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Public Works proposes $198,000 SCADA upgrade; board and budget committee review pavement, CIP and IT costs
Summary
Public Works presented a FY budget with a proposed $198,000 SCADA upgrade (split $116,000 water/$82,000 sewer), $450,000 for preventative pavement maintenance, a $400,000 warrant article for major repairs, and a reduced CIP that cut $1.45 million through 2031; IT raised concerns about rising Microsoft licensing and internet costs.
At a joint session on Jan. 20, the Peterborough Select Board and Budget Committee reviewed Public Works and IT budget proposals that identified near-term investments and longer-term budget trade-offs.
Public Works Director Seth MacLean described department scope—management of roughly 170 million gallons of drinking water and about 140 land miles of roadway—and outlined shifts that produced a 13.2% reduction in DPW administration costs, largely driven by elimination of a business manager position and revised telephone-cost allocations.
Utilities Superintendent Nate Brown presented a proposed Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system upgrade, calling the town’s 25-year-old radio-based control system obsolete. The upgrade estimate is approximately $198,000, with $116,000 proposed from the Water Budget and $82,000 from the Sewer Budget. IT Director Fash Farashahi said SCADA traffic is segregated from the rest of the town network, addressing cybersecurity concerns.
On road maintenance, Mr. MacLean requested $450,000 in the operating budget for preventative pavement maintenance and an additional $400,000 via a warrant article for major repairs. He emphasized preventative funding is necessary to maintain the town’s Road Surface Rating (RSR), which he said improved from 70.45 in 2017 to 83.57 after recent projects. To meet town budget goals, the department reduced a Bridge and Culvert CIP request from $400,000 to $200,000 and deferred the Pine Street cross culvert project until FY31, producing a $1.45 million reduction in CIP requests through 2031.
IT and PEG budgets were reviewed by Mr. Farashahi. He said the PEG fund, supported by Comcast franchise fees, can cover a planned $40,000 project; GIS includes an $18,500 capital reserve for high-resolution flyovers. Farashahi warned that upcoming Microsoft licensing price increases are unsustainable and noted internet costs are rising about 3% monthly; Dan Grosz suggested exploring lower-tier enterprise licenses or open-source alternatives and the long-term feasibility of installing dark fiber to connect town buildings.
Budget Committee members and Select Board members discussed these trade-offs but did not take final budget votes at the meeting. The board approved prior meeting minutes and adjourned at 7:40 p.m.
