===PAGE 1=== Lunenburg Finance Committee Meeting Minutes Bilotta Meeting Room Lunenburg Town Hall March 6, 2025 Present Members: Chair Chris Menard, Vice Chair Jean Russell, Clerk Tom Gray Committee Member Tanya Dall, Committee Member Ana Lockwood, Committee Member Mike Rupp Absent Member: Committee Member Jay Simeone 1. Call to Order The meeting opened at 7:00 PM. 2. Pledge of Allegiance 3. Announcements Chris Menard states the Town Caucus is meeting at 7PM on Monday at the High School. There are multiple open seats that are important to fill, and the Town Caucus is the easiest way to get on the town ballot. 4. Public Comment John Bowen, 162 Highland Street, has come before the Committee to discuss the Cemetery Commission and their frivolous spending. At the last Cemetery Commission meeting a few weeks ago they decided not to take any money out of the sale of lots funds despite their $94,000 balance. Additionally, John Bowen provided a PowerPoint to the Committee regarding the handling of funds. Chris Menard states he reached out to Representative Scarsdale regarding the budget. Project 211 invited Chris Menard to a webinar. This project could be helpful to resolve the problem related to the formula that isn’t working for a lot of communities. 5. Town Manager & Finance Director Reports There were no reports from the Town Manager or the Finance Director. 6. Scheduled Meetings a. Council on Aging The Director, Debra Goodsell, provided the presentation. About 32% of the town’s population are seniors and that number continues to grow. In 2024, 255 seniors in town participated in meals at the center and 264 individuals participated in a fitness class. In total, 1,275 seniors participated in at least 1 activity provided by the Council on Aging. ===PAGE 2=== The Council on Aging is requesting to raise the meal site manager from 19 ½ to 36 hours per week. These additional hours would supply seniors’ food services 5 days a week. The meals on wheels program are only available on Monday through Thursday. Chris Menard states this request came before the Committee last year and they did not go forward. Ana Lockwood inquiries about what programs are available. Debra Goodsell states programming includes entertainment like fitness and crafts. Additionally, it promotes socialization and education. Rhonda Lizio, 181 Reservoir Road, questions how many of the seniors come from other towns. Debra Goodsell states that the majority are from Lunenburg. b. School Department The presentation was provided by: Kate Burnham – Superintendent of Schools Julianna Hanscom – Director of Special Services Susan Gilson – Director of Administration and Finance Deborah Bookis – Director of Teacher and Learning The total adjusted budget for FY 2025 is $24,883,376. The Town Managers budget includes a 904,098-increase bringing the total to $25,787,474. There is a $949,900 increase in the salary line to create a level service budget. Other increases include: 14.8% increase in health insurance 7.6% increase in Dee Bus services 7% increase in vanpool for special education transportation Mike Rupp inquires what the override amount was last year. Dr. Kate Burnham states the override amount was $948,000. Chris Menard asks how much is in the salary reserve. Susan Gilson says the salary reserve is projected to have $90,769 for paraprofessional, administrator, and superintendent salary negotiations. Ana Lockwood believes that school bus fees should be initiated to help with the cost. Additionally, she doesn’t understand why the budget comes in so late. ===PAGE 3=== Tanya Dall doesn’t believe there should be cuts in sports. Majority of the Committee agrees that athletics should not be cut. Chris Menard asks when a decision needs to be made regarding a potential override. Brian Lehtinen confirms this will be a discussion at the meeting with the School and Select Board on Tuesday. Chris Menards states that there are smaller departments that are looking for funding and hopes those departments don’t get lost in the shuƯle because of the school department money issues. Chris Menard confirms it has been mentioned to Representative Margaret Scarsdale concerning all the eƯorts that are put towards reporting and audits. Julianna Hanscom confirms there are audits for the EL program. There are multiple agencies that reach out with the same deadlines. Kate Burnham states there are audits for food services that require many hours of work. John Bowen, 162 Highland Street, states that all audits come from the Department of Education in Washington. Mandates are given to the state to then be provided to the federal government for compliance. John Bowen states cutting mental health professionals and teachers should be a last resort. Laura Veran, 389 Mulpus Road, requests the actual to budget information. Dr. Kate Burnham confirms that the School Committee completes quarterly budget reports. c. Montachusett Regional High School Superintendent, Tom Brown, and Business Manager for the school district, Tammy Crockett, provided the presentation. In FY 25 Monty Tech was awarded $1,062,891 in state and federal entitlement grants. To date, $2,711,900 have been awarded for competitive grants. Lunenburg is the 4th largest enrollment out of the 18 towns. The foundational budget per pupil spent is $20,827. Monty tech represents 8% of Lunenburg’s total foundation budget. The above net school spending increased $872,000 from FY 2025 to FY 2026. The total FY 2026 budget is $34,641,344. Increases in FY 2025 to FY 2026 include: ===PAGE 4=== Salaries increased $580,731 Fringe benefit increased $438,000 Utilities and insurance increased $96,000 Academic and vocational program equipment/supplies increased $103,000 The total contribution needed from Lunenburg is $1,270,711. Tanya Dall questions what expenses in the budget are state mandated. Tammy Crockett confirms that the above net school spending and capital are not mandated. Chris Menard inquiries into who the school uses for busing. Tammy Crockett states the contracts are bid per town and they are with AA, Dee, and McCarthy. Chris Menard asks if the school is looking to add any additional trades. Tammy Crockett states they are not adding any additional trades. Currently, there is no room for expansion or funding to build a new school. d. Capital Plan This topic was not discussed. 7. New Business There was no new business. 8. Old Business a. FY26 Budget Discussions* b. FY26 Warrant Articles c. Budget Task Force Recommendations 9. Minutes There was a motion to approve the minutes from February 14, 2025, by Tom Gray, seconded by Jean Russell. The vote was 5-0-1. 10. Committee Reports This topic was not discussed. 11. Actions and Topics for Future Meetings There are no additional actions or topics for future meetings. 12. Important Dates & Upcoming Meetings a. Thursday 3/13/2025 (Public Hearing) b. Thursday 3/20/2025 c. Thursday 3/27/2025 ===PAGE 5=== 13. Public Comment There were no public comments. 14. Adjourn There was a motion to adjourn by Ana Lockwood, seconded by Tom Gray. The meeting closed at 10:53 PM.