Kelley Named Chair as Marshfield Select Board Reorganizes, Tackles Budget Gap

New leadership team in place as interim town administrator presents plan to address $750,000 vocational school funding shortfall

MARSHFIELD - May 5 - The Marshfield Select Board has a new leadership team following a reorganization that saw Eric Kelley elected as chair, Steve Darcy as vice chair, and newly elected member Trish Simpson as clerk.

The board's reorganization, which took place at the beginning of Monday's meeting, included some awkward moments as members initially struggled to secure seconds for nominations.

When Darcy, serving as temporary chair due to a vacancy in the position, nominated Kelley for vice chair, no second was offered. After Simpson requested discussion, she expressed reservations about both potential chairs.

"I feel like I'm in a very difficult position here, because I feel like I cannot in good conscience nominate Mr. Darcy because of the way he has treated our residents in the past," Simpson said. "I'm afraid that this might take away from him being chair his responsibilities."

Simpson also voiced concerns about Kelley, noting that "talking to a lot of the residents, they're not happy with the way he has voted in the past."

Despite these concerns, Simpson ultimately voted to approve Kelley as chair after further discussion. The board then elected Darcy as vice chair, with Simpson abstaining from that vote.

In other significant business, Interim Town Administrator Peter Morin presented a comprehensive plan to address a $750,000 budget gap for South Shore Vocational Technical High School funding.

"What I'm offering at this point, and I'm not asking for a board vote at this point because I just want to initiate the discussion and then get feedback on what is being proposed," Morin said.

His proposal identifies $805,276 in potential adjustments, with $735,276 coming from free cash articles and $35,000 from department budget adjustments.

The plan includes several specific recommendations:

- Correcting an $11,000 vaccine deficit coding error by using available CARES Act funds

- Reallocating $284,000 initially identified for police accreditation

- Reducing a Munis software article from $370,000 to $340,000

- Cutting OPEB (Other Post-Employment Benefits) trust funding from $200,000 to $50,000

- Using CARES Act money to replace $24,000 for security camera servers

- Deferring a $250,000 vehicle lease program

- Redirecting $21,276 in supplemental funding for a skate park project

- Reducing the town administrator's salary line by $15,000

- Cutting the insurance appropriation by $20,000 due to rebates

Morin explained that the remaining funds beyond the $750,000 needed for vocational education would go toward unemployment appropriations, which had been zeroed out in previous budget adjustments.

"I think it's not wise to go with a zero in the unemployment appropriation as it's a recurring expense," Morin said. "Some funding should be put in that line to go forward in FY 26."

The board did not vote on the proposal, with Morin suggesting they take time to review it before making a decision.

"I think a good target would be if we could have a vote by May 20th as to identifying any changes to these proposals, any additions, any deletions, any other ideas that we incorporate," Morin said.

He recommended a joint meeting with the Advisory Board on that date to develop a united recommendation for the upcoming town meeting.

The board also addressed an unfunded mandate determination request related to the MBTA Communities Act. They voted to grant a waiver extending the time for the state auditor to determine the extent of the unfunded mandate.

Darcy provided context on the issue, noting that Marshfield had taken three actions: requesting the state auditor determine if the MBTA Communities Act was an unfunded mandate for the town, challenging it in court, and asking state legislators to either exempt the town or provide funding for compliance.

"The state auditor's office is just asking for more time to crunch the numbers and things of that nature," Darcy explained.

The board also approved several routine matters, including temporary liquor and entertainment licenses for upcoming events, and appointed two new members to the Energy Committee.

Before adjourning, the board discussed scheduling an additional meeting before their next regular session on May 19 to begin the search process for a new town administrator and receive updates on pending court cases.

"I think that for the time being going forward, we may have to have a little more meeting business than usually we do," Kelley said.

The meeting concluded with a resident praising Morin's approach to the budget issue, noting it was "the first time I've ever seen a talented administrator give something to the select board and give them pause to look at it and consider it."

Full meeting available via MCM.