Wayland Finance Committee previews 42 articles for May town meeting

WAYLAND -- January 22, 2024, Wayland Finance Committee maps 42 articles and flags a structural school budget squeeze. Chair Pam Roman led a three-hour workshop dividing warrant write-ups among members and hearing petitioners on an artificial turf moratorium extension, a 10-year athletic fields plan and a resolution backing changes to the Massachusetts flag and seal. School Finance Director Susan Bottan presented a level-service fiscal 2025 budget whose only new initiative is full-day kindergarten at roughly $535,000, with transportation up 21 percent ahead of a new bid and software up 14 to 17 percent. Member Kelly Lappen calculated baseline personnel growth above 5 percent from a 3 percent COLA, 1.3 percent steps, $400,000 in lane changes and $200,000 in longevity, warning the town is "running up against the levy limit within the next couple of years." Select Board members introduced a $39,000 Fire Department staffing study, a $60,000 classification study and $200,000 for Route 20 engineering. The Jan. 17 minutes passed 7-0.