Duxbury’s Fiscal Advisory Committee tackled a packed agenda this week, ranging from critical water infrastructure to a sweeping modernization of the town’s human resources and payroll systems. The Water Department opened the session with urgent requests, including $160,000 for a new backhoe and $1.6 million for the remaining design services for PFAS mitigation. Water Superintendent Mark warned the committee about the current equipment’s failing state, noting that at the last snowstorm this week it barely made at the shop with a cab filled with black smoke. Chair Alexander Chin pushed for more clarity on local projects, stating, Ideally though, if we can get that 400 increased to 700,000, we can then do the St. George project. Meanwhile, Frank M. Holden expressed skepticism over certain maintenance costs, remarking that $1.2 million seemed extraordinarily high for a paint job for a water tank.

The committee also heard a joint proposal from Town and School departments for a $200,000 placeholder in the FY27 budget to implement a unified Human Resources Information System (HRIS). HR Director Jeannie Horn explained that the current hybrid of seven different software packages creates significant administrative burdens, adding that a new system would provide us with a centralized system that manages employee data and integrates payroll, timekeeping, attendance, and benefit administration. School HR Director Tony Keaty noted the existing friction in the system, admitting it’s extremely there is a disconnect when we onboard a school employee to ensure benefit information is shared correctly with the town side. Chief Technology Officer Mike Woodford joined the meeting remotely to emphasize the need for integrated data, cautioning, I don't believe that we have one tool out there that's going to exist from an HRIS perspective that's really going to hit everything on the head.

Committee members expressed broad support for the technological upgrade despite the costs. Karen E. Barry signaled her approval of the investment, saying, I’m happy to support $200,000 for improving the information base in the town. Andrew Marshall looked ahead to the implementation challenges, warning, I think you're going to struggle finding a service provider with that level of audit trail for historical payroll records. Vincent Walsh suggested that the committee view these infrastructure and tech needs through a broader lens, noting that the issue of the sewer system and water system ought to be included in the context of safety when prioritizing capital items. Finance Director Mary MacKinnon provided a preliminary fiscal outlook, informing the board, I anticipate that water retained earnings is going to be certified at somewhere around 2.7 million.

The meeting concluded with a marathon approval of past meeting minutes. During the review of a January session at the Senior Center, Ling Wong recalled her attendance, asking, I think I was. Was that at the senior center? Candace Martin remained active in the software discussion, inquiring, is there any of any of the solutions you're looking at where we might integrate more of these? Bethann R. Halligan joined the consensus on several procedural matters, affirming her agreement with a simple I during the multiple unanimous votes that cleared the committee's administrative backlog. Motion Made by Candace Martin to approve the minutes of November 12th. Vote Passed 6-0. The committee ended the night preparing for a final prioritization of capital requests in January. The meeting was adjourned at 8:08 PM.