Hubbardston — Volunteers and Council on Aging members at the Town of Hubbardston senior-center meeting on Dec. 17 were told an interim personnel and financial policy had been issued after the town administrator was placed on paid administrative leave.

At the meeting S5 read an email from Katie Young saying, "Our town administrator is on paid administrative leave right now, which I don't know what that means. I have a feeling that he's not gonna come back." The message, she said, added that "the select board is asking to not have any extra expenditures until we get a better grip on all finances in town."

Why it matters: the guidance prompted immediate operational questions at the senior center about paying routine vendors and processing small reimbursements. Volunteers repeatedly asked whether ordinary maintenance and program expenses — from plumbing repairs to printer supplies — should still be submitted. S5 told the group she would call the select board to clarify and emphasized that vendors must be paid to keep essential services running.

The meeting record also included discussion of the center’s account balances and grant funding. S5 reported the gift account balance as $6,979.69 and read a formula-grant figure of $12,382.51; the service account balance was read in the meeting transcript as "$1,303.35011." Attendees said they had not been receiving regular bank or warrant statements for the formula grant and donation accounts and that reporting gaps were making it hard to reconcile the center’s books.

Interim staffing plans: attendees discussed short-term bookkeeping options. S4 noted a new treasurer was expected to begin the coming Monday. Members also raised hiring an outside accounting firm to provide temporary bookkeeping and reconciliation while searches for permanent town staff continue.

What’s next: S5 said she would seek clarification from the select board about which expenditures should continue and how vendors will be paid while the town addresses administrative staffing. The meeting set no formal vote on the matter; follow-up was left to staff and the select board.