Advisory Committee members at an Aug. 7 meeting asked town staff to explain a series of end-of-year transfers and recommended clarifying the town's rules for moving funds between accounts.
The discussion centered on differences the committee found between the town's finance bylaw and the finance policy, and on a number of line-item changes in the FY2025 budget documents. Advisory Committee member Liz said the committee's review of the year-end report showed multiple accounts whose allocated amounts changed and that the committee needs department-level justifications for transfers.
Why it matters: The committee said residents need assurance that the town is following established rules when moving money between accounts and that greater local controls could be adopted if state law permits.
At the meeting, Advisory Committee members noted that the finance bylaw requires joint review of end-of-year transfers by the select board and advisory committee, while the finance policy allows department heads to transfer funds within their department. "There's a disconnect between the two documents," Advisory Committee member Jacqueline said. "We always the only time we got involved was when they were between departments, not within a department." The committee asked Jacqueline to assemble the relevant policy and bylaw language and report back; members agreed to discuss a proposed draft policy change at a future meeting.
Committee members proposed two next steps: (1) request explanations from department heads for each transfer that occurred at fiscal year end, and (2) review and, if appropriate, propose tightening local rules so the town is more stringent than the state minimum where the town decides that is prudent. Member April suggested starting with the town's written policy and using that as the basis for any changes.
Members also discussed the practical options for stronger local controls, including returning to a line-item budget process at town meeting if tighter control is required. Bev recalled that Templeton historically used a line-item approach that lengthened town meeting but allowed direct public review of each account.
The committee voted to table detailed action on the larger budget review until its September meeting to allow time to collect documentation and draft proposed policy language. Vote recorded: April yes; Liz yes; Jacqueline yes; Bev yes.
The committee asked staff to provide the documentation backing each transfer and to circulate the relevant bylaw and finance policy in advance of the September meeting.