Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Municipal Finance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Selectmen review strong year-to-date revenues, legal-cost overruns and add unassigned fund-balance policy to agenda
Summary
Finance staff reported property tax collections, charges for services, and investment income all substantially above budget, projecting roughly a $1 million positive year-end position after adjustments. Selectmen also reviewed capital carryovers, legal bill overages tied to WPCA matters, procurement/bid policies, and voted to add a draft unassigned fund balance policy to the agenda for discussion.
At the same meeting, town finance staff presented updated fiscal figures showing several revenue lines performing above budget and a projected year-end net position near $1 million. Anita distributed an updated sheet of actual and anticipated revenues and said property tax collections were about $343,000 above budget, charges for services $243,000 above budget, and investment income about $318,000 above budget. An $800,000 transfer from surplus and timing adjustments (about $347,000 shifted by auditors between years) were described as components of the net position.
Selectmen discussed capital-project carryovers and department encumbrances and asked several departmental questions. The HR coordinator’s salary line showed 42% remaining because of a mid-year vacancy; the current HR coordinator works about 20–25 hours per week. The America 250 committee’s expenses were discussed in the context of a July 5 picnic; most purchases will be billed in June and paid in July. Emergency management capital purchases (radios) were reported and will be finalized when reimbursements are confirmed.
Members reviewed legal-expenditure overages largely related to WPCA work and cost-sharing agreements; some legal fees that had been expected to roll into bonding after a planned referendum did not, so the town has paid previously outstanding bills. Staff said legal and financial-advisor costs were higher because certain anticipated bonding and referendum outcomes did not materialize.
The board also discussed procurement and bid policy questions: the 2019 bid policy allows the Board of Selectmen to extend a contract for a single term equivalent to the original term, but it otherwise discourages long major contracts and caps major contracts at four years unless approved. Members asked whether the policy should be amended to define maximum initial terms or re-bid timelines.
Finally, the board voted to add discussion of a proposed unassigned fund balance policy (document prepared by Candace and contributors, including an intern) to the agenda for review. Candace introduced the document and thanked contributors; a substantive discussion of the policy is expected at a future meeting.
