Norwell Select Board Tackles Police Cruiser Funding, Capital Planning Policy Ahead of Challenging Budget Season

NORWELL - November 19 - The Norwell Select Board met with the Capital Budget Committee and assessors on Tuesday, November 19, to grapple with fundamental questions about how the town funds and plans for capital expenses—decisions that could significantly affect next year’s budget and tax rate. At the heart of the discussion: should police cruisers remain in the operating budget or be moved to capital funding, and how should the town track all capital expenses, including those funded by Community Preservation Act (CPA) money, in a single comprehensive plan.

The Full Story

The meeting began with routine business, including the appointment of Karl Swenson to the Government Study Committee. Swenson, a 40-year resident of his previous community who served seven years on its advisory committee, brings significant municipal finance experience to the role. Town Moderator Matt Greene made the appointment following a public hearing before the Select Board, filling an open term that expires in 2028.

The board also approved 43 election workers for annual appointment through June, with Town Clerk Danielle Shepherd presenting 39 reappointments and four new appointments to staff upcoming elections.

Capital Budget Committee Chairman Don Mauch delivered an extensive presentation showcasing months of work developing new tools and processes for evaluating capital requests. The committee has created what Mauch called a “comprehensive toolkit” including new Excel forms, a vehicle assessment grid, priority-driven rubrics, and category-assigned liaisons to replace the previous department liaison system.

“The better we do our job in terms of fiscal oversight, makes it easier for the advisory board to rely upon the informed decisions and informed recommendations that we make, and in turn makes it easier for the select board and in turn makes it easier for the town’s voters,” Mauch explained.

The presentation included a detailed look at the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), which Mauch described as “nothing more than a five-year budget” showing where capital expenditures are planned over that timeframe. The committee revealed that new growth for fiscal year 2026 totaled $544,646, primarily from residential construction including continued development at the 15 High Street apartment complex.

The most contentious discussion centered on three specific policy questions the Capital Budget Committee brought to the Select Board for guidance. The first concerned whether police cruisers should be funded through the capital budget or remain in the operating budget as they currently are.

Mauch presented research showing that Department of Local Services (DLS) guidelines classify cruisers as capital assets—items costing more than $10,000 with more than one year of useful life that must be funded through the capital improvement program, not the operating budget. He estimated that most of the state’s 351 towns follow capital treatment, with less than 10 percent using the operating budget approach.

Town Administrator Darleen Sullivan pushed back, explaining that chiefs typically base cruiser replacement on hours of use rather than age, and that the frequency of turnover—typically three to four years rather than the five-year threshold for capital items—supports keeping them in the operating budget. “I see both sides,” Sullivan acknowledged. “But it is in the operating budget. It’s not really five-year life, five-year useful life. It’s usually three, four years if they can stretch it.”

Sullivan raised practical concerns about removing cruisers from the operating budget. “You don’t want to be in a situation where now you can’t buy a cruiser,” she warned, referencing past years when the town faced such challenges. She noted that in a tough budget year, the line item could be vulnerable to cuts, potentially leaving the police department without necessary vehicles.

Select Board member Andy Reardon strongly advocated for moving cruisers to capital funding. “I have a bias that we pay them to make and provide us with the best decision,” Reardon said. “I would believe that putting the cruisers in the capital budget means that it’s going to be something that we look at every year. Perhaps we can prioritize public safety and the needs for appropriate public safety equipment.”

Mauch emphasized that the capital planning policy’s priority grid would rank public safety requests highest, ensuring cruiser needs would be evaluated systematically each year. “When all of a sudden requests for a cruiser or two cruisers or three cruisers comes up, that’s going to be ranked on the weighted priority list the highest because it ranks for public safety,” he explained.

The board did not vote on the cruiser question, instead deciding to invite Police Chief to a December meeting to provide input before making a decision. Board member John McGrath noted that while both approaches have merit from an accounting standpoint, he believed the items do qualify as capital expenditures under generally accepted accounting principles, though he acknowledged exceptions exist.

The second major discussion point concerned whether to include CPA-funded capital projects in the town’s Capital Improvement Plan. Mauch argued for inclusion to improve transparency and grant eligibility, emphasizing that the Capital Budget Committee would have no oversight authority—CPA projects would simply appear as a separate department in the plan.

“The bottom line here is that capital budget is required, and we think that it’s the proper thing to do,” Mauch said, noting that CPA funds are already tracked separately but integrating them into the CIP would give residents a comprehensive view of all capital spending in one document.

