Select Board, February 20, 2018

The town has published neither minutes nor an agenda for this meeting. The recording is the only record, and what follows is a guide to it.

budget fy26contracts and unionsfacilitiesfree cashhiringlegalpersonnelpublic commentpublic safetyretirementroads and dpwsuperintendent reporttown departments

Present: Town manager (town manager); Heather (finance director); Karen (town accountant / finance staff presenting quarterly report); Frank Cerreta (presenter, auditor partner, Powers and Sullivan); Elizabeth Stephens (presenter, senior accountant, Powers and Sullivan); Mr. McQuade (member); Mrs. Look (member). Names are the caption model’s hearing and may be wrong.

Votes

1. ▶ 2:16Appoint the Historical Commission candidate through June 30th 2021passed
2. ▶ 3:41Ratify appointment of James Barrett as Council on Aging van drivernot audible
3. ▶ 8:16Approve the Lunenburg Arts Festival June 9th 10:00 to 3:00 on Memorial Drive, with all public safety officials approving, amended to include Board of Health approvalpassed
4. ▶ 51:07Plow the Massachusetts Avenue sidewalk and continue discussions with Town Counsel and the state highway agency for the rest of the seasonnot audible

And 1 procedural: adjourn (▶ 1:15:34).

The money

1. ▶ 0:32Town manager raise

   Executive session last week resulted in a vote to grant a raise after the one-year review.

   as heard:3%

2. ▶ 14:35Federal awards audit

   Town spent enough federal funds to require the compliance audit, mostly school lunch and education grants.

   as heard:nine hundred thirty-four thousand163,000seven hundred fifty nine thousand

3. ▶ 17:43Ambulance receivables

   Balances have grown since 2012; auditors recommend reviewing and writing off uncollectible amounts.

   as heard:two hundred thirty two thousand dollarsseven hundred forty four thousand dollars34,000

4. ▶ 24:34Fixed asset software

   Software would cost a couple hundred dollars and funds exist.

   as heard:a couple hundred dollars

5. ▶ 34:36OPEB liability

   Net OPEB liability will rise under the new standard; the town has deposited into a trust fund.

   as heard:twenty three point three million dollarsforty eight point sevena hundred thousand

6. ▶ 39:04Receivables for special assessments and MSBA

   Large sewer betterment receivable and MSBA reimbursements for the primary school and middle/high school project.

   as heard:six point eight million dollarsthree point seven million474seventy three millionfifty nine percentfive million dollars under budget

7. ▶ 40:05Tax liens and foreclosures

   Balance has grown and represents uncollected free cash; auditors suggested collection options.

   as heard:three hundred sixty thousand1.2 million dollars

8. ▶ 41:26Net pension liability

   Pension liability increased; the retirement system is lowly funded.

   as heard:18 point 1 million dollars2.9 million42 percent

9. ▶ 42:10General fund results FY17

   Budgetary surplus from revenue above estimate and turn-backs, mainly education and public works.

   as heard:three hundred twelve thousand dollarthree hundred ninety four thousandtwo hundred thirty six thousandtwo hundred twelve thousandseventy nine thousand

10. ▶ 43:11Fund balances and stabilization

    Unassigned fund balance close to the level of top-rated communities; stabilization funds noted.

    as heard:3.2 millionnine percentone point nine million dollarsone point six228

11. ▶ 44:11Sewer and solid waste fund balances

    Sewer balance rose and solid waste balance rose on higher bag and bin revenue.

    as heard:one point two million dollarsone hundred twenty seven thousandsixteen thousand dollars

12. ▶ 55:21Quarterly revenue and expenditures

    Revenues and expenditures are on track at mid-year; motor vehicle excise commitment is higher than last year.

    as heard:fifty point eight six49.4%40,000

13. ▶ 57:28Elections budget

    The elections budget will likely run over due to extra elections, needing a reserve transfer or supplemental appropriation at spring town meeting.

    as heard:ten thousand dollars

14. ▶ 59:18Warrants

    Accounts payable and payroll warrants read out.

