# finance-committee — 19 documents, concatenated for reading and search # # This is a CONVENIENCE BUNDLE, not a source. Every document below is # published separately and byte-identically; cite the individual file, # whose path is given in each header, rather than this bundle. # Index of all boards: https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/minutes/INDEX.txt # The town's own scanned original is linked per document. ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2024-04-04-minutes-6507.txt BOARD : finance-committee DATE : 2024-04-04 KIND : minutes OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/finance-committee/2024-04-04-minutes-6507.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_04042024-6507 ======================================================================================== Lunenburg Finance Committee Meeting Minutes Bilotta Meeting Room Lunenburg Town Hall April 4, 2024 Present Members: Chair Evan Watters, Vice Chair Chris Menard, Board Member Tom Gray, Board Member Dave Passios, Board Member Jean Russell, Board Member Jay Simeone 1. Call to Order 7:01 PM 2. Pledge of Allegiance 3. Announcements This meeting is being held remotely due to the town offices being closed because of the weather. Jean Russell will not be able to attend tonight’s virtual meeting. 4. Public Comment Rhonda Liscio, 181 Reservoir Road, wants to know how the school district justifies the change in policy that expanded the number of students who are eligible to bus without being charged any fees. She believes raising fees would be a reasonable way for the district to raise funds for their budget. Additionally, she does not support the override. Tiffany Tavares asks if Rhonda has brought this to the School Committee. Rhonda has and was told it would not do enough to offset the cost of the transportation. John Bowen doesn’t support a budget that doesn’t have any line items that can be removed. He believes if money is being taken from the taxpayer base, then the taxpayer base should have everything to say about what goes on inside the operational function of the school and feels that is being ignored. 5. Town Manager Report There were no additional reports from the Town Manager. 6. Finance Director Report There were no reports but Ezequiel Ayala states he is working on the Q2 report, and it will be available soon. 7. New Business a. FinCom Report for Warrant Workshopping Below are the main topics to include in the report: A table or graph that shows tax increase due to the override. This will include the average increase expected to be seen across the town. Acknowledgment of and reasoning behind the increased line by line of each budget by Finance Committee. Below are topics not included but needs to be added: Capital plan Omnibus budget Debt spending Chapter 70 Millionaires tax Grant writing services Statement of the upcoming town needs Statement about level service Task force budget Consolidating and streamlining departments between town and school 8. Old Business a. FY25 Budget Discussion Evan Watters wants to do a workshop for tonight’s meeting and take a vote next week. This is ideal since they just had the school budget presentation and that consists of half of the town’s budget. Heather Lemieux is concerned because tomorrow is the extended deadline beyond the original deadline. We are well beyond the date that the documents need to be sent to the printer. b. FY25 Override Discussion There are mixed reviews about the potential override. Chris Menard states from a Finance Committee perspective we should at minimum be seeking to have a level service budget across the town and he believes the override will get the town to level service. c. Votes on Recommendations for Warrant Articles The warrant articles have been switched to numerical as opposed to prior alphabetical. Article 1: The Finance Committee finds there is no direct financial impact, and the article has remained unchanged. Article 2: The Finance Committee previously recommended approval. Article 3: The Finance Committee previously recommended approval. Article 4: Evan Watters asks if any expenses have been provided and Heather Lemieux states no numbers have been provided. The Finance Committee previously deferred and will remain deferred. Article 5: Evan Watters asks if any expenses have been provided and Heather Lemieux states no numbers have been provided. The Finance Committee previously deferred and will remain deferred. Article 6: The Finance Committee previously recommended approval 6-1. Article 7: The Finance Committee previously recommended approval 5-1-1. Article 8: Evan Watters would like to take a vote tonight and has provided a brief slideshow presentation. There is agreement between a few members that there are capital type items that should be in the capital budget. The network upgrades and the 911 compliance phones are over $20,000 and they are 1-time expense unlike Chromebooks that are a yearly expense. There was a motion to recommend approval of Article 8 by Tom Gray, seconded by Chris Menard. Roll call vote. Tiffaney Tavares aye, Jay Simeone no, Dave Passios no, Tom Gray aye, Chris Menard aye, Evan Watters aye. This Article was previously deferred. The Finance Committee recommends approval 4-2 with 1 member absent and unable to vote. Article 9: The Finance Committee previously discussed there is no financial impact. Article 10: The Finance Committee previously recommended approval. Article 11: The Finance Committee previously discussed there is no financial impact. At a past meeting, Tom Alonzo mentioned if someone is on leave and a temporary replacement is needed there would be a direct financial impact. Dave Passios states for the most part the town doesn’t hire a replacement unless they are out on long-term medical leave. He believes any impact from this would be minimal. There was a motion to resend the vote from last week and make a recommendation to recommend approval by Tom Gray, seconded by Dave Passios. Roll call vote. Tiffaney Tavares aye, Jay Simeone abstain, Dave Passios aye, Tom Gray aye, Chris Menard aye, Evan Watters aye. The final vote was 5-0-1 with 1 member absent. Article 12: The Finance Committee previously recommended approval. Article 13: The Finance Committee previously recommended approval. Article 14: The Finance Committee previously recommended approval. Article 15: The Finance Committee previously recommended approval. Article 16: The Finance Committee previously recommended approval. Article 17: The Finance Committee previously recommended approval. Article 18: The Finance Committee previously recommended approval. Article 19: The Finance Committee previously recommended approval. Article 20: The Finance Committee previously recommended approval. Article 21: The Finance Committee previously deferred. Dave Passios states based on the criteria and requirements there are few people who would be able to take advantage of these credits. There was a motion to resend the previously deferred recommendation and recommend approval by Chris Menard, seconded by Dave Passios. Roll call vote. Tiffaney Tavares aye, Jay Simeone aye, Dave Passios aye, Tom Gray aye, Chris Menard aye, Evan Watters aye. The vote was unanimous 6-0 with 1 absent member. Article 22: The Finance Committee previously discussed there is no financial impact. Article 23: The Finance Committee previously discussed there is no financial impact. Article 24: The Finance Committee previously discussed there is no financial impact. Article 25: The Finance Committee previously discussed there is no financial impact. 9. Minutes There are no new minutes to review. 10. Committee Reports Dave Passios states Green Communities Committee met on Monday and re- organized positions within the Committee. They are continuing to move forward and are hoping to get into the April grant round. Specifically for funding pump upgrades and controllers for the pumps. There is an increase in the maximum amount that can be awarded in this grant round, being $225,000 as opposed to $200,000. Green Communities Committee have set aside $5,000 to be put towards the next hybrid police cruiser that will need to be purchased. Chris Menard states the Parks Commission met and voted on their recommendation for the owner’s project manager for Marshall Park. This will now go to the Town Manager to negotiate based on the recommendations. Chris Menard says there are volunteer opportunities on the parks and recreation website including sign up information. 11. Topics for Future Meetings Continuation of warrant article workshopping. 12. Upcoming Meetings: a. 4/11/2024 b. 4/25/2024 c. 5/4/2024 – Annual Town Meeting starts at 9 AM at the Lunenburg Middle High School. 13. Important Dates: a. 5/18/2024 – Annual Town Election 14. Public Comment Chris Menard thanks the Committee for everyone’s work and hopes next year’s budget season will be different. 15. Adjourn There was a motion to adjourn by Chris Menard, seconded by Dave Passios. Roll call vote. Simeone aye, Dave Passios aye, Tom Gray aye, Chris Menard aye, Evan Watters aye. The vote was unanimous 6-0 with 1 absent member. The meeting closed at 8:40 PM. ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2024-04-04-minutes-6512.txt BOARD : finance-committee DATE : 2024-04-04 KIND : minutes OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/finance-committee/2024-04-04-minutes-6512.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_04042024-6512 ======================================================================================== Lunenburg Finance Committee Meeting Minutes Bilotta Meeting Room Lunenburg Town Hall April 4, 2024 Present Members: Chair Evan Watters, Vice Chair Chris Menard, Board Member Tom Gray, Board Member Dave Passios, Board Member Jean Russell, Board Member Jay Simeone 1. Call to Order 7:01 PM 2. Pledge of Allegiance 3. Announcements This meeting is being held remotely due to the town offices being closed because of the weather. Jean Russell will not be able to attend tonight’s virtual meeting. 4. Public Comment Rhonda Liscio, 181 Reservoir Road, wants to know how the school district justifies the change in policy that expanded the number of students who are eligible to bus without being charged any fees. She believes raising fees would be a reasonable way for the district to raise funds for their budget. Additionally, she does not support the override. Tiffany Tavares asks if Rhonda has brought this to the School Committee. Rhonda has and was told it would not do enough to offset the cost of the transportation. John Bowen doesn’t support a budget that doesn’t have any line items that can be removed. He believes if money is being taken from the taxpayer base, then the taxpayer base should have everything to say about what goes on inside the operational function of the school and feels that is being ignored. 5. Town Manager Report There were no additional reports from the Town Manager. 6. Finance Director Report There were no reports but Ezequiel Ayala states he is working on the Q2 report, and it will be available soon. 7. New Business a. FinCom Report for Warrant Workshopping Below are the main topics to include in the report: A table or graph that shows tax increase due to the override. This will include the average increase expected to be seen across the town. Acknowledgment of and reasoning behind the increased line by line of each budget by Finance Committee. Below are topics not included but needs to be added: Capital plan Omnibus budget Debt spending Chapter 70 Millionaires tax Grant writing services Statement of the upcoming town needs Statement about level service Task force budget Consolidating and streamlining departments between town and school 8. Old Business a. FY25 Budget Discussion Evan Watters wants to do a workshop for tonight’s meeting and take a vote next week. This is ideal since they just had the school budget presentation and that consists of half of the town’s budget. Heather Lemieux is concerned because tomorrow is the extended deadline beyond the original deadline. We are well beyond the date that the documents need to be sent to the printer. b. FY25 Override Discussion There are mixed reviews about the potential override. Chris Menard states from a Finance Committee perspective we should at minimum be seeking to have a level service budget across the town and he believes the override will get the town to level service. c. Votes on Recommendations for Warrant Articles The warrant articles have been switched to numerical as opposed to prior alphabetical. Article 1: The Finance Committee finds there is no direct financial impact, and the article has remained unchanged. Article 2: The Finance Committee previously recommended approval. Article 3: The Finance Committee previously recommended approval. Article 4: Evan Watters asks if any expenses have been provided and Heather Lemieux states no numbers have been provided. The Finance Committee previously deferred and will remain deferred. Article 5: Evan Watters asks if any expenses have been provided and Heather Lemieux states no numbers have been provided. The Finance Committee previously deferred and will remain deferred. Article 6: The Finance Committee previously recommended approval 6-1. Article 7: The Finance Committee previously recommended approval 5-1-1. Article 8: Evan Watters would like to take a vote tonight and has provided a brief slideshow presentation. There is agreement between a few members that there are capital type items that should be in the capital budget. The network upgrades and the 911 compliance phones are over $20,000 and they are 1-time expense unlike Chromebooks that are a yearly expense. There was a motion to recommend approval of Article 8 by Tom Gray, seconded by Chris Menard. Roll call vote. Tiffaney Tavares aye, Jay Simeone no, Dave Passios no, Tom Gray aye, Chris Menard aye, Evan Watters aye. This Article was previously deferred. The Finance Committee recommends approval 4-2 with 1 member absent and unable to vote. Article 9: The Finance Committee previously discussed there is no financial impact. Article 10: The Finance Committee previously recommended approval. Article 11: The Finance Committee previously discussed there is no financial impact. At a past meeting, Tom Alonzo mentioned if someone is on leave and a temporary replacement is needed there would be a direct financial impact. Dave Passios states for the most part the town doesn’t hire a replacement unless they are out on long-term medical leave. He believes any impact from this would be minimal. There was a motion to resend the vote from last week and make a recommendation to recommend approval by Tom Gray, seconded by Dave Passios. Roll call vote. Tiffaney Tavares aye, Jay Simeone abstain, Dave Passios aye, Tom Gray aye, Chris Menard aye, Evan Watters aye. The final vote was 5-0-1 with 1 member absent. Article 12: The Finance Committee previously recommended approval. Article 13: The Finance Committee previously recommended approval. Article 14: The Finance Committee previously recommended approval. Article 15: The Finance Committee previously recommended approval. Article 16: The Finance Committee previously recommended approval. Article 17: The Finance Committee previously recommended approval. Article 18: The Finance Committee previously recommended approval. Article 19: The Finance Committee previously recommended approval. Article 20: The Finance Committee previously recommended approval. Article 21: The Finance Committee previously deferred. Dave Passios states based on the criteria and requirements there are few people who would be able to take advantage of these credits. There was a motion to resend the previously deferred recommendation and recommend approval by Chris Menard, seconded by Dave Passios. Roll call vote. Tiffaney Tavares aye, Jay Simeone aye, Dave Passios aye, Tom Gray aye, Chris Menard aye, Evan Watters aye. The vote was unanimous 6-0 with 1 absent member. Article 22: The Finance Committee previously discussed there is no financial impact. Article 23: The Finance Committee previously discussed there is no financial impact. Article 24: The Finance Committee previously discussed there is no financial impact. Article 25: The Finance Committee previously discussed there is no financial impact. 