Wayland Finance Committee approves $8.4 million capital budget in 6-0 vote

WAYLAND — January 17, 2024 — Wayland Finance Committee unanimously approves $8.4 million capital budget despite transfer station misgivings. The board voted 6-0 to back the fiscal 2025 plan — funded by $1.35 million in borrowing within the levy, $2.1 million in free cash, and $4.58 million in water debt — and 6-0 again to approve a $48.2 million five-year plan. Members spent most of the meeting on a $75,000 compactor for the transfer station, a money-losing enterprise fund with no business plan. "Over my dead body do I want to approve" the $100,000 follow-on compactor scheduled for fiscal 2026 without a plan, member Steve said. Finance Director Brian Keveney said DPW Director Tom Holder considers the 22-year-old unit in disrepair and warned a mid-year breakdown would leave no reserves to cover replacement.