2023-11-07-AC -STM1-rpt - Laserfiche WebLink

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STM 2023-1 APPROPRIATION CONMTTEE 31 OCTOBER 2023 The expectation is that the engineering study will recommend that either 3 or 4 speed humps should be installed. The funds requested under this article are sufficient for installation of 4 temporary rubber speed humps. An itemized list of the estimated expenses is presented in the table below. The grand total has been rounded up to $101,000. Item Unit Cost No. Amount Speed humps $7,000 4 $ 28,000 Hardware $630 4 $ 2,520 Warning signs $310 4 $ 1,240 Design and engineering $ 8,000 Post-pilot engineering and study $ 4,100 Installation $1,850 8 $ 14,800 Removal $1,850 8 $ 14,800 Police detail (one day) $480 4 $ 1,920 Storage container $ 5,200 Sub-Total $ 80,580 Contingency(25%) $ 20,145 Grand Total $ 100,725 The rubber speed humps themselves could be reused at another site after they are removed from Walnut St. Further details may be found in a memorandum on the STM 2023-1 web page2see "Background material plus map (PDF)"under Additional Materials for Article 8. Article 9 Authorize Home Rule Petition for Special Legislation—Establishing the Election of Town Offices Using Ranked Choice Voting Funds Requested Funding Source Committee Recommendation None N/A Disapprove(3-4-1) The motion for this article is a home rule petition containing the details of a new bylaw that would implement ranked choice voting (RCV) in Lexington. In the Warrant, the description for this article mentioned $12,500 in initial expenses, plus ongoing annual operating expenses, which was based on information from the Town Clerk, who is responsible for administering elections. The motion does not include an appropriation request, and if the motion is approved the petition will be submitted to the state legislature, but no expenses will be incurred prior to approval by the legislature. The soonest we would anticipate any impact on the operating budget is FY2025. When considering this article,the Committee believes Town Meeting should weigh the future financial impact of a transition to RCV. The proponent has identified a minimal baseline expense of $12,500 to upgrade our current ballot counting system, plus an additional $1,200 in ongoing annual maintenance. This cost would cover both software and hardware to support the RCV vote tally process, including a dedicated laptop computer that would produce final election results. To maintain election security and enhance public confidence in the results, this dedicated computer will have no network communication ability, and will only receive and transmit information by removable media(USB memory stick). In addition to this baseline cost, we anticipate further expenses. At a minimum, some form of voter education program will be necessary to prepare voters for participating in a new voting process. It is possible that the Town could engage a consultant to assist with the rollout of RCV. On the printed ballots given to voters,the tabular array of choices for an RCV election takes up more space than the simple column of choices we are familiar with. In the worst case,this could increase the printing cost of ballots. Some towns have already approved motions seeking home rule petitions for RCV, including Amherst, Arlington, Brookline, and Concord. In addition, Boston and over a dozen other towns are considering home rule petitions for 2 https://www.lexingtonma.gov/1805/2023-1-Special-Town-Meeting 7