9. Minutes There are no new minutes to review. 10. Committee Reports Dave Passios states Green Communities Committee met on Monday and re- organized positions within the Committee. They are continuing to move forward and are hoping to get into the April grant round. Specifically for funding pump upgrades and controllers for the pumps. There is an increase in the maximum amount that can be awarded in this grant round, being $225,000 as opposed to $200,000. Green Communities Committee have set aside $5,000 to be put towards the next hybrid police cruiser that will need to be purchased. Chris Menard states the Parks Commission met and voted on their recommendation for the owner’s project manager for Marshall Park. This will now go to the Town Manager to negotiate based on the recommendations. Chris Menard says there are volunteer opportunities on the parks and recreation website including sign up information. 11. Topics for Future Meetings Continuation of warrant article workshopping. 12. Upcoming Meetings: a. 4/11/2024 b. 4/25/2024 c. 5/4/2024 – Annual Town Meeting starts at 9 AM at the Lunenburg Middle High School. 13. Important Dates: a. 5/18/2024 – Annual Town Election 14. Public Comment Chris Menard thanks the Committee for everyone’s work and hopes next year’s budget season will be different. 15. Adjourn There was a motion to adjourn by Chris Menard, seconded by Dave Passios. Roll call vote. Simeone aye, Dave Passios aye, Tom Gray aye, Chris Menard aye, Evan Watters aye. The vote was unanimous 6-0 with 1 absent member. The meeting closed at 8:40 PM. ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2024-04-11-agenda-6522.txt BOARD : finance-committee DATE : 2024-04-11 KIND : agenda OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/finance-committee/2024-04-11-agenda-6522.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_04112024-6522 ======================================================================================== ===PAGE 1=== Town of Lunenburg Evan Watters, Chair Christopher Menard, Vice-Chair Tiffaney Tavares, Clerk Jay Simeone Thomas Gray Jean Russell Dave Passios Lunenburg Finance Committee Thursday, April 11th, 2024 7:00 PM Bilotta Meeting Room, Lunenburg Town Hall Agenda 17 Main Street, P.O. Box 135 Lunenburg, MA 01462-0135 978.582.4139 FAX 978.582.4148 In accordance with the requirements of the Open Meeting Law, please be advised that this meeting is being recorded and broadcast over the Lunenburg Public Access channel and on Facebook Live on the Public Access Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/Lunenburg-Public-Access- Cable-157427270975305) and will be uploaded to the Lunenburg Access YouTube channel after the meeting. This meeting will be held in-person at the location provided on this notice. Members of the public are welcome to attend this in-person meeting. Please note that while an option for remote attendance and/or participation is being provided as a courtesy to the public, the meeting will not be suspended or terminated if technological problems interrupt the virtual broadcast, unless otherwise required by law. Members of the public with particular interest in any specific item on this agenda should make plans for in-person vs. virtual attendance accordingly. The following information is provided for members of the public that would like to participate in the meeting remotely: To Participate Remotely: From a computer, please use the link below to join the public meeting webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81416818974. From a telephone, dial the toll-free number (888) 475-4499, enter Webinar ID: 814 1681 8974. If you have not registered with Zoom you will be asked for your name and an e-mail address. Note: No participant ID is needed, just press # when asked. Telephone users may dial *9 to request to speak after joining the meeting. Computer and app users may use the “raise hand” feature to request to speak. The agenda lists all the topics which may be discussed at the meeting and are those reasonably anticipated by the Chair. Votes may be taken as a result of these discussions. Not all items listed may in fact be discussed and other items not listed may also be brought up for discussion to the extent permitted by Open Meeting Law. 1. Call to Order 2. Pledge of Allegiance 3. Announcements 4. Public Comment 5. Town Manager Report 6. Finance Director Report 7. New Business a. FinCom Report for Warrant Review 8. Old Business a. FY25 Budget Discussion b. FY25 Override Discussion c. Votes on Recommendations for Warrant Articles 9. Minutes 10. Committee Reports 11. Topics for Future Meetings 12. Upcoming Meetings: a. 4/25/2024 b. 5/4/2024 – Annual Town Meeting 13. Important Dates: a. 5/18/2024 – Annual Town Election 14. Public Comment 15. Adjourn ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2024-04-11-minutes-6522.txt BOARD : finance-committee DATE : 2024-04-11 KIND : minutes OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/finance-committee/2024-04-11-minutes-6522.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_04112024-6522 ======================================================================================== ===PAGE 1=== Lunenburg Finance Committee Meeting Minutes Bilotta Meeting Room Lunenburg Town Hall April 11, 2024 Present Members: Chair Evan Watters, Vice Chair Chris Menard, C lerk Tiffaney Tavares, Board Member Tom Gray, Board Member Dave Passios, Board Member Jean Russell (Zoom), Board Member Jay Simeone 1. Call to Order T he meeting opened at 7:00 PM . 2. Pledge of Allegiance 3. Announcements There were no announcements. 4. P ublic Comment Evan Watters states the Boys and Girls Club is inquiring if the Finance Committee will be putting a team together for Are You Smarter Than Our 6th Graders. 5. Town Manager Report There were no reports from the Town Manager. 6. Finance Director Report There were no reports from the Finance Director. Ezequiel Ayala states he is currently reviewing the primary quarterly reports. Once completed they will be provided to the Select Board then the Finance Committee the following week. 7. New Business a. FinCom Report for Warrant Review Evan Watters a nd Tiffaney Tavares provided an update d report with the 10 bullet points and ha s addressed everything aside from 40S , the hiring freeze, and the increase in waste removal. The Committee reviewed and adjusted the document titled Lunenburg Finance Committee Annual Report for FY 25. Evan Watters will review the numbers and then email the document to each member individually. Chris Menard believes there needs to be more time than a week between the hearing and when the report is due. ===PAGE 2=== 8. Old Business a. FY25 Budget Discussion There was no discussion about the FY 25 budget. b. FY25 Override Discussion There was no discussion about the FY 25 override. c. Votes on Recommendations for Warrant Articles There are 2 articles (Article 4 & Article 5) that the Committee is currently def erred. Article 4 : A rticle to see if the town will vote to raise, appropriate or transfer funds from a sum of money for payment of prior years ’ expenses . Heather Lemieux provided the total of $1,994. 55. There was a m otion to recommend approval for A rticle 4 by Chris Menard, seconded by Dave Passios. Unanimous approval 6-0 with 1 member absent. Article 5 : Article to transfer from available funds all sums of money necessary to amend the amounts voted for the town ’s FY 24 budget from the reserve fund. Heather Lemieux states the snow and ice numbers from the last snowstorm totaled $ 226,000 . The T own M anager recommends that money come out of the reserve fund that currently has $ 275, 0 00 . There will be a minimum amount as well for the salary reserve to make that supplemental amount that will be needed for FY 24 . Chri s Menard questions if the reserve account is the account that is voted on and Heather Lemieux confirms. Chris M enard recommends that someone should come to the Finance Committee and ask them to transfer from the reserve account to avoid having the warrant article. For these reasons Chris Menard votes no as a recommendation. The Committee agrees to remain deferred on A rticle 5 . 9. Minutes The Committee has not reviewed the minutes so this will be added to the next meeting ’s agenda. Chris Menard states there are a few meeting minutes that can ’t be found. Evan Watters is planning to address this issue at a later date . 10. Committee Reports ===PAGE 3=== Chris Menard states the Parks Committee has met and is planning a clean-up day at the town beach and building. The volunteer events are provided on the recreation department ’s webpage with sign up ability. If anyone wants to clean up roads, you can go to the DPW to get a slightly different yellow bag . Dave P assios attended the A ssociation of T own F inance C ommittee meeting and there was a discussion about smart growth. Dave Passios asked Senator Jim Crowley what was going on with smart growth and was told nothing is being done at this point. There was also a discussion about the proposed changes to the Municipal Empowerment Act . Dave Passios provided that presentation to the Committee. Evan Watters states the Master Plan Steering Committee met. They discussed a report that was last completed in 2002. Evan Watters states that the needs of the town then were almost identical to what they are now. 30% of the project s that were suggested have been completed . The remaining were either started and not finished or not started at all . Eva n Watters states the Board of H ealth met and came out with new regulations that will drop the parts down to about 4 parts per trillion. This means we are failing on several of ou r w e lls and water services for those that are on public water supply. There will be a financial impact for residents who are on public water. 11. Topics for Future Meetings Evan Watters started a list of topics to be discussed. 12. Upcoming Meetings: a. 4/25/2024 – T entative M eeting b. 5/4/2024 – Annual Town Meeting 13. Important Dates: a. 5/18/2024 – Annual Town Election 14. Public Comment Evan Watters and Tom Gray plan on being in attendance on April 26 th from 7PM-9PM for Are You Smarter Than Our 6 th Grader s. There were no public comments. ===PAGE 4=== 15. Adjour n There was a motion to adjourn by Chris Menard , seconded by Dave Passios . The meeting closed at 9:28 PM. ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2024-04-25-agenda-6548.txt BOARD : finance-committee DATE : 2024-04-25 KIND : agenda OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/finance-committee/2024-04-25-agenda-6548.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_04252024-6548 ======================================================================================== ===PAGE 1=== Town of Lunenburg Evan Watters, Chair Christopher Menard, Vice-Chair Tiffaney Tavares, Clerk Jay Simeone Thomas Gray Jean Russell Dave Passios **REVISED** **2nd REVISION** Lunenburg Finance Committee Thursday, April 25th, 2024 7:00 PM Bilotta Meeting Room, Lunenburg Town Hall Agenda 17 Main Street, P.O. Box 135 Lunenburg, MA 01462-0135 978.582.4139 FAX 978.582.4148 In accordance with the requirements of the Open Meeting Law, please be advised that this meeting is being recorded and broadcast over the Lunenburg Public Access channel and on Facebook Live on the Public Access Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/Lunenburg-Public-Access- Cable-157427270975305) and will be uploaded to the Lunenburg Access YouTube channel after the meeting. This meeting will be held in-person at the location provided on this notice. Members of the public are welcome to attend this in-person meeting. Please note that while an option for remote attendance and/or participation is being provided as a courtesy to the public, the meeting will not be suspended or terminated if technological problems interrupt the virtual broadcast, unless otherwise required by law. Members of the public with particular interest in any specific item on this agenda should make plans for in-person vs. virtual attendance accordingly. The following information is provided for members of the public that would like to participate in the meeting remotely: To Participate Remotely: From a computer, please use the link below to join the public meeting webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81416818974. From a telephone, dial the toll-free number (888) 475-4499, enter Webinar ID: 814 1681 8974. If you have not registered with Zoom you will be asked for your name and an e-mail address. Note: No participant ID is needed, just press # when asked. Telephone users may dial *9 to request to speak after joining the meeting. Computer and app users may use the “raise hand” feature to request to speak. The agenda lists all the topics which may be discussed at the meeting and are those reasonably anticipated by the Chair. Votes may be taken as a result of these discussions. Not all items listed may in fact be discussed and other items not listed may also be brought up for discussion to the extent permitted by Open Meeting Law. 1. Call to Order 2. Pledge of Allegiance 3. Announcements 4. Public Comment 5. Town Manager Report 6. Finance Director Report 7. New Business a. Quarterly Financial Report (FY24 Q2) – Finance Director b. Revenue Turnover Policy Discussion c. Consent Calander – Vote may be taken d. Town Meeting Discussion 8. Old Business a. FinCom Report for Warrant Review b. FY25 Budget Discussion c. FY25 Override Discussion d. Votes on Recommendations for Warrant Articles 9. Minutes 10. Committee Reports 11. Topics for Future Meetings 12. Upcoming Meetings: a. 5/4/2024 – Annual Town Meeting 13. Important Dates: a. 5/18/2024 – Annual Town Election 14. Public Comment 15. Adjourn ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2024-04-25-minutes-6548.txt BOARD : finance-committee DATE : 2024-04-25 KIND : minutes OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/finance-committee/2024-04-25-minutes-6548.