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Intern recommends sharing back‑office services with neighboring towns to curb personnel costs
Summary
Harika Go Teddy presented a conservative model showing that sharing HR, IT, finance and procurement functions with nearby towns could lower operating costs; she found personnel and benefits make up ~79% of Acton's operating expenses and suggested realized savings will vary by function.
Harika Go Teddy, a rising university junior, told the Acton Finance Committee she focused on back‑office consolidation as a conservative way for Acton to reduce long‑term operating costs without cutting frontline services. She reported that salaries and benefits together account for about $33.3 million (roughly 79%) of the town's operating budget and proposed looking first at HR, IT, finance/payroll and procurement for regional collaboration with towns such as Boxborough, Maynard, Sudbury, Littleton and Concord.
Go Teddy cited Massachusetts examples of shared services (human resources combined across town and schools; IT collaboratives) and estimated conservative savings ranges for select functions (IT 15–25%, HR 10–15%, finance 8–12%). Committee members noted existing shared positions (veterans' services) and urged attention to statutory mandates and differences in school and town budgets; presenters said they excluded police, fire and public works from the model because those services depend on local response times.
"Personnel costs, which dominated the budget... salaries account for approximately $20,200,000; benefits another $13,100,000," Go Teddy said, explaining why back‑office consolidation targets had the greatest potential to reduce recurring spending.
