The Capital Improvement Planning Committee began its second year on June 3 and reviewed information technology priorities and potential improvements to the town’s capital budget planning process as officials prepared to start the next budget cycle.
Town Manager Michael McCall told the committee that early financial forecasts suggest the town may face difficult budget decisions in the coming year and could require both override and non-override budget scenarios.
“We may have to produce what is often referred to as an A and B budget,” McCall said, referring to plans based on whether an override passes or fails.
Information Technology Director Nick Lombardi, who has been in the position for approximately 10 months, said independent security assessments funded by state grants identified significant infrastructure deficiencies. The town’s FY26 IT operating budget is approximately $628,000, with major software systems consuming much of that funding. Annual costs include roughly $160,000 for the MUNIS financial system and $80,000 for OpenGov permitting software.
Lombardi said the town’s original cybersecurity remediation request totaled $450,000, but funding approved through the FY27 capital process will leave substantially less available for cybersecurity improvements because portions of the appropriation are being directed toward school security camera upgrades.
“We have a risk, and we need to make a decision as to whether or not we’re going to invest in remediating our cybersecurity, or we are going to stay at risk,” Lombardi said.
Lombardi identified replacing the town’s firewall infrastructure as the department’s highest priority, estimating the project will cost between $160,000 and $180,000 and take about six months to complete.
Much of the discussion focused on improving the capital planning process. Chair Kelly Lappin said the committee is revising capital request forms to require departments to better prioritize projects, estimate future costs, and identify realistic implementation schedules.
Members also discussed creating shared planning documents to improve coordination among departments, the committee, and town staff, and to avoid separate discussions that result in inconsistent information in the planning documents and warrant articles. Using macros to transfer information from the CIP form to planning documents will reduce the CIPC workload and improve the quality of the data provided.
Committee members discussed concerns about capital projects that remain funded but uncompleted and stressed the importance of identifying delayed and now obsolete projects so unused appropriations can be redirected toward higher-priority needs.
The committee reviewed ongoing questions surrounding the future of the Town Building. McCall said officials still need to determine whether long-term investment, relocation of town offices, or another approach represents the best use of resources. In the meantime, members agreed that the town will likely need a short-term strategy to address immediate building maintenance needs.
Vice Chair Brian O’Herlihy raised concerns about the committee’s succession planning. He noted that he and Chair Kelly Lappin may not remain on the committee beyond the current reporting cycle and emphasized the importance of maintaining institutional knowledge as future vacancies arise.
