Town manager previews resilience workshop, new website and loan refinancing after bank call

The town manager told commissioners the town will host a public resilience action-plan workshop on Feb. 12 at town hall to collect resident feedback that will shape future grant applications and legislative requests.

The manager also walked the commission through a newly launched town website that consolidates agendas, minutes, video links, project status pages tied to the commission's $400,000 capital allocation and online forms for permits and resident requests. The manager said the site will host budgets, audits and monthly financial reports to increase transparency.

On finance, Yvonne (on Zoom) informed the commission that TD Bank has called the three remaining town loans. The FY26 budget anticipates paying off the smallest loan and staff will issue an RFP for bond-financing services to refinance the two larger loans tied to special assessments; the town has consulted bond counsel and expects to return recommendations once bids are evaluated.

The manager framed the finance discussion in the context of state-level proposals concerning ad valorem property tax changes. She said the town receives roughly 30% of a typical property tax bill and that removing ad valorem revenue could force the town to replace revenue with uniform assessments (for fire, waste, roads and other services), increasing per-property charges. She advised residents to review upcoming legislative activity and said the town will publish explanatory material on the new website.

Commissioners asked about rolling refinancing costs into funding mechanisms and about timing; staff said more detailed cost and timing information will be provided as bond work progresses and that bond counsel may appear at a future meeting.