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_04252024-6548 ======================================================================================== ===PAGE 1=== Lunenburg Finance Committee Meeting Minutes Bilotta Meeting Room Lunenburg Town Hall April 25, 2024 Present Members: Chair Evan Watters, Vice Chair Chris Menard, Board Member Tom Gray, Board Member Dave Passios, Board Member Jean Russell (Zoom), Board Member Jay Simeone Absent Member: Clerk Tiffaney Tavares 1. Call to Order The meeting opened at 7pm 2. Pledge of Allegiance 3. Announcements There was no announcement s . 4. Public Comment There were no comments. 5. Town Manager Report Additional funding was r eceived for the F lat H ill C ulvert P roject . A letter was submitted for additional funding to the DOT and we were notified that we received an additional $ 100,000 . C urrently we have $ 500,000 from a small bridge grant and the remaining $ 375,900 for the F lat H ill C ulvert P roject that was put out to bid in M arch . The lowest re sponsible bidder totaled $ 830,000. This project is anticipated to start in early fall. The Town was notifi ed that we received rural roads funding. The allotment was $ 21, 979. This will be added to C hapter 90 . There are currently 2 bids out . The first bid is for landscaping the town facilities and park s and is due June 11 th . The second bid is the r ebidding for the removal of solid waste at the Lunenburg Woodruff Conservation area located at 104 Fair v iew Road and that is due June 12 th . There was another major leak at TC Passios specifically above the cable access studio. The studio is going to be moved to the back wing of the studio where there are no leaks. Dave Passios questioned why the roof in that area isn ’t being fixed. Heather Lemieux states a significant amount of time is needed to put a bid of that caliber together. There was a discussion about maintaining the TC Passios building. Generally, everyone believes the time is now to make a decision about its future. ===PAGE 2=== The bill for means tested senior citizen property tax exemption is on the G overnor ’s desk and has yet to be signed but made it past the House and the Senate. 6. Finance Director Report There was no Finance Director Report. 7. New Business a. Quarterly Financial Report (FY24 Q2) –Finance Director The t otal revenue collected through December 31, 2023, was $ 23,499,570.03. For comparison through December 31,2022 was $ 25,025,707.45 The e stimated tax levy for FY 24 is $ 31, 493,890.48 . The t otal local receipts collected were 44.04% of the annual estimate or $ 1,417,065.66. State aid collected w as 48.28% of annual estimate or $ 5,139.824.85 . The t otal expenditures through December 31, 2023, w as $ 21,743,068.85 or 45.55% of the budget . Total d ebt is 14% less than last year . The total omnibus budget used for the first half of the year was 40.99% . Chris Menard questions why the radio watch line 46 relating to radio watch was at 83%. Heather Lemieux states that line is for the Nashoba V alley dispatch assessment, and t hat line mostly gets fully expended. Chris Menard questions if this cost is all paid upfront. Heather Lemieux confirms that is the case. Dave Passios feels that the incoming revenue comparison from 20 23 to 20 24 is showing a downward trend especially in excise tax. Eze quiel Ayala states the motor vehicle tax revenue is rec eived in July but is a part of FY23 revenue. Jay S imeone questions when the data for quarter 3 will be available . Ezequiel Ayala states the quarter ended o n M arch 31 and is in the process of closing quarter 3. Eze quiel Ayala states they will be provided in the next couple of weeks. Dave Passios requests a rundown of special revenue items to find out what we are earning in interest and ultimately where it ’s going. Eze quiel Ayala will create a presentation . b. Revenue Turnover Policy Discussion ===PAGE 3=== Dave Passios questions if it would be more appropriate to call this a revenue e xpense turnover p olicy. Heather Lemieux states this is just about collection of revenue and not about the expenditures. Heather Lemieux is working with the division of local services to update our exi s ting policies and add new financial policies . This is being completed through Community Compact. The purpose is to safeguard the town ’s assets as incoming revenue and how monies and checks are handled by staff when they are receiv ed. Dave Passios questions when schools are mentioned in the policy its only related to lunch money. Dave Passios wants to know what happens to the money, for example that comes from field sales at athletic events. Heather Lemieux states that t he list is not comprehensive and just gives some examples. Ch ri s Menard requests a comprehensive list of fees for the town. If the town is going to charge fees it should at lea st be written down somewhere. c. Consent Calander – Vote may be taken F or the town meeting the least contentious articles are combined into a single calendar article that gets voted on as a group. The r ecommended articles to add to the consent calendar are Article s: 1, 2, 4,12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25. There was a m otion to remove article 4 from the consent calendar by Dave Passios, seconded by Jean Russell . A ll in favor. There was a m otion to recommend approval of the remain ing article s and remove article 4 b y Chris Menard, seconded by Evan Watters. All in favor. d. Town Meeting Discussion The T own M anager scheduled a pre-meeting for next Wednesday. Evan Watters will send out an update after the pre- meeting. The a uditorium for the Town Meeting has a capacity of 600 and there will be 2 overflow areas (gym, cafeteria) . Chris Menard questions if there will be enough parking. 8. Old Business a. FinCom Report for Warrant Review Dave Passios states that the last page ends abruptly. After review there were minor grammatical errors that were corrected. ===PAGE 4=== There was a m otion to approve the annua l report with the minor edits that were made during the meeting by Chris Menard , seconded by Jean Russell. A ll in favor. b. FY25 Budget Discussion Dave Passios states that for FY 25 we need to f igure out what avenues we need to take to get to a point where we have borrowing capacity for short- term borrowing. We need to b e in a position where we can take on short term debt that we can actually pay . c. FY25 Override Discussion There was no discussion. d. Votes on Recommendations for Warrant Articles There was no discussion. 9. Minutes There are some members who didn ’t have a chance to review the minutes. There are a few meetings that don ’t have minutes dating back to 2023. Evan Watters will send the list to the minute writer. There was a motion to approve the minutes from March 20 th and March 21 st by Chris Menard, seconded by Dave Passios. The minutes were approved 5-1 with 1 member abstaining. 10. Committee Reports Chris Menard shares that the Parks Commission reorganized. The board is as follows: Chair Anita Scheipers , Vice Chare Colleen Shapiro, Clerk Karin Menard, Member Ana Lockwood, and Member Christopher Sullivan. 11. Topics for Future Meetings The committee wants to discuss the Chapter 90 briefing that the Select Board received that was provided by the Department of Public Works. 12. Upcoming Meetings: a. 5/4/2024 – Annual Town Meeting – Middle High School starting at 9AM. 13. Important Dates: a. 5/18/2024 – Annual Town Election TC Passios Gym 14. Public Comment ===PAGE 5=== Jay Simeone refers residents to get their information and questions specially relating to the Water District presentation on their website as opposed to Facebook . 15. Adjourn There was a motion to adjourn by Chris Menard, seconded by Jay Simeone. All in favor. The meeting closed at 8:58 PM . ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2024-05-23-agenda-6583.txt BOARD : finance-committee DATE : 2024-05-23 KIND : agenda OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/finance-committee/2024-05-23-agenda-6583.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_05232024-6583 ======================================================================================== ===PAGE 1=== Town of Lunenburg Evan Watters, Chair Christopher Menard, Vice-Chair Tiffaney Tavares, Clerk Jay Simeone Thomas Gray Jean Russell Dave Passios Lunenburg Finance Committee Thursday, May 23rd, 2024 7:00 PM Bilotta Meeting Room, Lunenburg Town Hall Agenda 17 Main Street, P.O. Box 135 Lunenburg, MA 01462-0135 978.582.4139 FAX 978.582.4148 In accordance with the requirements of the Open Meeting Law, please be advised that this meeting is being recorded and broadcast over the Lunenburg Public Access channel and on Facebook Live on the Public Access Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/Lunenburg-Public-Access- Cable-157427270975305) and will be uploaded to the Lunenburg Access YouTube channel after the meeting. This meeting will be held in-person at the location provided on this notice. Members of the public are welcome to attend this in-person meeting. Please note that while an option for remote attendance and/or participation is being provided as a courtesy to the public, the meeting will not be suspended or terminated if technological problems interrupt the virtual broadcast, unless otherwise required by law. Members of the public with particular interest in any specific item on this agenda should make plans for in-person vs. virtual attendance accordingly. The following information is provided for members of the public that would like to participate in the meeting remotely: To Participate Remotely: From a computer, please use the link below to join the public meeting webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88136274720. From a telephone, dial the toll-free number (888) 475-4499, enter Webinar ID: 881 3627 4720. If you have not registered with Zoom you will be asked for your name and an e-mail address. Note: No participant ID is needed, just press # when asked. Telephone users may dial *9 to request to speak after joining the meeting. Computer and app users may use the “raise hand” feature to request to speak. The agenda lists all the topics which may be discussed at the meeting and are those reasonably anticipated by the Chair. Votes may be taken as a result of these discussions. Not all items listed may in fact be discussed and other items not listed may also be brought up for discussion to the extent permitted by Open Meeting Law. 1. Call to Order 2. Pledge of Allegiance 3. Announcements 4. Public Comment 5. Town Manager Report 6. Finance Director Report 7. New Business a. Town Meeting Review b. Town Ballot Review c. Override Update d. Summer Planning i. Review Policies & Procedures ii. Consolidation of Services/Departments iii. MIAA Health Insurance presentation to FinCom iv. TM Discussion of Debt Exclusion Projects v. Chapter 90 Briefing from DPW vi. CemCom Discussion on Sale of Cemetery Lots vii. Review Budget Process/Suggestions for Improvement viii. Earmarked/Cherry Sheet Money Distribution ix. Re-organization for 1st Meeting Each August 8. Old Business 9. Minutes 10. Committee Reports 11. Topics for Future Meetings 12. Upcoming Meetings: a. 6/13/2024 b. 6/27/2024 13. Important Dates: 14. Public Comment 15. Adjourn ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2024-05-23-minutes-6583.txt BOARD : finance-committee DATE : 2024-05-23 KIND : minutes OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/finance-committee/2024-05-23-minutes-6583.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_05232024-6583 ======================================================================================== ===PAGE 1=== Lunenburg Finance Committee Meeting Minutes Bilotta Meeting Room Lunenburg Town Hall May 23 , 2024 Present Members: Chair Evan Watters, Vice Chair Chris Menard, Board Member Tom Gray, Board Member Dave Passios, Board Member Jean Russell, Board Member Jay Simeone Absent Member: Clerk Tiffaney Tavarez 1. Call to Order The meeting opened at 7 PM . 2. Pledge of Allegiance 3. Announcements There were no announcements. 4. Public Comment There was no public comment. 5. Town Manager Report Heather Lemieux states she has applied for a C ommunity C ompact G rant and DLS is putting together financial policies . These policies are anticipated to be presented in June or July. Heather Lemieux has been working with Ezequel Ayala on a long-term financial forecas t document for the town and the school. Heather Lemieux is going to be meeting with the finance director in 2 weeks to review, and a presentation is anticipated prior to September. A Community Compact Grant was applied for and received for the long-term culvert plan. The work has already started and is expected to be completed by August. The Stormwater Task Force applied for and received an Asset Management Inventory Grant. Another grant will be needed to complete this grant and the DPW is working on the application. The Stormwater Task Force is working on an outreach program to provide information about adding a utility fee. Heather Lemieux added the DPW directors ’ presentation to the Select Board relating to Chapter 90 to the SharePoint drive. 6. Finance Director Report ===PAGE 2=== Ezequel Ayala sent over the stabilization fund balances that were requested at the last meeting. T he balances provided were what was presented prior to the town meeting. The s pecial purpose Stabilization fund has a balance of $ 2, 874,556 . The z oning stabilization fund has a balance of $ 2,216, 955 . T he OP E B Trust Fund has a balance of $ 1, 324, 308 . The h ealth insurance stabilization fund has a balance of $ 114,621 . The o pioid Settlement stabilization fund has a balance of $ 183,2 90 . There was a question at a prior meeting inquiring if the i nterest gained on these funds stays in the account and the Finance Director, Ezequel Ayala , confirmed that is the case . D ave Passios questions what is coming in to those accounts for interest on a quarterly basis. Da v e Passios states i f we are looking for funding down the road it may be beneficial to investigate what revenues those accounts are earning on a quarterly basis. An option would be to go to town meeting and ask to appropriate the interest which is done with many other accounts to be transferred to cover some other expenses in town. Specifically for things we desperately need. Chris Menard is requesting all funds be posted on a quarterly basis. 