Community Preservation Committee Chairman Patrick Kelly raised concerns about the proposal. “I’ve never seen a grant denied because there hasn’t been something on the community [CIP],” Kelly stated. He also worried about confusion if large CPA requests appeared in the capital plan but were then voted down by the town—potentially showing a deficit that didn’t materialize.

Sullivan saw merit in the approach for planning purposes. “I don’t have a problem with seeing that,” she said. “I think it probably is a good idea to have anything that people know about on the capital improvement plan.” She suggested that projects could be tagged with their probable funding source, including CPA, while acknowledging that some projects come up quickly through CPA’s application process and might not appear on long-range plans.

The third issue—requiring all capital funding requests to come through the Capital Budget Committee’s Article 3 rather than separate warrant articles—generated less debate. The committee argued this would avoid fragmented oversight and improve transparency. Mauch noted that in reviewing past warrants, the committee discovered numerous capital expense requests that had never come before them, contrary to the capital planning policy.

The Select Board agreed to review the complete Capital Planning Policy document and revisit all three discussion items at their December 3rd meeting, potentially with additional input from department heads.

Following the Capital Budget Committee presentation, Principal Assessor Lane Partridge and Board of Assessors Chairman Maureen Clarke presented the annual tax classification hearing. Partridge reported that Norwell’s total taxable value increased 4.89 percent from fiscal year 2025 to 2026, reaching $3.926 billion. The residential/commercial value increased 4.77 percent.

The town’s tax rate dropped slightly from $13.07 per thousand to $12.83 per thousand—though Partridge emphasized this is simply a mathematical calculation of the levy divided by total valuation, not a rate set by any individual or board.

Partridge explained Norwell’s relatively high tax rate compared to neighboring communities, attributing it primarily to the town’s small size. “You had Hingham, I believe, has like 12,000 parcels. I think we have four,” Partridge said. “If they build a high school, let’s say they do a $100 million high school, you do a $100 million high school, you’re going to pay three times more on your taxes than they will because you’re just dividing it by a smaller number of parcels.”

He noted that while Norwell has kept commercial/industrial/personal property at about 12 percent of the tax base—double the state average of 5 percent—the town faces geographic constraints on further commercial development. “Where are you going to put it? There just isn’t any,” Partridge said, adding that even $100 million in new commercial value would only reduce the tax rate by 30 cents.

The Select Board unanimously voted to adopt a single tax rate with a minimum residential factor of one, maintaining the same tax rate for residential and commercial properties. The board also declined to implement an open space discount, residential exemption, or small business exemption.

Partridge briefly discussed the residential exemption as a potential tool for a future high school override, explaining it would shift the tax burden from lower-valued homes to more expensive properties within the residential class. However, he strongly cautioned against implementing it this year, noting it would require applications from 90 percent of property owners and would deplete the overlay account by approximately $2 million, creating a budget crisis for the following year.

Town Administrator Darleen Sullivan provided a comprehensive budget update, outlining the challenging fiscal year 2027 budget process ahead. She explained that while early estimates suggested a $1.2 million structural deficit, several factors remain in flux.

“Growth estimated at 250. And we know it’s coming in higher, which is going to help us,” Sullivan said. However, she cautioned that health insurance costs now appear to be trending toward 15 percent increases for fiscal year 2027 if no plan design changes are made—higher than the 10 percent initially estimated.

Sullivan outlined a multi-pronged approach to addressing budget pressures, including reviewing all department fees and local receipts, analyzing trash and recycling funding models, exploring health insurance plan design changes, and examining creative approaches to pension funding. She emphasized that departments must submit budget requests by early December, with department heads receiving salary and wage information in the coming weeks.

“My goal is by second week in January, I have a detailed budget presentation for you,” Sullivan told the Select Board. “If we still have deficit, we need to chat about that. Obviously, we’re going to need, we might need a two-pronged approach in terms of how we did it last year.”

Sullivan confirmed she has been meeting monthly with the chair of the Select Board, the chair of the School Committee, and school officials to coordinate budget development. However, she acknowledged the school department has not yet submitted formal budget numbers, though those conversations are ongoing.

Select Board member Andy Reardon expressed frustration with the school committee’s historical pattern of submitting budget information late in the process. “I just feel that they represent 75 or 80 percent of the budget and they sit in the dark doing whatever they’re doing. And then they show up and go, oh, we need this. Oh my God. We’re not going to be able to educate the children,” Reardon said. “I think it’s time that we put the brakes on those guys and tell them they come in with a budget that’s acceptable in January.”

