Frustrated by high-stakes "surprises" on the town warrant, the Capital Outlay Committee is moving to solidify its authority within the Harwich Town Charter. The committee met Friday to address what members described as a history of being used as window dressing by previous administrations, specifically citing a $35 million Phase 3A sewer extension that reached the Select Board without committee review. Chair Martha Donovan, who has become a leading voice for fiscal transparency following a $50 million town-wide spending surge, argued that the current charter language is too vague to protect the public interest. With the sewer project at the size it is, the math is just not going to work to keep it level, Donovan said, noting that the committee was told no sewer items were pending just weeks before the multi-million dollar request surfaced.

The committee is pushing the Charter Commission to replace the word assist with more collaborative language like jointly develop or in conjunction with regarding the town’s capital plan. Paul Doane, a committee member who also serves on the Charter Commission, warned that without specific guardrails, the committee’s role remains at the whim of the sitting Town Manager. My reaction was that we only had a very passive role—a role that basically rubber-stamped a document placed before us, Doane said. I’d like to see the language in the charter more definitive... if later in this process people can alter what comes out of this committee and not come back to us for review, it’s just window dressing.

Acting Town Manager Tony Schiavi, a retired fighter pilot with a background in construction management, signaled a shift toward a data-driven partnership. Schiavi emphasized that the town's facilities are its most expensive assets and must be managed like a business. We owe it to the taxpayers to make sure we are getting the full useful life out of our facilities before we ever ask them to build a new one, Schiavi told the committee. He suggested that future capital planning must include a formal facilities assessment to code building conditions and prioritize maintenance before systems blow up into emergency replacements. Schiavi also advocated for the creation of a capital stabilization fund to smooth out the tax impact of major debt service.

The committee's "data-first" rebellion was echoed by member Scott Norm, who proposed that the Capital Outlay Committee submit an independent report to the Select Board alongside the Town Manager’s plan, mirroring the Finance Committee’s statutory role. The translation from debt outstanding to debt service is what impacts the tax bill, Norm said, stressing that the town’s capital plan is currently missing its largest obligation: the sewer system. Michelle Galucci, a new member with an MBA in finance, questioned how future charter language could prevent large-scale projects from being omitted until the last minute. How does language keep something like the $35 million sewer project from being left off the capital budget until the last minute? That troubled me, Galucci said.

Rich Lisius, a 17-year veteran of the committee, pointed out specific flaws in Section 9 of the charter, noting that the term capital outlay budget appears in the document without any formal definition. Lisius also noted that in previous years, the committee was ruled out when changes were made jointly by other boards. Motion Made by R. Lisius to approve the minutes of August 1, 2020. Motion Passed (Unanimous). The committee noted the 2020 date was likely a clerical error for a more recent meeting.

Ann Clark Tucker called for the meeting to serve as a turning point for the board’s identity. Can we use this meeting to really define our roles, responsibilities, and process? Tucker asked. We’ve done it one way, and I think we’re all open to doing it another way, but we should start with roles. The committee reached a consensus to propose striking the phrase during any budget year from the definition of capital projects. This change would ensure that projects totaling over $50,000 are classified as capital items even if the spending is spread across multiple fiscal years, preventing departments from bypassing committee review by splitting costs.