Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Budget And Finance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Marlborough Board of Finance reallocates $600,205 RHAM surplus, lowers mill rate to 28.00 mills
Summary
At a March 30 budget workshop the Marlborough Board of Finance voted unanimously to allocate a reported $600,205 RHAM surplus: $350,000 to capital (including $50,000 for a SKAG mower), reduce planned use of fund balance by $100,000, and apply the remainder to lower the mill rate to 28.00 mills (a 3.69% increase). Residents urged caution and asked why the surplus occurred.
The Marlborough Board of Finance voted March 30 to reallocate a newly reported $600,205 surplus from RHAM, restoring $350,000 to capital projects, trimming the planned use of the town's unassigned fund balance by $100,000 and using the remainder to reduce the mill rate to 28.00 mills, a 3.69% increase over the current year.
The decision followed public comment from several residents who urged the board to avoid using the unanticipated funds to mask long-term tax pressure. "Do not use the $600,000 RHAM surplus to bring down the mill rate. This gives the residents a false sense of security," said Deb Bourbeau of North Main Street, who recommended applying the funds to debt or needed purchases. Amy Traversa of Saner Road, who identified herself with Brown & Brown, the consortium insurance provider, agreed and recommended a joint meeting with the boards to review how consortium reserves are set.
Town Manager Mr. Porter told the board he had received a March letter from RHAM reporting a calculation error that left the town owed $600,205. He said he and the finance director reviewed options and proposed restoring $300,000 to deferred capital projects, assigning $100,000 for a new SKAG mower for Public Works, reducing the use of the undesignated fund balance by $100,000 and using the remainder to lower the mill rate.
During discussion board members weighed several options, including smoothing the mill rate over several years, funding tree cutting, early payoff of the CWF, prioritizing culvert and infrastructure repairs, and installing a lift in the Public Works metal building. Resident Joe Asklar asked whether restoring $300,000 to capital would leave discretion over spending with the Board of Selectmen; the board did not record a formal transfer of control in the minutes.
Jack Fidler moved the allocation proposal and Baird Welch-Collins seconded. The motion assigned $350,000 to capital projects (noting $300,000 to restore deferred capital and $50,000 to CNR-Public Works for a SKAG mower), reduced the use of unassigned fund balance by $100,000 (bringing that balance to $365,000), and applied the remaining RHAM surplus to lower the mill rate. "This brings the mill rate down to 28.00 mills and an increase of 3.69% over current year," the minutes state. The board voted unanimously in favor.
Several residents later said they had calculated household tax impacts higher than the board's summary: Sue McFarland and Anthony Bratz each said their own computations showed increases of about 9–10%. Allen Miller raised a separate procedural question about tax collection models, and Hal Whitney reported a town GIS map access problem.
After the vote the board agreed a scheduled BOF meeting for the following week could be cancelled and asked the Town Clerk to order ballots for the referendum process, per the minutes. The minutes do not record individual roll-call votes or indicate whether alternates participated in the vote.
What happens next: the board restored capital funding and adjusted the town's mill rate calculation as recorded in the workshop minutes. The minutes note the RHAM surplus arose from a reported calculation error; the town expects an audit and additional explanation from RHAM about how the surplus occurred.
