===PAGE 1=== Lunenburg Finance Committee Meeting Minutes Bilotta Meeting Room Lunenburg Town Hall February 20, 2025 Present Members: Vice Chair Jean Russell, Clerk Tom Gray Committee Member Tanya Dall, Committee Member Ana Lockwood, Committee Member Mike Rupp, Committee Member Jay Simeone Absent Member: Chair Chris Menard 1. Call to Order The meeting opened at 7PM. 2. Pledge of Allegiance 3. Announcements The Committee welcomed the new members Ana Lockwood and Mike Rupp. 4. Public Comment There were no comments from the public. 5. Town Manager & Finance Director Reports Jennifer Warren-Dyment has no reports to present. Ezequiel Ayala states there was a request at the last Finance Committee meeting for the budget versus actuals for the last 10 years. Those documents have been emailed to the Committee. 6. Scheduled Meetings a. Veteran Services The Veterans Service Agent, Michelle Durkee, provided the presentation. Michelle Durkee has been in her position since 2023 and workings in 3 other towns. The oƯice provides services to veterans and their families. This includes helping with VA claims for benefits and filing chapter 115 benefits for veterans, helping veterans obtain VA cards and reconcile between the state and town. The FY26 veterans’ benefits are being reduced from 97,000 to 77,000 because there are fewer people who are receiving these benefits. Jay Simeone questions what happens if a veteran is added to receive benefits. Michelle Durkee confirms there is money in the budget for coverage. ===PAGE 2=== Michelle Durkees current hours in Lunenburg are on Thursdays from 8AM- 12PM in the Ritter Memorial Building. b. Council on Aging This presentation has been re-scheduled. c. Public Access The Chair of the Public Access Cable Committee, Steve Walker, provided the presentation. The mission of PACC is to establish, develop, modernize, and operate the Town of Lunenburg’s public educational, and government access channels to reflect Lunenburg. The franchise fee from Comcast is the principal source of the PACC income. There is an enterprise fund being held in reserve for the new studio. These funds have been invested and are a large portion of the operating budget. ARPA funds of $50,700 have been spent on video graph kits, studio and broadcast audio. Below is the anticipated income for FY 26: - Comcast income: $146,226 - Town interest: $13,000 - Investment interest: $35,430 Total income: $194,656 Below is a summary budget for FY 26: - Salaries: $140,600 - Indirect costs: $30,622 - Operations: $23,650 Total expenses: $194,872 Tom Gray questions what the indirect costs are. Steve Walker confirms this would be healthcare for employees. Rhonda Lisio,181 Reservoir Road, questions if the employees are hired by the town or on SAP . There is concern that when the studio is built and the money is spent, they will no longer be collecting the interest that is a large part of the operating budget. d. Library The Director of the Lunenburg Public Library, Muir Haman, provided the presentation. ===PAGE 3=== FY 25 Projects: - The expansion of the teen room and renovation is ongoing. This was funded with $119,000 of ARPA money. - The programming floor area of the children’s room has been completed. The state requirement for appropriation for FY 26: $549,755 Budget request for FY26: $646,617 The recommended FY 26 budget from the Interim Town Manager: $625,000 Goals for FY 26: - Use the library as a community hub - Maintain staƯing - Provide services to new and underserved populations Budget requests include: - Maintain staƯing - There are 13 employees, 3 are high school age working 3 hours a night, 10 other adults who work between 19 and 40 hours a week. The budget request for staƯing is $446,000. - Fill the vacant library assistant position. This is a 19-hour per week position. - Technology - The library anticipates a request from the IT Department for $13,500 for IT-related replacements. - Utilities - CW Mars Assessment - Library materials - Library programming Tom Gray questions if Muir Haman is aware of what state funding will be available. Muir Haman is unsure but confirms he has been looking into grants. Additionally, he believes nonprofits will be impacted. Ana Lockwood questions the number of staƯ working at any given time. Muir Haman states there are 6 employees working at any given time. Additionally, there are times when the library is closed and there are employees working. There is a policy for the library to have 3 employees at any given time. Tom Gray inquires if there are budget shortfalls this year how Muir Haman would make those cuts. Muir Haman states there are a number of resources that are considered underutilized, but he believes they are a valuable asset ===PAGE 4=== to the community. 70% of the budget is staƯ salary but reducing staƯ would be a last option. 7. New Business There is no new business. 8. Old Business a. FY26 Budget Discussions b. FY26 Warrant Articles c. Budget Task Force Recommendations 9. Minutes There were no minutes to review. 10. Committee Reports Tom Gray states that the Municipal Building Design Committee met and discussed renovations in town. The proposal was around 22 million dollars for renovations of the Ritter Building and the Town Hall. There have been a lot of meetings recently that are all available to watch on Facebook. 11. Actions and Topics for Future Meetings There are no additional actions or topics to add to future agendas. 12. Important Dates & Upcoming Meetings a. Tuesday 2/25/2025 b. Thursday 2/27/2025 c. Thursday 3/6/2025 d. Thursday 3/13/2025 (Public Hearing) e. Thursday 3/20/2025 f. Thursday 3/27/2025 13. Public Comment There were no comments from the public. 14. Adjourn There was a motion to adjourn by Tom Gray, seconded by Ana Lockwood. All in favor. The meeting closed at 9:23 PM.