    as heard:hundred and sixty four thousand one ninety eight fourteenseven hundred and forty thousand seven forty eight point forty-oneone hundred and seventy nine thousand

Settled without a vote

• ▶ 0:32Town manager was granted a raise following the one-year review, reported from executive session.
• ▶ 24:34Town intends to buy fixed asset software, funds available.
• ▶ 48:45Utility easement at 1079 Massachusetts Avenue signed off without a vote since town meeting already approved it.
• ▶ 1:06:27Land use director and building commissioner to draft a special events license, reviewed by town counsel before coming to the board.
• ▶ 1:15:11Town caucus set for Monday March 12th, 7:00 p.m., Turkey Hill Elementary School.

Documents and exhibits

State law asks minutes to list the documents and exhibits used at a meeting (M.G.L. c.30A §22(a)). Names from the recording are the caption model’s hearing; the two sides are matched by name, by script, so a document named two different ways can be missed. A place to look, not a finding.

Public comment

1. ▶ 0:12No public comment at the opening.
2. ▶ 1:14:08Congratulated the Cultural Council on the festival and asked when the two additional building assessment reports would be available; the answer was two to three weeks. — Dave Paseos 56 Whiting street, as heard
3. ▶ 1:15:11A question on when town caucus is; answered as Monday March 12th at 7:00 p.m. at Turkey Hill Elementary School.

Where the time went

Minutes of recording by subject, from the topic spans below. A topic with two subjects counts toward both.

• budget53 min · 71%
• free cash45 min · 60%
• retirement38 min · 51%
• public safety14 min · 19%
• town departments8 min · 11%
• roads and dpw7 min · 9%
• recreation6 min · 8%
• superintendent report5 min · 6%
• legal3 min · 5%
• facilities3 min · 3%

The whole meeting, in order

1. ▶ 0:12Public comment and announcementsinformational · 0:20 long · public comment
2. ▶ 0:52Historical Commission appointment interviewvoted · 1:45 long · personnel
3. ▶ 2:59Council on Aging van driver appointmentvoted · 1:03 long · hiring, seniors
4. ▶ 4:02Cultural Council Lunenburg Arts Festival requestvoted · 6:23 long · recreation, public safety
5. ▶ 10:25FY2017 audit presentation by Powers and Sullivaninformational · 37:58 long · budget, retirement, free cash
6. ▶ 48:23Utility easement to Fitchburg gas and electric and Verizonno vote required · 0:55 long · legal
7. ▶ 49:18Mass Ave sidewalk plowingvoted · 2:29 long · roads and dpw, legal
8. ▶ 51:47Audit follow-up and quarterly financial reportinformational · 7:08 long · budget, free cash
9. ▶ 58:55Minutes and warrantsminutes discussion; warrants read · 2:35 long · facilities
10. ▶ 1:01:30Town manager report: transit, special events permit, surveys, FY2019 budget messageinformational · 7:59 long · town departments, public safety, budget
11. ▶ 1:09:29Committee reportsinformational · 4:39 long · superintendent report, roads and dpw
12. ▶ 1:14:08Public comment, upcoming meetings and adjournmentadjourned · 1:52 long · public comment

What the captions could not carry

• Outcome of the van driver appointment vote and the sidewalk plowing vote were not stated in the captions.
• Adjournment vote result not stated.
• Many speakers unidentified.

Reports this meeting suggests

Our reading of the discussion: questions where numbers were in play and a page laying them out would have helped. Every meeting’s suggestions are merged into one register.

• ▶ 17:43Ambulance receivablesHow large are uncollected ambulance receivables and how much may need writing off?
• ▶ 34:15OPEB trust depositsHow big is the OPEB liability and how much is the town funding it?
• ▶ 40:05Tax title parcelsWhy are tax liens and foreclosures growing despite a high collection rate?

Written 2026-11-05 by scripts/write_recording_minutes.py (sonnet) from sources/data/youtube-transcripts/select-board/2018-02-20-829TrOaCT-0.json — 1,748 caption segments, sha256 d325a6497afe…. All recorded meetings.