongside HR Director Delores Hamilton, had one big ask: Update the town employee handbook to ensure its policies are legally compliant in areas such as benefits and harassment. A budget for a revamp could be in the $20,000-$25,000 range, said Moore, noting that the Board has been in touch with a top municipal lawyer on this matter.

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The School Committee budget is always a closely watched and huge chunk of the town’s overall budget, and Chair Linda Chow summarized it from past, present, and future perspectives. The School Committee begins its budget process in December when the Wellesley Public Schools administration brings forward its plan, and votes on a budget by the end of January that at least provides level services while also investing for the future. Hot topics for the School Committee include the future of its pre-school programs and the lack of air conditioning in four buildings. Most of the fiscal year 2026 budget requests, Chow said, are considered non-discretionary in that they are built into contracts of collective bargaining units. Expected increases in out-of-district tuition and transportation costs will also put pressure on the school budget, as will the school system’s ongoing efforts to reduce activities and bus fees.

Department of Public Works Director David Cohen expressed satisfaction that the DPW enters the budgeting season with settled contracts, though is reviewing possible reclassification of some jobs that could lead to an estimated $50,000 overall increase. The DPW is also seeing increased costs for certain services at the Recycling & Disposal Facility, including for trash, and for mattress and electronics recycling. Not unexpectedly, keeping up with PFAS (aka, forever chemical) treatment remains a challenge, and this will be reflected in water and sewer rates.

One disturbing piece of news from Cohen was the devastation from the emerald ash borer insect, which could result in all of the town’s ash trees coming down, to the tune of at least $300,000 based on initial estimates. Beech trees are at risk, too. “It’s something we’ve been watching but it really has turned into a problem that’s going to need to be addressed sooner than later,” Cohen.

Also on the DPW’s horizon—possibly for a later budget cycle—could be a new position for a compliance coordinator to keep up with increased requirements, especially on the water and sewer side. As planning for this evolves, other departments will be consulted to see what other needs might be met by such an employee.

The Wellesley Free Library also is looking at additional employee hours to address continued increase use of services, said the Board of Library Trustees‘ Ann Howley. The library has made adjustments in recent years, including combining jobs when vacancies occur, to meet the challenge (“That in many ways has been using the low hanging fruit, that I have to say has been picked,” Howley said.). More hours could be used in areas such as technology and custodial support, she said. Being part of the Minuteman Library Network accounts for more than half of the library’s expenses, and it’s unclear at this point how much that charge will be.

The Council on Aging Board, with its home field advantage, made a strong showing at the meeting, where Chair Kathleen Vogel pointed to the stainless steel doors providing access to the center’s underused kitchen. She referenced funding received for a completed feasibility study, and said she’s excited about being in the design phase now. A really big future budget driver will be the operation of a Board of Health licensed commercial kitchen, hopefully by the start of 2026. The Board is currently surveying other senior centers with commercial kitchens to get a sense of the best operation model and what costs might be like.

The Planning Board‘s Tom Taylor got a laugh when he opened with “We really have no news in terms of our budget. We’re at full staff for the first time in a long time,” he said, knocking on wood. The Planning Department budget mainly involves staff expenses, but the only other item worth noting he said was a planned study on Cedar Street redevelopment, and that could get bumped to the next fiscal year as the town’s strategic housing plan rolls out. Funding a comprehensive or unified plan will be a bit further down the line.

The staffing situation at the Health Department is grimmer. The Board of Health’s Testa Simonson said. “We are in a crisis of public health workforce shortage,” she said, adding that they’ll need to work with the town’s human resources leadership to try to address this locally. The situation has been exacerbated by the state’s Department of Public Health setting up dozens of shared services consisting of environment health specialists, nurses and others in recent years that have siphoned employees who have made less and worked longer hours at municipal jobs, she said. “They have driven the workforce shortage, which was already a problem with COVID, even higher,” she said, citing five employees lost over the past three years, including one last week.

Addressing an increase in mental health needs is another budget challenge, Testa Simonson said.

Retirement Board Chair David Kornwitz (in that role for 31 years!) was the bearer of better news. “I’m happy to report that pension and OPEB [other post-retirement benefits] systems are in great shape. On an apples-to-apples basis we’re probably the best funded in the Commonwealth… we’re getting closer and closer to the date at which we’ll be fully funded on pension and making great progress on our OPEB funding as well…,” he said.

Jay McHale from the Natural Resources Commission ticked off a bunch of projects that he said there will be different ways to fund. Focus areas include pond management/water quality, athletic facilities improvement (with possible Community Preservation Committee funding), and developing a land conservation plan. Fixes to the war memorial in front of Town Hall as well as the clocktower at Elm Park are in the NRC’s sights as well. The Commission is working with other bodies on projects such as the Morses Pond beach revamp and possible new pickleball courts.

The Wellesley Housing Development Corp. is busy trying to transform into a trust to give it more flexibility in advocating for affordable and other housing opportunities in town, said Co-Chair Micah O’Neil. One focus is town-owned property at 156 Weston Rd., which could get divvied up to allow for four to six affordable units.

New Fire Chief Steve Mortarelli said the FY26 Fire Department budget has several focus areas, including funds to pay for two new positions that were among those frozen years ago. Hiring additional firefighters will address safety issues, plus help to rein in overtime costs. On the capital budget side, the department is looking to buy a fire engine to replace one that’s more than 30 years old, and doing so in a market where prices are rising and availability is tight.

The Fire Department also is readying a master plan to determine where it should put its resources. For example, is a station needed in lower falls given increased development there? And what to do about the classic but outdated station in Wellesley Square that requires customized sizing of equipment?

New Police Chief Scott Whittemore said the Police Department is readying to hire five new officers, marking the first time the force would be almost fully staffed in his 28 years there. The department is devoted to buy more hybrid cruisers but the vehicles create a budget challenge because they’re increasingly expensive and hard to find.

The budget conversation concluded with details on the submission timeline, which cranks up over the next few months, and some updates from the Advisory Committee. Among the recommendations in Advisory’s Annual Report is instilling a culture of cost efficiency and balance by benchmarking in a way to identify possible ways to cut costs (and as a result, the tax burden).

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