Budget panel rejects proposed public services director, restores modest engineering funds

The Rockport Budget Committee voted March 25 to advise the select board to remove a proposed Director of Public Services position from the coming fiscal-year budget, replacing the new hire with a smaller pool of contracted engineering funds.

The move followed more than an hour of debate in which members questioned whether the town should add roughly $120,000'plus in ongoing payroll and benefits for a single management-level hire. "I would rather see these projects ... hire outside people on a project-by-project basis," committee member Bill Freeman said during public discussion. Supporters of the position argued an in-house engineer could speed delivery and improve long-term project quality and grant management.

After discussion the committee approved a motion to remove the new public services director position from the budget and then, in a separate vote, approved adding $25,000 to line 3095 (professional services) to preserve some engineering capacity through contracts or retainers. Town staff had told members some of the proposed position's time would be offset by wastewater revenues; the committee noted removing the position and the revenue offset yields a net change to the proposed budget.

The committee cited three practical reasons for the compromise: uncertainty about recruiting a candidate who would deliver the full range of management and technical skills requested; the long permitting and contractor timelines that have delayed bond-funded stream crossings; and the relative flexibility of using short-term contracts or a retainer while the town refines the job's scope. "If we don't put it in the budget, we'll never even see what's out there," a supporter said, but others countered that a smaller professional-services allocation allows the town to pilot alternatives without creating a new ongoing payroll burden.

The committee made clear this is a recommendation to the select board; hiring remains a select board decision. The select board will receive the committee's recommended adjustments before finalizing the budget. The committee also directed staff to bring more precise performance metrics and clearer staffing and savings estimates if the position is reconsidered later.

The committee's recommendation preserves a modest engineering funding line for short-term professional help and signals that members remain open to an in-house solution in future budget cycles if the town can demonstrate concrete, measurable savings or delivery improvements.

The committee minutes said the motion to remove the position was passed and that the subsequent motion to add $25,000 to professional services also passed. The select board will review and take final action on the recommendations in its forthcoming meeting.