7. New Business a. Town Meeting Review Dave Passios states there were no real surprises during the meeting, but emotions and tempers were high. Dave Passios was d isappointed with the way it went but states we will have to move forward from her e . Going forward there needs to be better security on the voting system at town meeting . Town C lerk and moderator are both aware of what ’s going on. Tom Gray expressed that he was hap p y with the amount of people that appeared for the Town M eeting and states there were roughly 430 people. The Town still ha s issues with long-term stability. Tom Gray w ants to inquire with the Town Clerk to see if the data from voting is collected or recorded. Chris Menard states the meeting went like he thought it would. The infusion of almost a million dollars into the overarching budget will help us holistically. b. Town Ballot Review C hris Menard confirms the election s happened and a lot of unopposed people were voted in. Chris Menard did have a question about the ===PAGE 3=== cate gory where the outcome was failure to elect. Dave Passios is also unclear how that works as there is no minimum vote count. The Committee states they have not seen the final results yet. c. Override Update D ave Passios states the S chool C ommittee is go in g to have a discussion in the near future regarding the override . Evan Watters confirms there was a vote before the T own M eeting that if the override passed then the ARPA funding would be returned. Evan Watters states there was an error in the presentation the School Committee provided and t here does not need to be a special town meeting to appropriate the funds. d. Summer Planning i. Review Policies & Procedures This task was not completed last year, and it is overdue for a review. C hris Menard states that if it ’s a state polic y then it should be written down. D ave Passios believes the review of the borrowing policy is way overdue and he w ill recommend this to the budget task force. Chris Menard heard Renee Emkey from the Select Board state the only difference between the F inance C ommittee and the B udget T ask F orce is just the people who are sitting in i t. It would encompass people from different departments in town. ii. Consolidation of Services/Departments Evan Watters believes there is a large pushbac k from the school side and the municipal side regarding consolidation. Additionally, he is willing to pull together a meeting with facilities direct or and the DPW director and see where it goes. Dave Passios agrees with Evan about getting all the parties together to get input. Chris Menard wants plans to be put in place like pavement management plan, sewer, and stormwater management pla n . This should be backed with data and a list of what it will take to become operational . Additionally, the plans must be sustainable for 10-15 years. This is a high priority among the lists . iii. MIAA Health Insurance presentation to FinCom ===PAGE 4=== Evan Watters is unsure about what can be changed to save money. Dave Passios states the bulk is tied up in collective bargaining and thinks this is a low priority. Chris Menard believes the insurance plan is good but doesn ’t know specifics and a presentation would be helpful. Evan Watters will revisit and request someone from MIAA to come and give a presentation. iv. TM Discussion of Deb t Exclusion Projects E van Watters believes this topic may be an area for the Municipal B uilding D esign C ommittee or the S chool Committee. The Committee agrees to request the Municipal Building Design Committee come and talk about what ’s going on. Chris Menard beli eves the historical society needs to be proactive and be a part of these discussions . This is low on the priority list. v. Chapter 90 Briefing from DPW Chris Menard says a briefing was put together regarding Chapter 90 and the Committee is inquiring about getting a copy. Dave Passios asks Heather Lemieux if Chapter 90 has any impact on the Town short-term borrowing and the ability to accomplish projects that are reimbursable that need to be completed prior to receiving reimbursement. Heather Lemieux states it d epends on the type of project, but we can deficit spend on certain accounts. vi. CemCom Discussion on Sales of Cemetery Lots Chris Menard would like to understand what the Cemetery Commission envisions for operations relating to financial impacts and discuss some of their capital items. vii. Review Budget Process/Suggestions for Improvement D ave Passios believes the timeline needs to be moved up because we are never ready for the Town Meeting. Evan Watters states the DLS provided their cherry sheet estimate s for FY 25 . There is a $ 29,000 difference between what the G overnor put forward in February or M arch and what the S enate put forward in the last few weeks. ===PAGE 5=== Chris Menard suggests budgeting software could be beneficial that the school and the T own can both utilize . Theoretically r unning a 30-million-dollar school budget off an excel spreadsheet is not ideal. Chris Menard suggests creating a policy relating to inflation . Inflation in the last 15 years has generally been under 2 ½% on aggregate. Evan Watters wants to know what the mode and deviation from the average was for those low inflation rates. Tom Gray also agrees that if there is a low inflation period then we need to figure out what to do with that extra money and not just spend it. D ave Passios questions if there is a m echanism to create a reserve account specifically for the school department. Based on last year ’s financial seasons we learned that there were breakdowns and repairs that were anticipated but there wasn ’t a way to fix them. E van Watters states it ’s difficult to budget when you are already under funding other portions of departments. Dave Pa s sios states the budget is lopsided in a direction that is not sustainable for a good operation from a financial po int of view. Evan Watters testifies they are a public municipal entity, and their mission is not to make money it ’s to educate. This topic is of the highest priority level. viii. Earmarked/Cherry Sheet Money Distribution Evan Watters states if an earmark is for a s pecific use, then that needs to be distributed for that specific use and not be put into the general town fund. If a department is getting additional state or federal funding that comes in and is unexpected and wasn ’t included in their original budget it shouldn ’t go into a general fund. This was at medium priority level. ix. Re-organization for 1 st Meeting Each August Chris Menard states some of the reappointment years are incorrect but Heather Lemieux will be looking into that. The Committee agrees to have r eorganization at the first meeting in A ugust. There was a m otion to set the first meeting in A ugust of each year as the reorganization meeting by Dave Passios , seconded by Chris Menard . All in favor. Chris Menard suggests with the reorganization it may be beneficial to have a committee member on the Stormwater Task Force since there may be financial impact. The Committee also agrees there ===PAGE 6=== should be a committee member on the Board of Assessors and the Cemetery Commission. 8. Old Business There was no discussion relating to old business. 9. Minutes Evan Watters reviewed the minutes on the town website for 2024. There are minutes for every meeting from the 11 th of January through the 25 th of April. Chris Menard suggests using software like Microsoft 365 that has workflow tools available. When a n agenda is established for a meeting, it should start a workflow tool and the minutes automatically get posted to the website. Chris Menard does not like the idea of emailing the minutes to the C lerk to then have them posted. Heather Lemieux suggests having a meeting with Chris Menard, the Town Clerk and IT, to discuss this suggestion. After review, Evan Watters states there are 11 sets of minutes in the SharePoint review folder to approve. There was a motion to approve the minutes as submitted from January 11, February 20, February 21, February 22, February 29, M arch 7, M arch 14, M arch 28, April 4, April 11, April 25 all from 2024 by Dave Passios, seconded by Chris Menard. All in favor with 1 abstention. Evan Watters will be looking into meeting minutes from 2023 and 2022. Chris M enard states there are agendas that have been posted but the meetings never happened. Chris Menard questions if something needs to be posted stating the meeting was canceled or did not happen. Additionally, Chris Menard says there are a bunch of missing minutes dating back to 2016. Heather Lemieux confirms that the official minutes must be a permanent record with the Town Clerk. 10. Committee Reports Dave Passios confirms that G reen C ommunities pulled the application for the sewer project at the last minute. The savings numbers were provided a couple of days before the deadline, and it turns out the project did not improve efficiency enough to show savings to justify going into the process right now. The Committee will be meeting on the first Monday of next month to restart the process. Chris Menard heard a comment at the last meeting about a new plan for Marshall Park. Chris Menard states there is not a new plan. Recently there was a community project at the town beach building completed by volunteers. ===PAGE 7=== Chris Menard is on the Committee for Capital Planning and reiterates that meetings will restart in June, and they intend to have a plan in place for fiscal health over the next 10 years. Evan Watters confirms that the Master Plan Steering Committee workshopped the 4 th survey which is currently live . There is going to be another meeting next Thursday at 6 PM at Smokestack for more workshopping. The Council on A ging reached out to invite the C ommittee to see their presentation on either a Wednesday at 9 or Tuesday/Thursday at noon. 11. Topics for Future Meetings Topics include: Grant writing services priorities . Revisit and have a conversation about percentages of population. Dave Passios requests a conversation about local income tax. 12. Upcoming Meetings: a. 6/13/2024 b. 6/27/2024 13. Important Dates There were no additional important dates. 14. Public Comment Dave Rogers commented that from a historical perspective the C ommittee had tried to combine departments when he was the Chair of the Finance Committee but was unable because it wasn ’t workable. He suggests that every few years the Committee should look at the personnel situation we have in town and the potential for reorganization. After reviewing the school superintendent ’s spreadsheet regarding the override, he states th e last 2 years of the superintendent ’s contract s were not filed. Lastly, Dave Rogers thanks the Committee for all they are doing. Evan Watt er s confirmed that the override passed. Evan Watters thanks the S chool C ommittee, the SOS action group that form ed, and the students advocating. Evan Watters wants to ensure that we don ’t forget about the low and fixed-income residents in town and the effect this will create. Additionally, he wants to go after tax incentive programs or other ways to save money for low income or fixed income seniors . Lastly, he thanks the Committee for their hard work throughout the budget season. 15. Adjourn There was a motion to adjourn by Chris Menard , seconded by Dave Passios . All in favor. ===PAGE 8=== The meeting closed at 9:35PM. ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2024-06-13-agenda-6617.txt BOARD : finance-committee DATE : 2024-06-13 KIND : agenda OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/finance-committee/2024-06-13-agenda-6617.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_06132024-6617 ======================================================================================== ===PAGE 1=== Town of Lunenburg Evan Watters, Chair Christopher Menard, Vice-Chair Tiffaney Tavares, Clerk Jay Simeone Thomas Gray Jean Russell Dave Passios Lunenburg Finance Committee Thursday, June 13th, 2024 7:00 PM Bilotta Meeting Room, Lunenburg Town Hall Agenda 17 Main Street, P.O. Box 135 Lunenburg, MA 01462-0135 978.582.4139 FAX 978.582.4148 In accordance with the requirements of the Open Meeting Law, please be advised that this meeting is being recorded and broadcast over the Lunenburg Public Access channel and on Facebook Live on the Public Access Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/Lunenburg-Public-Access- Cable-157427270975305) and will be uploaded to the Lunenburg Access YouTube channel after the meeting. This meeting will be held in-person at the location provided on this notice. Members of the public are welcome to attend this in-person meeting. Please note that while an option for remote attendance and/or participation is being provided as a courtesy to the public, the meeting will not be suspended or terminated if technological problems interrupt the virtual broadcast, unless otherwise required by law. Members of the public with particular interest in any specific item on this agenda should make plans for in-person vs. virtual attendance accordingly. The following information is provided for members of the public that would like to participate in the meeting remotely: To Participate Remotely: From a computer, please use the link below to join the public meeting webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88136274720. From a telephone, dial the toll-free number (888) 475-4499, enter Webinar ID: 881 3627 4720. If you have not registered with Zoom you will be asked for your name and an e-mail address. Note: No participant ID is needed, just press # when asked. Telephone users may dial *9 to request to speak after joining the meeting. Computer and app users may use the “raise hand” feature to request to speak. The agenda lists all the topics which may be discussed at the meeting and are those reasonably anticipated by the Chair. Votes may be taken as a result of these discussions. Not all items listed may in fact be discussed and other items not listed may also be brought up for discussion to the extent permitted by Open Meeting Law. 1. Call to Order 2. Pledge of Allegiance 3. Announcements 4. Public Comment 5. Town Manager Report 6. Finance Director Report 7. New Business a. Town Manager Search Committee Representative (Possible Vote) b. Budget Task Force Discussion (Possible Vote) c. Meeting with Rep Scarsdale, 1st Middlesex Distrect, and DESE to Discuss School Budget Issues d. Missing FinCom Minutes 8. Old Business 9. Minutes 10. Committee Reports 11. Topics for Future Meetings 12. Upcoming Meetings: a. 6/27/2024 b. 7/11/24 13. Public Comment 14. Adjourn ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2024-06-13-minutes-6617.txt BOARD : finance-committee DATE : 2024-06-13 KIND : minutes OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/finance-committee/2024-06-13-minutes-6617.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_06132024-6617 ======================================================================================== ===PAGE 1=== Lunenburg Finance Committee Meeting Minutes Bilotta Meeting Room Lunenburg Town Hall June 13, 2024 Present Members: Chair Evan Watters, Vice Chair Chris Menard, Clerk Tiffaney Tavares, Board Member Tom Gray, Board Member Dave Passios, Board Member Jean Russell, Board Member Jay Simeone 1. Call to Order The meeting opened at 7:00PM. 2. Pledge of Allegiance 3. Announcements Evan Watters states that the Town Manager s last day will be A ugust 4 th . A search committee will be put together to find a new Town Man a ger. 4. Public Comment There were no comments from the public. 