Westborough AFC schedules Jan. 23 meeting, presses for digital budget tables ahead of Jan. 30 summit

The Town of Westborough Advisory Finance Committee discussed scheduling and data requests on Jan. 6 as it prepared for the all-day budget summit on Jan. 30.

Committee members agreed to cancel short mid-January meetings (Jan. 13 and Jan. 16) and to hold a single preparatory meeting on Jan. 23 so members could consolidate and refine questions for the Jan. 30 budget summit. One member summarized the calendar alignment considerations and noted the select board’s schedule and a joint municipal building committee meeting on Jan. 8 reviewing the community center design.

Several members pressed for more accessible budget data. One member asked whether staff could provide a digital version of the budget tables (Excel) that mirror the printed book, including multiple years of budgeted and actual figures to enable trend analysis. Committee members said the book presents roughly four years and asked for at least two to three years back as a minimum. A committee member suggested sending a short email describing the exact data requested so staff could produce the tables without extra work; another member agreed to draft that email and copy the committee.

The committee also discussed preparing focused questions on areas of potential waste and spending reductions so staff could respond during the all-day summit rather than being surprised by ad hoc inquiries. Members said consolidating related questions in advance would allow more substantive answers during the summit.

The committee approved routine minutes and adjourned. Members were reminded the select board and municipal building committee will meet Jan. 8 on the community center update and that Westboro TV streams the meetings for remote viewing.