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Wellesley Select Board approves $226M Town‑Wide Financial Plan and $400,000 winter supplemental
Summary
The Select Board unanimously approved a 50‑page Town‑Wide Financial Plan projecting roughly $226 million in spending and approved a $400,000 winter supplemental for DPW snow operations, citing continued storm costs and overtime. The board also authorized final edits to the plan.
The Wellesley Select Board on Feb. 24 approved a 50‑page Town‑Wide Financial Plan (TWFP) that lays out a roughly $226 million fiscal framework and voted separately to authorize a $400,000 winter supplemental for snow and ice operations.
Executive Director Meghan Jop presented the TWFP, emphasizing debt analysis, reserve targets and out‑year impacts on the median tax bill. The plan keeps reserves at about 14.94 percent after applying Free Cash and narrows the expected additional Free Cash need for health insurance from $1 million to $576,000 following recent negotiations. The document projects major capital needs approaching $400 million over the next ten years and models a roughly 65 percent school / 35 percent municipal cost allocation including debt.
On pensions and retiree health obligations, the plan reports favorable positions for Other Post Employment Benefits (OPEB) and notes that pension payments are expected to fall from about $9 million to roughly $4 million beginning in FY30, creating fiscal capacity in later years. The plan also states the Town may draw down trust funds to cover Municipal Light Plant retiree health insurance costs.
Separately, Assistant DPW Director Jeff Azano‑Brown described the need for a second winter supplemental of $400,000, citing double‑time pay tied to Sunday storm timing and ongoing freeze‑thaw cycles that continued cleanup and overtime costs. Board members noted that if winter had ended earlier, available balances would have been higher; the supplemental is funded from Free Cash.
Upon motions by Colette Aufranc, seconded by Thomas Ulfelder, the Board voted unanimously (5‑0) to approve the TWFP, authorize Chair Marjorie Freiman to finalize edits, and to approve the $400,000 winter supplemental appropriation.
