At its Jan. 15 meeting, the Needham Finance Committee reviewed the Planning and Community Development Department’s fiscal 2026 budget request, which includes a proposed new full-time planner, an increase in part-time administrative hours and continued use of an $80,000 planning consultant fund approved at last year’s town meeting.

The committee heard that the department is requesting a 5.3% overall increase: salaries are up 4.1% (about $23,000) and expenses are up 23% (about $9,000). The packet includes two DSR 4 requests carried over from previous years: a full-time planner with a requested salary of $85,000 plus about $37,000 in benefits, and a part-time, non‑benefit administrative increase of 10 hours costing about $14,100.

Lee, planning staff member, told the committee that the department currently has two full‑time planners who are “effectively doing the work, I would say, of 3 people,” and that the new position would handle much of the permitting load so the senior planners can focus on town initiatives tied to the MBTA Communities Act. “We just haven't really been able to meet the demands… 2 people are actually doing the work. I I would say of 3 people,” Lee said.

Natasha, planning staff member, added that the MBTA Communities Act work consumed most staff time over the past year and that the department anticipates needing to develop design guidelines and make zoning modifications to correct inconsistencies created by the recent state-driven changes. The planning board has also identified several town projects for further study, including rezoning in Needham Center and a downtown parking study.

Committee members asked for more concrete, outcome‑oriented detail showing what an added planner would allow the department to accomplish. One member noted that the raw counts of applications and decisions provided in the budget packet show declining totals from FY21 to FY24 (321 → 218), and asked the department to supplement those figures with a project‑level plan that maps staff capacity (two people versus three people) to deliverables and timelines.

The department said about $5,000 of the $80,000 warrant article for planning consultants has been spent and that they plan to use part of the remaining funds to hire an urban design firm to help develop district design guidelines. Staff described routine use of consultants — for example, traffic consultants or fiscal‑impact firms — to provide technical skills the department does not employ in‑house, and noted that grants have been used to offset some consultant work (for example, parking studies and work by RKG on planning matters).

Committee members discussed recruiting and mentorship. Lee said the town would likely seek a candidate with a master’s degree in planning and two to three years of experience, and that Needham’s reputation generally makes such hires feasible. The department said it had not relied heavily on interns in recent years because of the training time required and preferred hiring candidates with graduate degrees.

Votes at a glance:
- Approval of minutes of last week’s meeting — motion made and seconded; outcome: approved.
- Motion to adjourn — motion made and seconded; outcome: approved.

The committee asked staff to return with a short, prioritized calendar of planning initiatives and a comparison of staffing scenarios (two vs. three planners) showing which projects would be advanced and how timelines would change. That material was requested to help the committee weigh the FY26 request against townwide budget constraints.

Why this matters: committee members said the department’s capacity will affect how quickly Needham can finalize design guidelines, update zoning to reflect MBTA Communities Act changes and complete local studies (large‑house review, parking, and neighborhood zoning work) before development pressures increase again.