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Millis Select Board reviews consolidated FY28 goals, debates housing, sewer capacity and a charter commission
Summary
The Millis Select Board spent the bulk of its June 1 meeting reviewing a consolidated FY28 goals document: priorities include producing a balanced budget, investigating sewer capacity increases, pursuing affordable and senior housing options (including an RFP process), and forming a charter commission under Article V for possible structural changes.
The Millis Select Board devoted much of its June 1 meeting to a line‑by‑line review of consolidated Select Board goals for fiscal year 2028. Board members emphasized producing a balanced budget, continued investment in roads and sidewalks, cost‑reduction through shared services and regionalization, enterprise fund oversight, and advancing affordable and senior housing initiatives.
On affordable housing, the board discussed a staged approach: first to determine scope and local need, then to draft a location‑agnostic request for proposals (RFP) covering traffic, parking, lighting, height and massing, and to consider priority access for Millis residents and veterans. The board debated whether to rely on a formal advisory committee to guide the process or to keep deliberations at the Select Board level with regular public updates. Board members emphasized the need for legal clarifications (including resident eligibility rules noted by a consultant) and public engagement before any site decision.
Members also revisited enterprise and utility priorities: evaluating indirect costs for enterprise funds, in‑house state reporting for water and sewer activities (to reduce outside engineering costs), and investigating options to expand sewer capacity, including purchasing capacity from a neighboring town. Officials reported continuing receipts from PAS‑labeled settlements (described in the packet as a source of remediation funds for the drinking‑water program) that the town plans to secure for water infrastructure work.
On financing, board members discussed setting aside excess free cash to bridge Millis’s share of Tri County school construction costs and delaying a possible debt exclusion until necessary. One board member illustrated how a multi‑year plan could avoid cuts to police, fire, DPW or schools while the town seeks longer‑term revenue solutions.
The board also discussed town‑owned properties, including the Lancing Millis Memorial Building (train station) and the deteriorating Ellis School. Members asked staff to investigate rehabilitation costs, deed restrictions and best‑use options, and to report back with updated cost estimates and options to stabilize exteriors while planning interior work.
Finally, trustees discussed administrative changes: improving online permitting and town website rollout, publishing agendas on social media to expand reach, and the mechanics of forming a charter commission under Article V (the board reviewed how a commission would be authorized, elected and the timeline for potential ballot action). Board members agreed to keep housing and charter items on future agendas and to involve the public in the process.
