Acting Finance Committee hears FY25 Q2 financial report; MassDOT grants and enterprise fund trends highlighted

Town finance staff presented the Town of Acton’s FY25 second-quarter financial results at the Acting Finance Committee meeting on March 11, reporting overall revenues and expenditures roughly on schedule and noting a new MassDOT grant for local transportation.

The presentation showed general fund tax collections of about $56 million (just under 50% of the year target) and total revenues just over $60 million (49.38% of target). "Taxes are around a little over $56,000,000 collected which comes out to just under 50%," presenter Ellie Anderson said. She also told the committee the largest local-receipt generator is motor vehicle excise and that a sharp inflow of receipts was expected in March and April following commitment billing.

Why it matters: the quarterly report frames near‑term spending decisions and informs the finance committee’s guidance for the coming budget year. It also flagged enterprise- and revolving-fund performance that could affect future rate and fee proposals.

Town staff walked the committee through enterprise funds and several revolving funds. Highlights included: - Commuter lot fund: treated as a special revenue fund; FY25 expense shown as debt service related to the purchase of 1921 Maple Street. - Septage, transfer station and sewer enterprise funds: measured results through December showed mixed pacing. The sewer fund had collected just over $1,000,000 (64.55% of the revenue target) and spent about $1,083,000 (57.47% of spending authorization); staff noted the fund’s higher spending rate is largely because the fund’s full-year debt service has already been paid. - Ambulance enterprise fund: collected about $733,000 (52.38% of target) and spent about $706,000 (36% of spending authorization); staff said they are finalizing a financial model and expect to bring a rate-increase recommendation to the Select Board in the next month.

On transportation, Anderson said the town was awarded a $125,000 MassDOT grant to support Crosstown Connect, the regional on‑demand service. "The application Acton is the fiduciary but the application was for Crosstown Connect the entity which includes at this time Littleton and Sudbury," Anderson said; the grant will help fund Crosstown Connect operations in FY26.

Committee members asked follow-up questions about why some enterprise funds show revenue higher than last year (for example, sewer collections include both monthly billing and betterment receipts) and why some funds’ expenditures trail the calendar rate. Staff said several enterprise funds carry capital or contingency lines that can be spent later in the year and that additional research would be done where variances persist.

Staff also noted that several positions’ salaries and benefits are partly paid from enterprise and revolving funds and that they reported more than 20 positions across those funds with partial labor-distribution. The committee requested clearer notes in future reports tying reserves and retained earnings to planned capital and to multi‑year funding needs.

The presentation materials and a related memo responding to prior questions will be posted on the town website in the quarterly reports section, and staff said they plan to return with a Q3 report in April.