Lunenburg Trust Fund Commission Bilotta Meeting Room/PACC Lunenburg Town Hall July 24, 2025 Present: Chairman John Bowen and Vice-Chair Richard Howard Agenda 1. Call to Order The meeting opened at 5:00 PM. 2. Public Comment Chairman Bowen thanked the Attorney Adam Costa for his explanation of the power and duties of the commission and his interpretation of statutes of what funds are under the purview of the Board of Trust Fund Commissioners as presented by him before the selectboard. Chairman Bowen noted that the attorney agreed there are no precedent cases which specifically identify what specific funds given to the town are under the authority of the Board of Trust Fund Commissioners which was iterated by Adam Costa in his dissertation which leaves the interpretation open and new to a determination and possibly a challenge by the public or this board of what funds actually are overseen by the trust funds commission and the avenues we as a board can take to get a definitive determination specifying what funds are under the purview of the trust funds commission. Mr. Howard thanked the Select Board for hosting Town Counsel at their July 15, 2025 session and setting aside time for him to present what MGL has for the “Powers and Duties of the Commissions of Trust Funds”. The information presented was helpful to him, it did help clarify some points, but some still remain somewhat unclear. One of the major housekeeping items necessary for the Lunenburg Trust Fund Commission to fulfil its obligations is a complete set of documents (declarations) for the five funds that fall in the Miscellaneous funds category, only one has been located as of the meeting date. Mr. Howard thanked the Town Manager for raising the topic and asking if anyone in town who was formerly on the Trust Fund Commission to review any records they may have have as that information would be helpful moving forward, and Mr. Howard reiterated that request since there are four Trusts where no documents appear to exist within Town Hall. David Rogers of 82 Highland Ave was in attendance, Mr. Rogers stated he has been in Lunenburg for over 50 years and never attended or viewed any of the meetings of the Trust Fund Commission. During the course of the meeting, Mr. Rogers did raise some points of clarification out of order, but Chairman Bowen did allow Mr. Rogers to ask questions and make comments out of respect for his attendance and the fact his questions did not put the agenda or meeting end time at risk. 3. Review and Approve Minutes Minutes of July 10, 2025, Trust Fund Commission were unanimously approved as written. 4. New Business a. Organization The current vacancy on the Trust Fund Commission remains unfilled. b. Management of the Trust Funds Chairman Bowen again stressed the importance of receiving final fiscal year numbers from the Town Accounting department, who are still working on closing out the fiscal year. Chairman Bowen updated the Trust Fund Commission and audience with the research he was able to conduct on the four Trusts in the Miscellaneous category that do not have declarations available. This history may be helpful in determining the intent and disposition of the funds if necessary. Chairman Bown has reached out to the Worcester County probate court to have these documents retrieved and provided to the Trust Fund Commission so they can be properly acted upon. Chairman Bowen again raised the issue of comingled funds, and the fact that any costs and penalties that are incurred as a result of poor planning and budgeting of the other funds managed as part of the larger Trust Fund portfolio have an adverse effect on all the funds collectively. The five portfolio balances under the Trust Fund Commission’s responsibility are hurt by these costs and penalties. Additionally, Chairman Bowen highlighted the poor return of the portfolio over the past year, which was less than 2.5% - a rate far below the rate of inflation. Mr. Howard reiterated the point that our funds have not been receiving a rate of return that we should be receiving even with a conservative and balanced portfolio. As a benchmark, Mr. Howard raised the point that a local investment fund (New Harbor Financial) achieved a return of 9.51% over this same period. The Trust Fund Commission reviewed a document compiled by Chairman Bowen titled “Risk Mitigation and Best Practices Policy”. The document, which will be posted, was voted and ratified by the board in roll call vote. The motion to adopt was raised by Richard Howard and seconded by John Bowen the vote resulted in the following Richard Howard-Aye, John Bowen-Aye, vote was unanimous and the Risk Management and Best Practices Policy was ratified and signed. c. Scheduled Meetings Next meeting scheduled for Thursday August 14, 2025 at 5:00 PM. d. Action items for next meeting Policy management and investment parameters, funds discussion 5. Public Comment David Rogers, 82 Highland Ave. made a comment regarding the Public Comment clause as written in our Meeting Notice. Mr. Rogers felt that the statement that public comment is essentially at the discretion of the Chair is not a good stance to take, but the Chair assured Mr. Rogers that the public comment statement in our meeting notice is in full compliance with MGL, and as a practical matter the Trust Fund Commission would not infringe on the right of the public to comment at our meetings, discussion is encouraged and both members feel there needs to be more engagement and participation from the public in town affairs. 6. Adjourn There was a motion to adjourn by Chairman Bowen, seconded by Mr. Howard. The meeting was adjourned at 6:30 PM