5. Town Manager Report The Owner ’s Project Manager Services contract for Marshall Park was awarded through a park grant . The Town received notification from FEMA for denial of public assistance from the severe weather and flooding that occurred in September of 2023. The State issued that a million dollars be set aside from the fall supplemental budget to be distributed to affected cities and towns. Lunenburg received $ 30,000 . This number was reached based on storm related expenses, municipality size, and the amount of infrastructure related costs. The Fiscal 25 tax bills will include the override amount and are only an estimate until the tax rate is set in the fall. Rep resentative Scarsdale received the earmark for the MILO training simulation systems for the police dept project . This training simulation p reviously didn ’t make the cut in the capital plan . The repairs to the public safety building were completed. Ch ris M enard questioned when the grant writing services will be available. Heather Lemieux states a process needs to be put in place and established to ensure the resources aren ’t put into one department or committee. Tiffaney ===PAGE 2=== Tavares agrees to work together with Heather Lemieux. Heather Lemieux will reach out to her association for additional input. 6. Finance Director Report Eze quiel Ayala has no new information or reports. The quarter finances for Q3 were s ubmitted and should be available within the next couple of weeks. 7. New Business a. Town Manager Search Committee Representative (Possible Vote ) T he T own M oderator is responsible for chairing a committee to replace the T own M anager and has already reached out to Evan Watters. This Committee will include a representative from the Finance Committee. Chris Menard questions if the Committee must come up with a group of candidates. Evan Watters states the group is to consist of 5 members : the T own M oderator, Finance Committee representative, Tom Alon z o, P eter Beardmore , and a P lanning B oard R epresentative. Evan Watters nominated Chris Menard to be on the Committee for the permanent T own M anager , seconded by Dave Passios . All in favor. Th e Committee for the interim Town Manager will be handled exclusively by the S elect B oard, A ssistant T own M anager , and HR director. b. Budget Task Force Discussion (Possible Vote) There has been no official vote to start a budget task force from the S elect B oard. There is discussion about whether this group will include only appointed or elected members of the town or if it should include members of the public. The budge t task force is anticipated to include a F inance R ep resentative , School C ommittee R ep resentative , S uperintendent of S chools, B usiness D irector for S chools, S elect B oard M ember, and a Planning Board Member. Ch ri s Menard nominated Evan W atters to be the F inance C ommittee R epresentative , seconded by Tiffaney Tavares . All in favor. c. Meeting with Rep Scarsdale, 1st Middlesex District , and DESE to Discuss School Budget Issues Representative Margaret Scarsdale sent out an email to members of her district including T own M anager s , M oderators, S elect B oard C hairs, S chool C ommittee C hair s , and Finance C ommittee C hair s. ===PAGE 3=== The topics to be discussed include the school budgets, regional school transportation, minimum required contributions, Chapter 70, effectiveness of the foundation formula and the 4 1/2% cap on the student opportunity act. The proposed dates for the 2-hour long meeting include July 12 & July 19. Chris Menard suggests creating a prepared statement across the 3 B oards. Evan Watters suggests the statement be drafted by the S chool C ommittee . Tiffaney Tavares suggests a col laboration between the F inance C ommittee and S chool C ommittee. d. Missing FinCom Minutes Evan Watters spoke to PAC and was told to search specifically for “FIN ” and that should generate everything available. Chris Menard questions if there is a time limit for when minutes need to be submitted. Chris Menard asks if it ’s been determined that if no meeting was held thus there are no minutes, then what needs to be provided for compliance. Chris Menard also s uggests append ing the material to the minutes. 8. Old Business There was no old business to discuss. 9. Minutes There was a motion to approve the minutes from the May 23, 2024, meeting by Chris Menard, seconded by Tiffaney Tavares. All in favor. 10. Committee Reports Chris Menard states the Parks Committee met and Ana Lockwood resigned from the Committee. Chris Menard shares that the C apital P lanning Committee met and is f ocusing on the 5-year plan. T here is an at large seat available on the C ommittee. The busiest time of the year for the Committee is during the fall and winter months. Dave Passios states that G reen C ommunities Committee met. Recently, the Committee backed out of the spring grant round at the last min ute for the sewer project. It t urned out to be more b eneficial to wait until the fall grant round to obtain a larger sum. Meetings are scheduled monthly throughout the summer . Dave Passios shares that i nformation is being provided on Facebook about th e accomplishments of the committee related to finances. Currently there are 2 associate member seats available. ===PAGE 4=== Evan Watters shares that the M aster P lan St eering C ommittee met but Evan Watters was unable to attend. All 5 of the members on the Personnel Committee have resigned . Currently this is a completely empty Committee. 11. Topics for Future Meetings A list of future topics was created throughout the meeting. 12. Upcoming Meetings: a. 6/27/2024 b. 7/11/24 13. Public Comment There were no public comments. 14. Adjourn There was a motion to adjourn by Chris Menard , seconded by Dave Passios . The meeting closed at 8:01 PM. ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2024-06-27-agenda-6635.txt BOARD : finance-committee DATE : 2024-06-27 KIND : agenda OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/finance-committee/2024-06-27-agenda-6635.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_06272024-6635 ======================================================================================== ===PAGE 1=== Town of Lunenburg Evan Watters, Chair Christopher Menard, Vice-Chair Tiffaney Tavares, Clerk Jay Simeone Thomas Gray Jean Russell Dave Passios Lunenburg Finance Committee Thursday, June 27th, 2024 7:00 PM Bilotta Meeting Room, Lunenburg Town Hall Agenda 17 Main Street, P.O. Box 135 Lunenburg, MA 01462-0135 978.582.4139 FAX 978.582.4148 In accordance with the requirements of the Open Meeting Law, please be advised that this meeting is being recorded and broadcast over the Lunenburg Public Access channel and on Facebook Live on the Public Access Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/Lunenburg-Public-Access- Cable-157427270975305) and will be uploaded to the Lunenburg Access YouTube channel after the meeting. This meeting will be held in-person at the location provided on this notice. Members of the public are welcome to attend this in-person meeting. Please note that while an option for remote attendance and/or participation is being provided as a courtesy to the public, the meeting will not be suspended or terminated if technological problems interrupt the virtual broadcast, unless otherwise required by law. Members of the public with particular interest in any specific item on this agenda should make plans for in-person vs. virtual attendance accordingly. The following information is provided for members of the public that would like to participate in the meeting remotely: To Participate Remotely: From a computer, please use the link below to join the public meeting webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88136274720. From a telephone, dial the toll-free number (888) 475-4499, enter Webinar ID: 881 3627 4720. If you have not registered with Zoom you will be asked for your name and an e-mail address. Note: No participant ID is needed, just press # when asked. Telephone users may dial *9 to request to speak after joining the meeting. Computer and app users may use the “raise hand” feature to request to speak. The agenda lists all the topics which may be discussed at the meeting and are those reasonably anticipated by the Chair. Votes may be taken as a result of these discussions. Not all items listed may in fact be discussed and other items not listed may also be brought up for discussion to the extent permitted by Open Meeting Law. 1. Call to Order 2. Pledge of Allegiance 3. Announcements 4. Public Comment 5. Finance Director Report 6. New Business a. Review Budget Process/Suggestions for Improvement b. Consolidation of Services/Departments 7. Old Business a. Town Manager Search Committee Representative b. Budget Task Force Discussion c. Meeting with Rep Scarsdale, 1st Middlesex District, and DESE to Discuss School Budget Issues 8. Minutes 9. Committee Reports 10. Topics for Future Meetings 11. Important Dates: a. 7/12/14 – Meeting with Rep Scarsdale, 1st Middlesex District, and DESE to Discuss School Budget Issues (Groton Town Hall) 12. Upcoming Meetings: a. 7/11/24 b. 7/25/24 13. Public Comment 14. Adjourn ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2024-06-27-minutes-6635.txt BOARD : finance-committee DATE : 2024-06-27 KIND : minutes OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/finance-committee/2024-06-27-minutes-6635.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_06272024-6635 ======================================================================================== ===PAGE 1=== Lunenburg Finance Committee Meeting Minutes Bilotta Meeting Room Lunenburg Town Hall June 27, 2024 Present Members: Chair Evan Watters, Board Member Tom Gray, Board Member Dave Passios, Board Member Jean Russell, Board Member Jay Simeone Absent Members: Vice Chair Chris Menard, Clerk Tiffaney Tavares 1. Call to Order The meeting opened at 7:04 PM. 2. Pledge of Allegiance 3. Announcements There were no announcements. 4. Public Comment Jay Simeone read in The Sentinel and Enterprise that there were 2 bills related to the MBTA Communities Act to be voted on. The 1st bill was a waiver for towns and cities that had met their 40B criteria threshold. The 2nd bill was related to mobile homes being added to the 40B count. Our Representative Scarsdale and Representative Connolly voted against both. Jay Simeone states there is a 25-million-dollar federal grant funding, titled the RAISE program, to rebuild American infrastructure with sustainability and equity. This would be done with investments in surface transportation infrastructure that has a significant impact on local and regional impact. Gardner is getting 1.25 million of this funding. Dave Passios reached out to Senator Cronin’s office about whether the Senator may be on board to sponsor or add to an existing bill that allows cities and towns in the State of Massachusetts to assess a local income tax. This is a 2–3-year process. Dave Passios hasn’t heard back from the Senators’ office. 5. Finance Director Report There were no reports from the Finance Director. 6. New Business a. Review Budget Process/Suggestions for Improvement Dave Passios states that he is unsure If we have been able to get priorities right because this process has always been rushed. Dave Passios suggests the Town Manager submit their proposed budget earlier in order to have ===PAGE 2=== individual department heads review and discuss with the Town Manager to advocate for their needs. Evan Watters questions if anyone knows the number of communities that complete their budgets on a spreadsheet versus a municipal budgeting software. Below is the current budget schedule for FY 25 ▪ September 11: Capital improvement forms are issued to the department members. ▪ December 4: Capital Planning Committee reviews all requests and starts prioritizing. ▪ January 2: The finalized recommendations are sent to the Town Manager for approval. ▪ January 4: Department budget requests are due to the Town Manager. ▪ January 18: The 5-year financial forecast is received from the Town Manager. ▪ February 5: The Town Manager budget summary is sent to the Lunenburg Ledger to be published. ▪ February 13: The Town Manager provides their recommendation presentation. ▪ March 18: Public hearing ▪ April 5: Finance report is due. Members will reach out to other towns to review their schedule. b. Consolidation of Services/Departments Evan Watters suggests presenting the consolidation of services/departments to the new Town Manager. Dave Passios believes consolidation is not going to save money and it will probably cost us money, but the problem is that we have held back on growth and the ability to grow. There is agreement that this should be part of the budgeting task force along with getting software and hiring issues. Evan Watters will be pushing for a consolidation study. 7. Old Business a. Town Manager Search Committee Representative ===PAGE 3=== Dave Passios states he had a good discussion with Tim Murphy and was provided packets of information from his past rounds as a moderator. All meetings for this committee are public and will be posted on the town website on the calendar and zoom. Additionally, the meetings will allow public comments. b. Budget Task Force Discussion The Select Board voted to create a Budget Task Force. Renee Emkey will be the Select Board Representative, Anthony Sculimbrene will be the School Committee Representative with Laura Brzozoski as an alternate. The Budget Task Force Charge provided by Renee Emkey includes: 1. General section: includes recommended scenarios for a 3-to-5-year sustainable fiscal plan for the Town of Lunenburg. 2. Tasks and responsibilities: collect data on revenue and expenditures historical trends and project future estimates based on trends and various assumptions. Benchmarking municipal and school performance programs, expenditures and revenues with comparable municipalities, examine potential revenue sources, overrides and exclusions under prop 2 ½ as well as non-tax and non-override revenue sources in compliance with the town financial policy, evaluate strategies to properly staff municipal and school operations while managing growth and personal costs, capital project funding needs and impacts, assess any increase taxes and fees, 3. Membership and meetings: 5-member task force committee. c. Meeting with Rep Scarsdale. 