Wayland Select Board advances nine FY21 capital projects under new framework

WAYLAND -- October 2, 2019, Wayland adopts five-year capital framework and advances nine FY21 projects on a 5-0 vote. Town Administrator Louise Miller and Finance Director Brian Keveny unveiled a plan to hold debt within the levy at $3 million, cash capital at $600,000 and free cash use at $1.5 million annually, using fiscal 2020 as the baseline so the framework requires no tax increase. Departmental requests totaled roughly $80 million over five years against a target of about $6 million annually. The board approved $47,000 for public safety radio replacement and $45,000 for system improvements after a July lightning strike on Reeves Hill knocked out emergency communications; the police chief said cruiser radios more than 15 years old can no longer be serviced and that officers at a recent mutual-aid exercise could not reach dispatch. The board also swore in Officer Colin Whitney and appointed Rebecca Ahmed, Daria Tucker and Jackie Vega to volunteer committees.