LYNNFIELD — A grant of $85,400 was recently awarded to the Lynnfield Department of Public Works as a part of the Community Compact Information Technology.
The announcement was made through the Executive Office for Administration and Finance and the Division of Local Services, which will pay for the purchase, installation and creation of an online DPW work order system and building maintenance system.
“We are very excited for this opportunity. Implementation of this software will allow for the department to operate more efficiently and allows several departments that rely on DPW services the opportunity to review the progress and status of their requests,” said Town Administrator Robert Dolan. “The program will also start to provide some accountability and record the maintenance of equipment in buildings, both of which DPW Director John Scenna has prioritized in his working group.”
According to Scenna, the current work order system is limited in its capabilities, especially concerning tracking projects, which require someone to call the DPW in order to get an update.
“[Work requests] need to be manually inputted into a ticket and that goes into a database. That ticket gets printed, it goes into someone’s mailbox, it changes buildings,” Scenna said. “Who knows where these work orders end up, and we end up with a long database… I found a work order from 2017. The work order said ‘Remove the stage after graduation.’ It was still open.”
Scenna explained this during his Fiscal Year 2026 DPW budget presentation during the March 3 Select Board meeting, including it as a part of his capital improvement plan requests.
“If the principal at a particular school wants to know ‘What’s the status of this repair?’ an online software could provide him with that answer in minutes,” he said. “Right now, he has to make a call and leave a message. It becomes quite cumbersome.”
The IT Grant is one of four competitive grants offered through the Community Compact Program, which also provides funding to municipalities for pursuing Best Practices, Efficiency & Regionalization, and Municipal Fiber projects.
State Rep. Bradley Jones Jr. and State Sen. Brendan Crighton congratulated the town on securing the grant, which will act as a one-time payment to implement the technology infrastructure and purchase the needed equipment and software.
“This grant award will enable the Town of Lynnfield to modernize its work order process, moving from a paper-based system to an online system that will allow for real-time data sharing so DPW officials can better coordinate and address issues in a timely fashion as they arise,” Jones said. “This updated system will create a streamlined process for maintaining the Town’s facilities, which will benefit all Lynnfield residents.”
“Ensuring that Lynnfield has the technological capacity to manage their work order systems will benefit both the Department of Public Works and the community members,” Crighton said. “This funding will enable them to upgrade their work order process to more efficiently and effectively address concerns.”
