Select Board warns: school insurance pool receiver is delaying district budget numbers, which could delay town tax rate
Summary
Board members discussed a regional insurance pool (Interlocal Trust) bankruptcy and the state receiver's role; Wakefield School District and other affected towns are awaiting liability numbers, and Brookfield officials said the delay could push back the town's tax rate finalization.
Select Board members raised concerns that a regional insurance pool called the Interlocal Trust has gone bankrupt and that a state‑appointed receiver is now handling the trust's obligations, complicating member towns' ability to finalize school district budgets and the town tax rate.
A board member said the trust’s collapse means the state receiver is responsible for collecting funds previously payable by the trust, and that affected school districts — including the Governor Wentworth School District and others in the region — are still determining liabilities owed to the receiver. Because those liabilities feed into the school budget, the town may not have its final school assessments and cannot set the municipal tax rate until the district provides final numbers.
Board members said this could delay the town’s ability to set a tax rate on schedule and could require follow‑up with the state receiver or the Department of Revenue Administration (DRA) to determine how to proceed. Members suggested contacting the state receiver and DRA for guidance on how towns should handle the timing and apportionment of any eventual assessments.
The board did not take immediate action beyond agreeing to seek clarification from state authorities and the district on expected liabilities and timing. Town staff said they would pursue the available points of contact and report back to the board.