1st Middlesex District, and DESE to Discuss School Budget Issues Evan Watters will be unavailable to attend but he did reached out to Mr. Leighton and Mr. Nazolo about sending a preliminary letter to Representative Scarsdale with a discussion list. Representative Scarsdale is trying to start a coalition in the rural portion of the State, specifically in her first Middlesex District. She will start meeting with School Board members, School Committee members, School Department members, a Finance Committee member, a Select Board member, administrative members, and several members of the public. The coalition will work to determine and identify what’s not working or what needs to be changed to address the lack of funding in more rural towns. There will be a larger meeting across the 220 Districts in the State that received minimum aid. ===PAGE 4=== Below is the list completed by the School Committee of what they would like to address: ▪ Bus bidding process ▪ State funding specifically an inflation rider to Chapter 70 ▪ Revenue from the millionaire’s tax ▪ Need for increased local funding and overrides ▪ Smart growth ▪ Loss of funding ▪ UNF funded mandates Vice Present of the PTO in Town, Mandy Gilman, offered to help write a letter to Representative Scarsdale. Her opinion was to focus on 2 main topics during the meeting. Mandy Gilman suggests focusing on the cherry sheet as those are areas that a Legislator can influence the budget. If Representative Scarsdale seems interested in the bus transportation and bidding process, we could ask her to meet with us and DOT together. If Representative Scarsdale is on board, we could put together a letter and ask other Legislators to sign on. Mandy Gilman provided additional possible options. Dave Passios agrees with the main topics but also wants the Representative to be aware that the people in the middle are also suffering. Evan Watters is worried because the Student Opportunity Act is in year 4 out of 6 and what effect that might have. 8. Minutes June 13, 2024 There was a motion to approve the minutes of June 13th as presented by Dave Passios, seconded by Jean Russell. All in favor. Unanimous Vote (5-0) 9. Committee Reports Dave Passios states that Green Communities hasn’t met but they anticipate putting in an application in the fall for that grant round Evan Watters reached out to DPW Director, Bill Bernard, to discuss Chapter 90 funding and Bill Bernard was invited to an upcoming meeting. Also invited is the Cemetery Commission for potentially a meeting in August or September. 10. Topics for Future Meetings Jay Simeone requests the Facility Director provide reports on a regular basis to the Committee. Dave Passios requests an updated snapshot of the accounts invested list. ===PAGE 5=== 11. Important Dates: a. 7/19/24 9:00AM - Meeting with Rep Scarsdale, 1st Middlesex District, and DESE to Discuss School Budget Issues (Groton Town Hall) 12. Upcoming Meetings a. 7/11/24 b. 7/25/24 13. Public Comment Dave Passios states at a prior Select Board meeting there was discussion about outstanding unappropriated ARPA funding. Dave Passios pulled the 10-year capital list from Capital Planning and requested the Board to review several of the small projects. There were a couple projects that could be completed to possibly help move forward some infrastructure projects. Dave Passios shares information he obtained from Senator Cronin’s office. Senator Cronin wants to implement a local income tax by reducing the percentage that we increase our budget by under Prop 2 ½ by a given amount to then flip it over to a percentage of local income tax. This would include no changes to Prop 2 ½. This will shift the burden of the towns revenues needs away from the fixed income seniors and the young families trying to move into town and survive on a lower salary. 14. Adjourn There was a motion to adjourn by Jay Simeone, seconded by Dave Passios. All in favor. The meeting closed at 9:23 PM. ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2024-07-11-agenda-6656.txt BOARD : finance-committee DATE : 2024-07-11 KIND : agenda OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/finance-committee/2024-07-11-agenda-6656.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_07112024-6656 ======================================================================================== ===PAGE 1=== Town of Lunenburg Evan Watters, Chair Christopher Menard, Vice-Chair Tiffaney Tavares, Clerk Jay Simeone Thomas Gray Jean Russell Dave Passios **REVISED** Lunenburg Finance Committee Thursday, July 11th, 2024 7:00 PM Bilotta Meeting Room, Lunenburg Town Hall Agenda 17 Main Street, P.O. Box 135 Lunenburg, MA 01462-0135 978.582.4139 FAX 978.582.4148 In accordance with the requirements of the Open Meeting Law, please be advised that this meeting is being recorded and broadcast over the Lunenburg Public Access channel and on Facebook Live on the Public Access Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/Lunenburg-Public-Access- Cable-157427270975305) and will be uploaded to the Lunenburg Access YouTube channel after the meeting. This meeting will be held in-person at the location provided on this notice. Members of the public are welcome to attend this in-person meeting. Please note that while an option for remote attendance and/or participation is being provided as a courtesy to the public, the meeting will not be suspended or terminated if technological problems interrupt the virtual broadcast, unless otherwise required by law. Members of the public with particular interest in any specific item on this agenda should make plans for in-person vs. virtual attendance accordingly. The following information is provided for members of the public that would like to participate in the meeting remotely: To Participate Remotely: From a computer, please use the link below to join the public meeting webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88136274720. From a telephone, dial the toll-free number (888) 475-4499, enter Webinar ID: 881 3627 4720. If you have not registered with Zoom you will be asked for your name and an e-mail address. Note: No participant ID is needed, just press # when asked. Telephone users may dial *9 to request to speak after joining the meeting. Computer and app users may use the “raise hand” feature to request to speak. The agenda lists all the topics which may be discussed at the meeting and are those reasonably anticipated by the Chair. Votes may be taken as a result of these discussions. Not all items listed may in fact be discussed and other items not listed may also be brought up for discussion to the extent permitted by Open Meeting Law. 1. Call to Order 2. Pledge of Allegiance 3. Announcements 4. Public Comment 5. Town Manager Report a. Last meeting with TM 6. Finance Director Report 7. New Business a. Financial Policy Manual Draft Discussion b. Grant Writing Services Discussion 8. Old Business a. Town Manager Search Committee Update b. Budget Task Force Discussion c. Meeting with Rep Scarsdale, 1st Middlesex District, and DESE to Discuss School Budget Issues d. Consolidation of Services/Departments e. Review Budget Process/Suggestions for Improvement 9. Minutes a. 6/27/2024 10. Committee Reports 11. Topics for Future Meetings 12. Important Dates: a. 7/19/14 – Meeting with Rep Scarsdale, 1st Middlesex District, and DESE to Discuss School Budget Issues (Groton Town Hall) 13. Upcoming Meetings: a. 7/25/24 b. 8/8/24 – Meeting with CemCom c. 8/22/24 14. Public Comment 15. Adjourn ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2024-07-11-minutes-6656.txt BOARD : finance-committee DATE : 2024-07-11 KIND : minutes OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/finance-committee/2024-07-11-minutes-6656.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_07112024-6656 ======================================================================================== ===PAGE 1=== Lunenburg Finance Committee Meeting Minutes Bilotta Meeting Room Lunenburg Town Hall July 11, 2024 Present Members: Chair Evan Watters, Vice Chair Chris Menard, Board Member Tom Gray, Board Member Dave Passios, Board Member Jean Russell, Board Member Jay Simeone Absent Member: Clerk Tiffaney Tavares 1. Call to Order The meeting opened at 7 PM. 2. Pledge of Allegiance 3. Announcements There were no announcements. 4. Public Comment Evan Watters states Dave Passios will be attending tonight’s meeting via Zoom. Thus, any votes that are made need to be a roll call vote. 5. Town Manager Report a. Last meeting with TM Heather Lemieux states that was a meeting on June 18th that started the kickoff process for the Flat Hill Culvert Project. There was discussion with the contractor and was informed that the bridge will be closed starting in October. This bridge is estimated to be closed for 2 months. A small bridge grant was received for this project. The police department received a $206,000 grant for a mental health co-response clinician that will be shared with the town of Lancaster. An additional grant from the option stabilization account totaling $40,000 will be put towards the total costs. These grants will cover the cost of the program and the equipment. A bid was received and awarded to Lake View Landscaping on June 11th that will cover facilities and park grounds. One bid was received for hazardous materials clean up at the woodruff property. The appropriated amount was $100,000 and the full scope was $185,000. ===PAGE 2=== The library solar shade project is currently out to bid and is due July 31st. The trash and recycling services are currently out to bid and were initially due July 17th. This will be extended to July 24th due to an addendum of questions. The Assessors office sent out a letter to property owners that had exemptions on their fiscal 24 4th quarter tax bill to address an error. The value Q1 and Q2 tax bills were sent out. Heather Lemieux sent an updated draft of a budget calendar to all the Boards. Notification was received from the State regarding the Network Gap Program funding. A letter of support was put in for both Verizon and Comcast. Verizon was picked for our community and that is intended to close the gap for internet connectivity for areas that are deficient. Chris Menard questions if any documentation has been put together relating to the grant writing services. Tiffaney Tavares reached out to Heather Lemieux, but they haven’t had a chance to brainstorm. 6. New Business a. Financial Policy Manual Draft Discussion Heather Lemieux applied for and received a Community Compact Grant with the Division of Local Services. A 90-page document was provided including policies and roles. This document was presented to the Select Board on June 18th. Heather Lemieux wants the Finance Committee to review and provide comments or corrections b. Grant Writing Services Discussion Chris Menard questions what the best approach will be to discuss services. Heather Lemieux states the service is not to be used as a replacement for grant writing that’s already been taking place on a regular basis. Heather Lemieux suggests submitting a survey to all town departments, Boards, and Committee to see if they need grant writing services. The Town has a budget of $50,000 for the year. There was discussion about looking into on call grant services. ===PAGE 3=== 7. Old Business a. Town Manager Search Committee Update Chris Menard states there have been a couple of meetings. There has been a lot of discussion about whether to hire a consultant to help with the process. The Committee has requested the salary range from the Select Board. b. Budget Task Force Discussion The Budge Task Force consists of the Chair, Anthony Sculimbrene, Vice Chair, Ezequiel Ayala, and Clerk, Renee Emkey. These meetings will take place bi-weekly with a hard stop after 1 hour. The next meeting is Monday the 22nd from 6-7 PM. The Task Force anticipates presenting a document to be considered for the FY 26 budget season. The Select Board did vote to allow secondaries for anyone that can’t make a meeting. Jean Russell volunteers to be a backup. There was a motion to nominate Jean Russell as a backup to Evan Watters on the Budget Committee by Chris Menard, seconded by Evan Watters. Roll call vote. Dave Passios aye, Jean Russell aye, Tom Gray aye, Jay Simeone aye, Chris Menard aye, Evan Watters aye. The vote was 6-0 to approve. c. Meeting with Rep Scarsdale, 1st Middlesex District, and DESE to Discuss School Budget Issues This will be a 2-hour long meeting to review formulas, Chapter 70, foundation budget, Student Opportunity Act, Chapter 71 regional school transportation, and circuit breaker. There will be discussion about problem areas including inflation with Student Opportunity Act, Prop 2 1/2, unrestricted governmental aid, and out of district placements. Mrs. Gilman put together a letter to send to Representation Scarsdale. The Committee reviewed and provided edits. There was a motion to approve sending the letter by Chris Menard, seconded by Jean Russell. Roll call vote. Dave Passios aye, Jean Russell aye, Tom Gray aye, Jay Simeone aye, Chris Menard aye, Evan Watters aye. The vote was 6-0 to approve. d. Consolidation of Services/Departments. ===PAGE 4=== Dave Passios questions Evan Watters if the Finance Committee intends to give a recommended outline for consolidation to present to the Select Board. Evan Watters states there are several possibilities that include: a presentation to the Select Board, a budget task force report, next year’s Finance Committee report. Currently, there is no specific plan. Chris Menard suggests an organizational effectiveness study be completed. Heather Lemieux states that DLS does an organizational review based on financial departments. Evan Watters will reach out to Senator Cronin to inquire what the process is and how to start. Evan Watters is going to do a cost analysis and comparison of town and school health insurance. Evan Watters is inquiring to see if money is being given equally to the departments and every department is being given an increase. e. Review Budget Process/Suggestions for Improvement Heather Lemieux provided a suggested calendar for next year’s budget season. Chris Menard advocates for financial tools versus spreadsheets for budgets. Chris Menard suggested that every department use the same template, format, and tables for presentations. There is a consensus that the schedule needs to be moved up to create more room for deliberation and thorough review. 8. Minutes a. 6/27/2024 There was a motion by Dave Passios to approve the June 27th minutes as presented, seconded by Chris Menard. Roll call vote. Dave Passios aye, Jean Russell aye, Tom Gray aye, Jay Simeone abstain, Chris Menard aye, Evan Watters aye. The vote was 4-0-1 to approve. 9. Committee Reports Jay Simeone states at the past planning board meeting there was discussion about the MBTA communities’ presentation. There have been a lot of changes and is still an unfunded mandate. Dave Passios states that the Green Communities Committee didn’t meet but is scheduled for July 15th. 10. Topics for Future Meetings ===PAGE 5=== Dave Passios would like an unverified copy of the reserve accounts and trust funds before the next meeting. The financial director, Ezequiel Ayala, will provide the Q3 report at the next meeting. The Treasurer, Myleen Mallari, is finalizing the FY 24 numbers. 