Swampscott to vote on how to fund capital improvements

SWAMPSCOTT – Voters will be asked to approve more than $2 million in capital improvements when Town Meeting gets underway next week.Unlike previous years, the improvements are split up in several different articles, which are funded differently.For the first time, the Capital Improvement Committee (CAP) is recommending funding some of the capital improvement projects through separate capital outlay expenditure exclusion articles. Capital outlay expenditure exclusions allow a community to finance capital improvement items by passing a property tax surcharge. Unlike a debt exclusion article, which is paid off over many years, the capital exclusion tax surcharge remains in effect for only one year.CAP is asking Town Meeting to approve outlay expenditure exclusion articles, which require a two-thirds vote to pass, to purchase a new fire truck and pay for road repairs.According to the Finance Committee, the assessed value of an average home in town is $400,000 and the average homeowner would pay approximately $44 for the fire truck and $22 for the road improvements, which are expected to cost $150,000.Capital Improvements Committee member Joseph Markarian said using the capital outlay exclusion is like paying cash. He said the town would not be saddled with paying interest on borrowing and it does not increase the town’s debt, which helps its bond rating.Article 6 on the warrant, which also requires a two-thirds vote to pass, asks Town Meeting to approve borrowing almost $2 million to fund 127 different capital improvements. These are requests that CAP is recommending the town borrow money for. The School Department has requested a total of $808,610 for 11 different projects. The projects run the gamut from a new roof for Clarke Elementary School to textbooks.The CAP requests include $900,000 for various public works projects including completing waste water system upgrades, improvements to the water tower and playground/open space improvements. Also recommended is $49,000 for the police department to purchase one new police cruiser and seven portable radios. The fire department is requesting approximately $176,000 to purchase a new generator, a radio master box and a watch desk with equipment. The funding request for a new fire truck is listed under the separate capital outlay expenditure exclusion article. CAP is also recommending Town Meeting approve borrowing $50,000 for lighting replacement and asbestos abatement for the public library and $68,600 for a geographic information system for planning purposes. The final item on Article 6 asks Town Meeting to approve borrowing $50,000 for town-wide technology upgrades.There were several requests for funding for capital improvement projects, which are not recommended for funding including $860,000 to build new holding cells for the police department, $25,000 for a wrestling room at the middle school and $55,000 for a new van for the senior center.Town Meeting gets underway on Monday at 7:15 p.m. at Swampscott High School.