Town of Needham trust‑fund officials and Rockland Trust staff discussed moving from an end‑of‑year reconciliation and reimbursement process to quarterly reimbursements and confirmed Rockland will require a signed wire agreement before sending future funds.

The conversation focused on how disbursements approved by the town—checks written from the town’s operating account—are later matched to trust‑account withdrawals. Barbara, a Rockland Trust account representative, said Rockland currently receives disbursement information from the town and historically waited until fiscal year‑end to wire funds back to the town. “In the past, we wait until after the end of the fiscal year just to make sure everything tied out to the books,” she said. Barbara said Rockland now receives quarterly disbursement reports and proposed wiring sums at quarter end so the town is reimbursed sooner.

Julia, a Trust Fund commissioner, and Elise, a Town of Needham treasury staff member, discussed whether quarterly reimbursement would work operationally. Elise agreed quarterly would be an improvement and said some accounts are being handled monthly, but quarterly is “best in this situation.” Barbara said the change is feasible but stressed that Rockland’s compliance now requires a completed wire agreement before Rockland will send any future dollars.

Commissioners and staff discussed the mechanics: the town writes checks from its vendor account and Rockland replenishes that account by wiring from the trust account. Barbara described Rockland’s internal tracking as an allocation spreadsheet that records receipts, disbursements, fees, changes in market value and income for each trust fund. She also noted that Rockland historically “struck” valuations at the beginning of each quarter and treated disbursements as if they occurred at quarter end.

Participants agreed on the operational next steps: the town will continue sending regular disbursement documentation to Rockland; Rockland will provide the wire agreement for town signature; and Rockland will aim to send cash on a quarterly basis once town reconciliation and accounting confirm balances. Barbara offered to disperse funds more frequently if the town prefers operationally, saying, “I can basically do this however you want it to be done.”

Officials also agreed to add at least one commissioner (Andrew) to quarterly account statements; Barbara asked for his contact information so Rockland can set him up to receive statements. Rockland also proposed scheduling a detailed performance review with its investment team for a September meeting to review results through June 30 and discuss the investment policy.

The meeting produced no formal vote recorded on the reimbursement timing; rather, commissioners characterized the change as an operational arrangement for the treasurer’s office and Rockland to finalize. The Rockland representative reiterated the immediate compliance condition: no future wires until the town returns a completed wire agreement.