11. Important Dates: a. 7/19 – Meeting with Rep Scarsdale, 1st Middlesex District, and DESE to Discuss School Budget Issues (Groton Senior Center) 12. Upcoming Meetings: a. 7/25/2024 b. 8/8/2024 – Meeting with Cemetery Commission c. 8/22/2024 13. Public Comment Chris Menard questions when the Chapter 90 presentation will take place. Evan Watters states either the 25th of July or the 22nd of August. Evan Watters spoke with the IT Administrative Assistant, Kara McCarthy, and was provided information about notifications. There is a function to sign up for notification for all Committees and Boards on their cell phone or email. 14. Adjourn There was a motion to adjourn by Chris Menard, seconded by Jay Simeone. Roll call vote. Dave Passios aye, Tom Gray aye, Jay Simeone aye, Chris Menard aye, Evan Watters aye. The meeting closed at 9:39 PM. ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2024-07-25-agenda-6679.txt BOARD : finance-committee DATE : 2024-07-25 KIND : agenda OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/finance-committee/2024-07-25-agenda-6679.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_07252024-6679 ======================================================================================== ===PAGE 1=== Town of Lunenburg Evan Watters, Chair Christopher Menard, Vice-Chair Tiffaney Tavares, Clerk Jay Simeone Thomas Gray Jean Russell Dave Passios **REVISED** **2nd REVISION** Lunenburg Finance Committee Thursday, July 25th, 2024 7:00 PM Bilotta Meeting Room, Lunenburg Town Hall Agenda 17 Main Street, P.O. Box 135 Lunenburg, MA 01462-0135 978.582.4139 FAX 978.582.4148 In accordance with the requirements of the Open Meeting Law, please be advised that this meeting is being recorded and broadcast over the Lunenburg Public Access channel and on Facebook Live on the Public Access Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/Lunenburg-Public-Access- Cable-157427270975305) and will be uploaded to the Lunenburg Access YouTube channel after the meeting. This meeting will be held in-person at the location provided on this notice. Members of the public are welcome to attend this in-person meeting. Please note that while an option for remote attendance and/or participation is being provided as a courtesy to the public, the meeting will not be suspended or terminated if technological problems interrupt the virtual broadcast, unless otherwise required by law. Members of the public with particular interest in any specific item on this agenda should make plans for in-person vs. virtual attendance accordingly. The following information is provided for members of the public that would like to participate in the meeting remotely: To Participate Remotely: From a computer, please use the link below to join the public meeting webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88136274720. From a telephone, dial the toll-free number (888) 475-4499, enter Webinar ID: 881 3627 4720. If you have not registered with Zoom you will be asked for your name and an e-mail address. Note: No participant ID is needed, just press # when asked. Telephone users may dial *9 to request to speak after joining the meeting. Computer and app users may use the “raise hand” feature to request to speak. This agenda lists all topics which may be discussed at the meeting and are those reasonably anticipated by the Chair. Votes may be taken as a result of these discussions. Not all items listed may in fact be discussed and other items not listed may also be brought up for discussion to the extent permitted by Open Meeting Law. 1. Call to Order 2. Pledge of Allegiance 3. Announcements 4. Public Comment 5. Finance Director Report 6. New Business a. Parks Request for Recreation Director Increase in Hours – Possible Vote b. Select Board Request for Use of Reserve Funds for Town Manager Search Consultant ($15,000) – Possible Vote c. Discussion on New Select Board Policy: “Section 2.13 Public Communications Policy: All written public statements and press releases, unrelated to emergency situations, community events, and community services, must be approved by the Select Board prior to its issuance.” d. Financial Policy “Homework” Designation e. FY24 Q3 Quarterly Financial Report f. FY24 Q3 Summary Trial balance for Special Revenue Funds 7. Old Business a. Town Manager Search Committee – Update b. Budget Task Force – Update c. Meeting with Rep Scarsdale, 1st Middlesex District, and DESE to Discuss School Budget Issues – Update d. Grant Writing Services – Update e. Consolidation of Services/Departments i. Cost Analysis Comparison: Town v. School f. Review Budget Process/Suggestions for Improvement 8. Minutes a. 7/11/2024 9. Committee Reports 10. Topics for Future Meetings 11. Important Dates 12. Upcoming Meetings: ===PAGE 2=== a. 8/8/24 – Meeting with CemCom b. 8/22/24 c. 9/12/24 13. Public Comment 14. Adjourn ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2024-07-25-minutes-6679.txt BOARD : finance-committee DATE : 2024-07-25 KIND : minutes OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/finance-committee/2024-07-25-minutes-6679.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_07252024-6679 ======================================================================================== ===PAGE 1=== Lunenburg Finance Committee Meeting Minutes Bilotta Meeting Room Lunenburg Town Hall July 25, 2024 Present Members: Chair Evan Watters, Vice Chair Chris Menard, Board Member Tom Gray, Board Member Dave Passios, Board Member Jean Russell, Board Member Jay Simeone Absent Member: Clerk Tiffaney Tavares 1. Call to Order The meeting opened at 7PM. 2. Pledge of Allegiance 3. Announcements There were no announcements. 4. Public Comment There were no public or Committee comments. 5. Finance Director Report Ezequiel Ayala provided the report under 6e. 6. New Business a. Parks Request for Recreation Director Increase in Hours – Possible Vote Evan Watters says the proposed increase is from 19 hours to 28 hours and will include benefits. This requires approval from the Select Board and the Finance Committee. This would be effective for the remainder of this fiscal year. There will be a discussion with the Interim Town Manager to determine if this will continue into FY 26. Karin Menard wants to have this increase paid out of the revolving account. The budgeted cost for the increased salary is $13,338, benefits cost is $24,424.30, totaling $37,759.30. Dave Passios states the Parks Commission realized that the revolving fund that was created by the town meeting for this purpose was not the appropriate revolving fund. Mass General Law Chapter 44 Section 53E ½ was the revolving fund that should have been used. Currently, there is too much money in that account under Mass General Law. Karin Menard states the revolving account is currently 53D and that allows for the payment of part time salaries. Karin Menard met with Ezequiel Ayala, and they anticipate putting in a warrant article for the ===PAGE 2=== November Town Meeting to move the money from 53D to 53E ½ as this will allow a balance to be carried over. Dave Passios also has an issue with the job description that includes processing contractor invoices for the construction of Marshall Park. Jay Simeone agrees this is beyond the scope of a recreation director. There was a motion to approve the increase in hours for the Recreation Director from 19 hours to 28 hours for the remainder of the fiscal year and funding will come from the parks revolving account by Chris Menard, seconded by Jay Simeone. The vote failed 3-3. Tom Gray and Dave Passios are not in favor and believe this should be completed by the Special Town Meeting to have this done correctly. b. Select Board Request for Use of Reserve Funds for Town Manager Search Consultant ($15,000) – Possible Vote The Reserve account fund has a total of $200,000. The Town Manager has been in contact with Community Paradigm. The estimated cost for a consultant is between 12 to 14 thousand and an additional 1 thousand for advertising. This includes a 14-to-16- week structured process, including vetting and workshops. There was a motion to approve the request for $15,000 from the reserve account for the purpose of hiring a consultant for the Town Manager Search Committee by Dave Passios, seconded by Tom Gray. The vote was approved 4-2. c. Discussion on New Select Board Policy: “Section 2.13 Public Communications Policy: All written public statements and press releases, unrelated to emergency situations, community events, and community services, must be approved by the Select Board prior to its issuance. ” Chris Menard believes this does not apply across the board or any other elected board. Tom Gray requests the Committee ask for clarification. d. Financial Policy “Homework” Designation The Financial Policy Designation consists of a 100-page document. Dave Passios questions if this policy being reviewed is going to replace the existing policy and the answer was yes. Chris Menard briefly reviewed the document and believes this new policy includes a lot more than the current policy. Evan Watters suggests reaching out to DLS and the Select Board with their inquiries. ===PAGE 3=== Ezequiel Ayala hasn’t seen any major changes or additions that would be catastrophic to the department or the town so far. Evan Watters will reach out to the Town Manager to see If there is anything specific the Finance Committee should key in on. Evan Watters will add this to the agenda for the next meeting on August 5th to continue the discussion. e. FY24 Q3 Quarterly Financial Report Total revenue collected through March 31st was $43,055,868.80. The total estimated tax levy for FY 24, net of the overlay, is $31,493,890.49. This is consistent with previous years and suggests we are on track to meet our annual tax levy projections. The performance of local receipts has exceeded the annual estimate at $6,660,338.42. The total state aid collected is $8,421,899.78. Total expenditures through March 31st are $32,241,213.71. Chris Menard requests the reports be augmented in the future. f. FY24 Q3 Summary Trial balance for Special Revenue Funds Chris Menard questions if there is anything that could be done to positively affect the towns budget situation by funding factors in another way. Ezequiel Ayala stated there are factors such as grants that are not guaranteed every year. Evan Watters questions why the ARPA funding line is listed as having 3.3 million as a balance. Ezequiel Ayala states there hasn’t been much activity for spendings, and funds have been allocated to departments. The funds must be obligated by the end of December, but the town has until 2026 to spend it down. 7. Old Business a. Town Manager Search Committee – Update Chris Menard states that the Town Manager Search Committee held a vote to recommend hiring a consultant. A drafted job requisition has been put together. At the next meeting, the Committee will hear from the Town Manager about her thoughts and what should be highlighted in the recruitment process. Additionally, the Committee will be meeting with the potential consulting company, Community Paradigm. ===PAGE 4=== Evan Watters has circulated a YouTube video with the Select Boards interview of Carter Terenzini who may be a candidate for the Interim Town Manager position. b. Budget Task Force – Update The Budget Task Force Committee met and identified many towns to be used as comparisons. They will need to be narrowed down in order to start building tables. The next meeting is scheduled for August 5th at 5 PM. c. Meeting with Rep Scarsdale, 1st Middlesex District, and DESE to Discuss School Budget Issues – Update The DESE presentation explained the history of Chapter 70. Many towns shared the same concerns as Lunenburg. Chris Menard pointed out there is a lack of predictability regarding funding. There was a consensus that the towns need to be more proactive. There is a suggestion for creating a document that reiterates that we are all facing the same challenges. This could be sent to the Finance Committees, School Committees, and Select Boards. Evan Watters states Representative Scarsdale intends to pull all the towns and districts together and expand the conversation. d. Grant Writing Services – Update – Postponed e. Consolidation of Services/Departments i. Cost Analysis Comparison: Town v. School– Postponed f. Review Budget Process/Suggestions for Improvement– Postponed 8. Minutes a. 7/11/2024 There was a motion to accept the minute from July 11 by Chris Menard, seconded by Dave Passios. The vote was 4-0-1. 9. Committee Reports Chris Menard shares that the Capital Planning and the Town Manager Screening Committee will both be meeting on July 31st. Chris Menard states at the last Capital Planning meeting there was a new member added, Rob Bowen. 10. Topics for Future Meetings There are no additional topics to add to upcoming agendas. 11. Important Dates There are no upcoming important dates. ===PAGE 5=== 12. Upcoming Meetings: a. 8/8/24 – Meeting with CemCom b. 8/22/24 c. 9/12/24 13. Public Comment There were no comments from the public. Chris Menard states that the last Select Board meeting was contentious. He hopes the members of the Select Board will be able to continue working together. 14. Adjourn There was a motion to adjourn by Chris Menard, seconded by Jay Simeone. The meeting closed at 9:30 PM. ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2024-08-08-agenda-6698.txt BOARD : finance-committee DATE : 2024-08-08 KIND : agenda OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/finance-committee/2024-08-08-agenda-6698.