Millis Finance Committee Reviews $40,000 Conservation Agent Proposal, Flood-Map Challenge

MILLIS — March 25, 2026 — Millis Finance Committee hears $40,000 conservation agent request and reviews 21-article draft Town Meeting warrant. Vice Chair Michael Crone presided at the March 25 meeting, where Conservation Commission Chair John Stedman made the case for hiring a part-time agent at up to 16 hours per week — the first paid professional conservation role in the town's history — describing a backlog of unresolved wetland compliance orders, 23 town-owned properties receiving little active management, and an all-volunteer commission that Stedman said is "not a model that's sustainable going forward." Finance Director Jody reported the FY25 audit produced no material findings and that a new auditing firm will save the town roughly $15,000 annually through FY28. The draft warrant includes a $120,000 article to challenge FEMA flood maps along Route 109 that officials believe were drawn on outdated assumptions, and a free-cash appropriation to cover Millis's share of the approximately $280 million Tri-County Regional Vocational Technical School construction project — an approach at least one committee member called contrary to sound fiscal practice after voters rejected a debt exclusion by 22 votes. The committee's next session is April 8, when the Capital Planning Committee and Community Preservation Committee are expected to present their warrant articles.