McGrath agreed to attend an upcoming school committee meeting to communicate the urgency of providing budget information earlier in the process. Sullivan suggested scheduling a joint Select Board and School Committee meeting in January to facilitate coordination.

The meeting concluded with Select Board member Ren Layne delivering prepared remarks about maintaining civility and accuracy in budget discussions. Layne acknowledged that Norwell hadn’t faced an override vote in more than a decade before last year, leaving the community “out of practice at having these difficult conversations.”

“While overrides are nothing more than a vehicle for the people to express their will, we have a responsibility to express our views around overrides, budgets, and any budget in a respectful and accurate manner, while avoiding divisive personal attacks and mudslinging,” Layne stated. “In that way, the adversity of tradeoffs can be a struggle that we endure together rather than one that tears us apart.”

Layne urged residents to engage constructively in the budget process, attend meetings, and communicate priorities to elected officials. Vice-Chair Brian Greenberg echoed this sentiment, encouraging residents to share their views on budget priorities and potential cuts as the process unfolds.

Why It Matters

The decisions facing Norwell’s Select Board will directly affect property tax bills and service levels for the town’s residents. The debate over police cruiser funding illustrates the fundamental tension between operational needs and fiscal constraints, while the broader capital planning discussion reflects efforts to bring greater transparency and long-term thinking to municipal spending decisions. With a potential $1.2 million deficit looming for fiscal year 2027—possibly larger depending on health insurance and other cost increases—residents can expect continued budget pressures and difficult choices ahead. The early engagement between town and school officials, along with the comprehensive capital planning reforms, suggests officials are attempting to provide earlier notice and more detailed information than in previous budget cycles. However, the complexity of municipal finance, combined with constraints like Proposition 2½ and the town’s relatively small size, means Norwell faces structural challenges that may require either service reductions or voter-approved tax increases regardless of efficiency improvements.

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Meeting Minutes

Key Motions & Votes

• Motion: Approve the agenda with the edit of moving item D before item C. Outcome: Approved. Vote: Unanimous. (Timestamp: 0:01:27)

• Motion: Approve the minutes for the open meeting on 11-12 and the executive session meeting. Outcome: Approved. Vote: Unanimous with one abstention (Vice-Chair Greenberg absent 11-12). (Timestamp: 0:02:08)

• Motion: Recommend Karl Swenson to a position on the Government Study Committee. Outcome: Approved. Vote: Unanimous. (Timestamp: 0:11:16)

• Motion: Appoint the election workers as posted. Outcome: Approved. Vote: Unanimous. (Timestamp: 0:12:56)

• Motion: Capital Budget Committee approval of agenda. Outcome: Approved. Vote: Unanimous. (Timestamp: 0:13:57)

• Motion: Capital Budget Committee approval of 10-20-25 meeting minutes. Outcome: Approved. Vote: Unanimous. (Timestamp: 0:18:45)

• Motion: Capital Budget Committee adjournment. Outcome: Approved. Vote: Unanimous. (Timestamp: 0:20:50)

• Motion: Adopt a single tax rate with minimum residential factor of one. Outcome: Approved. Vote: Unanimous. (Timestamp: 1:42:03)

• Motion: Adjourn Select Board meeting. Outcome: Approved. Vote: Unanimous. (Timestamp: 2:19:40)

Public Comment

Art Joseph, member of the Government Study Commission, provided an update on the commission’s work. The commission has been meeting weekly to review the town charter and bylaws and conduct interviews. They announced a public meeting scheduled for December 4th at 7 p.m. in the North River Room to gather community input on potential charter amendments. The commission has established an email address (gscinfo@townofnorwell.net) for residents to submit comments and ideas. Joseph outlined a timeline leading to potential charter amendment proposals for the annual town meeting, with a final public meeting planned before warrant closure.

What’s Next

The Select Board will meet December 3rd to review the capital planning policy with potential input from the Police Chief regarding cruiser funding. A budget review with Accountant Christine McCarthy will also occur at that meeting. On December 10th, the board will receive a health insurance update presentation. Town Administrator Sullivan will continue meeting with department heads through December to gather fiscal year 2027 budget submissions, with a goal of presenting a detailed budget to the Select Board by mid-January 2026. A joint Select Board and School Committee meeting is planned for January to coordinate budget development. Advisory Board liaisons are attending school committee and advisory board meetings to communicate the urgency of earlier budget information. The Government Study Commission will hold a public meeting December 4th at 7 p.m. at the North River Room.

Full meeting available via Norwell Spotlight TV.