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_08082024-6698 ======================================================================================== ===PAGE 1=== Town of Lunenburg Evan Watters, Chair Christopher Menard, Vice-Chair Tiffaney Tavares, Clerk Jay Simeone Thomas Gray Jean Russell Dave Passios Lunenburg Finance Committee Thursday, August 8th, 2024 7:00 PM Bilotta Meeting Room, Lunenburg Town Hall Agenda 17 Main Street, P.O. Box 135 Lunenburg, MA 01462-0135 978.582.4139 FAX 978.582.4148 In accordance with the requirements of the Open Meeting Law, please be advised that this meeting is being recorded and broadcast over the Lunenburg Public Access channel and on Facebook Live on the Public Access Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/Lunenburg-Public-Access- Cable-157427270975305) and will be uploaded to the Lunenburg Access YouTube channel after the meeting. This meeting will be held in-person at the location provided on this notice. Members of the public are welcome to attend this in-person meeting. Please note that while an option for remote attendance and/or participation is being provided as a courtesy to the public, the meeting will not be suspended or terminated if technological problems interrupt the virtual broadcast, unless otherwise required by law. Members of the public with particular interest in any specific item on this agenda should make plans for in-person vs. virtual attendance accordingly. The following information is provided for members of the public that would like to participate in the meeting remotely: To Participate Remotely: From a computer, please use the link below to join the public meeting webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82195029392. From a telephone, dial the toll-free number (888) 475-4499, enter Webinar ID: 821 9502 9392. If you have not registered with Zoom you will be asked for your name and an e-mail address. Note: No participant ID is needed, just press # when asked. Telephone users may dial *9 to request to speak after joining the meeting. Computer and app users may use the “raise hand” feature to request to speak. This agenda lists all topics which may be discussed at the meeting and are those reasonably anticipated by the Chair. Votes may be taken as a result of these discussions. Not all items listed may in fact be discussed and other items not listed may also be brought up for discussion to the extent permitted by Open Meeting Law. 1. Call to Order 2. Pledge of Allegiance 3. Announcements 4. Public Comment 5. Finance Director Report 6. New Business a. Discussion with CemCom Chair b. High Deductible Insurance Plan Proposal c. Investment Strategy Discussion d. DLS Financial Policy Manual Draft 7. Old Business a. Town Manager Search Committee – Update b. Budget Task Force – Update c. Grant Writing Services – Update d. Consolidation of Services/Departments i. Cost Analysis Comparison: Town v. School e. Review Budget Process/Suggestions for Improvement 8. Minutes a. 7/25/2024 9. Committee Reports 10. Topics for Future Meetings 11. Important Dates 12. Upcoming Meetings: a. 8/22/24 b. 9/12/24 13. Public Comment 14. Adjourn ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2024-08-08-minutes-6698.txt BOARD : finance-committee DATE : 2024-08-08 KIND : minutes OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/finance-committee/2024-08-08-minutes-6698.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_08082024-6698 ======================================================================================== ===PAGE 1=== Lunenburg Finance Committee Meeting Minutes Bilotta Meeting Room Lunenburg Town Hall August 8, 2024 Present Members: Chair Evan Watters, Board Member Tom Gray, Board Member Dave Passios, Board Member Jean Russell, Board Member Jay Simeone Absent Members: Vice Chair Chris Menard, Clerk Tiffaney Tavares 1. Call to Order The meeting opened at 7:00 PM. 2. Pledge of Allegiance 3. Announcements There were no announcements. 4. Public Comment Ana Lockwood, 91 Main Street, quoted the United States constitution and the Gettysburg Address. Ana Lockwood states that when someone volunteers for the town they are not volunteering for themselves. You’re volunteering on behalf of the people. Ana Lockwood discussed the vote from the prior meeting that did not pass relating to the request to fund 9 more hours for the recreation director. Ana Lockwood worked with the Town Manager prior to her leaving and there was an agreement to fund that increase. At the last minute, the funds were pulled and put towards the trash contract. There was further agreement that this would be addressed after the town meeting to have the funds come out of the revolving account. At the last meeting, there was discussion that the revolving account shouldn’t be used for that purpose. 6 months ago, that account was used to fund salaries and benefits for the town beach employees. This has been happening for the last 6 years. The government should function for the benefit of the people and if things are being done that do not benefit the people, not improving their general welfare, then it should not be done. 5. Finance Director Report Ezequiel Ayala provided a report during the Cemetery Commission presentation. 6. New Business a. Discussion with CemCom Chair The Chair of the Cemetery Commission, Nancy Foss Yasko, was present and Ezequiel Ayala provided a presentation. ===PAGE 2=== The Sale of Lots, Fund 8115, states the proceeds for the sale of the lots or rights of burial in cemeteries shall be paid into the Town Treasury and appropriated to reimburse the town cost of the land, care, improvements, or enlargement of the cemetery. The sale of lots is to be handled by the cemetery superintendent. There are no refunds/expenses that can occur without the majority vote from the Cemetery Commission. The Capital Article, Fund 3006, is to be used strictly for project-based work. The general day to day maintenance is taken care of by the DPW. The purpose of the Cemetery Perpetual Care Trust Fund is to pay for the overall care, maintenance and development necessitated by natural growth and ordinary wear. The Principal, Fund 8001, is nonexpendable and is set aside for investment. The Interest, Fund 8000, is expendable and the interest earned from the fund is to be used to support costs associated with the cemetery operations. Interest earnings may also fund capital improvements. Nancy Foss Yasko confirms that when there is a sale of a lot, half of the funds goes to the Town and half goes to the Sale of Lots. Currently, the interest for the current fund is around 2.2% and that is not ideal. There is a suggestion about looking at the numbers to find a feasible way to raise that interest rate. Evan Watters questions who could reinvest funds. Ezequiel Ayala state we as a Town are not allowed to without the approval of the Cemetery Commission. Evan Watters questions if there is any grant funding available. Nancy Foss Yasko believes there is probably some that has been overlooked. Evan Watters asks if there is any Chapter 90 funding available. Nancy Foss Yasko doesn’t know the answer but will inquire with the DPW Director. Evan Watters inquiries into how many lots are currently available. Nancy Foss Yasko is unaware of the exact number, but she ran reports on the software and there were discrepancies. b. High Deductible Insurance Plan Proposal The Chair of the School Committee, Brian Lehtinen, was present and provided a drafted letter for the Finance Committee to review relating to healthcare plans. Brian Lehtinen does not want to force a major change in the healthcare plan but has a suggestion of adding an additional option for health care. The key feature in the proposed plan includes a lower premium and the option of an HSA. ===PAGE 3=== Dave Passios states the drafted letter does not include the different deductible rates for in network costs and out of network costs. Evan Watters believes the adoption of this plan lies solely with the Town Manager. Brian Lehtinen suggests the next step would be to contact the interim Town Manager and have them reach out to the health insurance agent representative for their feedback. c. Investment Strategy Discussion There was a review of the last 6 months in FY 23. Back on June 30 of 2023, there was roughly 27 million dollars that was only accruing at a rate of 1% or lower. The Budget Task Force wants to meet with the town’s investment companies in hopes of obtaining suggestions. Ezequiel Ayala suggests having a professional look at the portfolio to advise the best route. Dave Passios suggests picking away one account at a time. Evan Watters states that a downside of reviewing one account at a time is the loss of buying power. Evan Watters will put out a request to the finance company Bartholomew & Company to obtain additional information. d. DLS Financial Policy Manual Draft Evan Watters has reached out to Casey Bick from DLS and is awaiting a response. 7. Old Business a. Town Manager Search Committee – Update Chris Menard is not present for tonight’s meeting, and he is the liaison with the Town Manager Search Committee. b. Budget Task Force – Update Renee Emkey and Ezequiel Ayala put together a presentation that Evan Watters will email to the Committee. Ezequiel Ayala and Renee Emkey used their search criteria to pull out comparative towns. Heather Lemieux had a list she worked with for negotiating that was also factored in. Between the 3 there was one town each list had and that was Groton. c. Grant Writing Services – Update Evan Watters reached out to Bailey Boyd Associates in Scituate and hasn’t received a call back. He will follow up and give them another call. ===PAGE 4=== Evan Watters will also reach out to Carter Terenzini to get his position. d. Consolidation of Services/Departments -Postponed i. Cost Analysis Comparison: Town v. School e. Review Budget Process/Suggestions for Improvement The Special Town Meeting warrant is going to open on August 14. The public hearing is scheduled for March 27. The Finance committee report is due 6 days later. Dave Passios insists we need to find out how other towns are bringing a budget together in March and April. Evan Watters will request Carter Terenzini give an explanation of his ideas for the budget process. Evan Watters suggests the Committee develop a preferred presentation format that is standardized for each presentation. Tom Gray suggests imposing a time limit for the presentations. 8. Minutes a. 7/25/2024 There was a motion to approve the minutes by Tom Gray, seconded by Jay Simeone. All in favor. 9. Committee Reports Dave Passios states that Green Communities Committee hasn’t met but he did discuss some of the projects they are working on. Evan Watters shared that the Municipal Building Design Committee will have a upcoming meeting. Jay Simeone watched some videos but doesn’t have any updates. Evan Watters attended the last School Committee meeting. An advisor was there to discuss budgeting practices, strategies, and methods. There was a review of a drafted letter to be sent to the Select Board, Town Manager, and the Finance Committee. The letter states that $30,000 to $38,000 Chapter 70 funds were received. This was more than anticipated and the Committee is requesting those funds be used towards the schools. Dave Passios requests that the liaison with the Fire Department have a conversation with the Fire Chief relating to concerns brought forward by the firefighter’s union. There is discourse as to the number of hours and forced work hours. ===PAGE 5=== Dave Passios has a question related to a previously announced meeting between the Chair, Vice Chair and the DPW Director. Dave Passios requests some sort of transcript or synopses of the meeting. Evan Watter states the meeting did not take place and hasn’t been rescheduled but he does confirm a synopsis will be provided to the Committee. 10. Topics for Future Meetings - Interim Town Manager process for budget season - DPW presentation related to Chapter 90 - Invite the treasurer, Myleen Mallari, to the September 12th meeting to discuss investments. 11. Important Dates Aside from the upcoming meetings there are no other important dates. 12. Upcoming Meetings: a. 8/22/24 b. 9/12/24 13. Public Comment Dave Passios states there has been 2 resignations in the past week from the Sewer Department. The Chair, John Reynolds, and the Sewer Commissions Administrative Assistant has resigned. John Bowen, 162 Highland Street, thanked Ana Lockwood for her reminder during public comments. John Bowen suggests looking into a forensic accounting firm that may help direct the financial director with the best investments. Additionally, he requested to have the Cemetery Association of Massachusetts come for a consultation. The consultation would cost $500. Lastly, John Bowen confirms that Chapter 90 funding includes the roads for the cemetery. 14. Adjourn There was a motion to adjourn by Dave Passios, seconded by Tom Gray. All in favor. The meeting closed at 9:52 PM. ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2024-08-22-agenda-6722.txt BOARD : finance-committee DATE : 2024-08-22 KIND : agenda OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/finance-committee/2024-08-22-agenda-6722.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_08222024-6722 ======================================================================================== ===PAGE 1=== Town of Lunenburg Evan Watters, Chair Christopher Menard, Vice-Chair Tiffaney Tavares, Clerk Jay Simeone Thomas Gray Jean Russell Dave Passios Lunenburg Finance Committee Thursday, August 22nd, 2024 7:00 PM Bilotta Meeting Room, Lunenburg Town Hall Agenda 17 Main Street, P.O. Box 135 Lunenburg, MA 01462-0135 978.582.4139 FAX 978.582.4148 Guests: William Bernard – DPW Director; Chuck Patterson and Kathleen Glowacki – Bartholomew In accordance with the requirements of the Open Meeting Law, please be advised that this meeting is being recorded and broadcast over the Lunenburg Public Access channel and on Facebook Live on the Public Access Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/Lunenburg-Public-Access- Cable-157427270975305) and will be uploaded to the Lunenburg Access YouTube channel after the meeting. This meeting will be held in-person at the location provided on this notice. Members of the public are welcome to attend this in-person meeting. Please note that while an option for remote attendance and/or participation is being provided as a courtesy to the public, the meeting will not be suspended or terminated if technological problems interrupt the virtual broadcast, unless otherwise required by law. Members of the public with particular interest in any specific item on this agenda should make plans for in-person vs. virtual attendance accordingly. The following information is provided for members of the public that would like to participate in the meeting remotely: To Participate Remotely: From a computer, please use the link below to join the public meeting webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82195029392. From a telephone, dial the toll-free number (888) 475-4499, enter Webinar ID: 821 9502 9392. If you have not registered with Zoom you will be asked for your name and an e-mail address. Note: No participant ID is needed, just press # when asked. Telephone users may dial *9 to request to speak after joining the meeting. Computer and app users may use the “raise hand” feature to request to speak. This agenda lists all topics which may be discussed at the meeting and are those reasonably anticipated by the Chair. Votes may be taken as a result of these discussions. Not all items listed may in fact be discussed and other items not listed may also be brought up for discussion to the extent permitted by Open Meeting Law. 1. Call to Order 2. Pledge of Allegiance 3. Announcements 4. Public Comment 5. Interim Town Manager Report 6. Finance Director Report 7. New Business a. Investment Strategy Discussion – Bartholomew b. Chapter 90 Presentation/Discussion – DPW Director c. Review Budget Process/Suggestions for Improvement – Interim Town Manager d. DLS Financial Policy Manual Draft 8. Old Business a. Town Manager Search Committee – Update b. Budget Task Force – Update c. Grant Writing Services – Update d. Consolidation of Services/Departments 9. Minutes a. 8/8/24 10. Committee Reports 11. Topics for Future Meetings 12. Important Dates 13. Upcoming Meetings: a. 9/12/24 b. 9/26/24 c. 10/10/24 14. Public Comment 15. Adjourn