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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFinance Comm. 09/16/2021Finance Committee Meeting Minutes September 16, 2021, RECEI�VEOFFICE Present: Mr. Brian Eagle, Chairman; Ms. Sara Walsh, Vice-clftqirRgni @ir.Aah Maly; Mr. Walter Wilk; Mr. Michael DeSantis; Mr. Michael Flaherty; and Mr. Jack Coongy, Clerk C ' -1,SF U ^,r'tktISE! t5 Also Present: Mr. Kevin Dumas, Town Manager and Mr. Barry LaCasse,'Assistant,Town Manager and Finance Director Not Present: None 1. Call the Finance Committee meeting to order and review the agenda Chairman Eagle called the meeting to order at 7:33 p.m. 2. Specific Agenda items- See Minutes summary below • Finance Committee reorganization • Follow up and adoption of FY 2022 Finance Committee goals • Town Manager update on major capital projects, including PFAS treatment and PENTA Communication efforts • Committee and Task Force reports 3. Items not known within 48 hours - None 4. Audience Q&A - None S. Adjourn Motion: To adjourn the Finance Committee meeting of September 16 at 8:51 p.m. (Feely/Cooney) Pass 6:1 John Cooney 12/29/21 Finance Committee Clerk Signature Date - moi„ Minutes Clerk Signature Date Minutes Prepared by Jack Cooney FinCom 9/16 mtq summary: FinCom received an update on efforts connected to economic development and PENTA Communication. We also discussed administration's initial recommendations for use of about 75% of certified free cash at Fall Town Meeting, update on PFAS/Well-Water projects and dissemination of town financial reports. FinCom approved its goals but also stated they are subject to change as necessary. On September 16th the Finance Committee (FinCom) met to receive and discuss updates on financial matters from the Town Manager (TM) and Assistant Town Manager (ATM) and approve its goals. Because not all FinCom Members were present, the group agreed to again postpone voting on Committee leadership. FinCom received an extensive — and very positive — update on economic development efforts and the work being performed by PENTA Communication. At the outset, all sides agreed that finding a way for Penta and the TM to do 1 update to the Select Board, FinCom and other relevant parties would be a more efficient use of time than repeating over multiple meetings. It is something the groups will work on moving forward. Rather than repeat the details (please watch either the FinCom meeting or the 9/15 Select Board meeting for an excellent presentation), I will just highlight a few of the more salient fiscal/economic development items • There is a strong pipeline of incoming and potential business such that the town needs to hire an economic development coordinator to handle (interviews occurring presently) because the TM and other officials cannot manage it on top of their other roles • The new economic Development Coordinator will be included in the next budget (and the Town already set aside funds for paying a new hire before then) and will take the job with strong pipeline, social media presence and established business relationships • Town is equally passionate about existing businesses and continues, through the IDC, to reach out and talk to them on a regular basis • The Cabot Industrial Park is close to almost 100% capacity. We have not seen companies tearing down existing structures to build up (taking advantage of density zoning laws and increasing potential tax revenue), but there have been no additional zoning law changes needed and we heard that companies feel they have the flexibility they currently need. • Per previous FinCom questions, the TM/ATM are tracking revenue drawn from this effort, including total jobs created and increase in personal property tax • Town needs at least a year of analytical data from social media and outreach efforts to allow us to benchmark our efforts The implications from these efforts, including potential new tax revenue, need for new town employees and enhanced budget needs, are such that FinCom will remain involved and continue engagement with the relevant groups to understand short and long term financial and budgetary impact to Mansfield and its residents. FinCom next received an update on the PFAS/Well-Water treatment projects. As a reminder, though the Town approved 1 total borrowing, this effort really represents 4 separate projects squeezed under 1 title. Treatments and construction are being handled separately and, as such, FinCom heard from the TM that it is unclear today whether the initial borrowing will be enough to cover all the costs due to rising construction prices and unforeseen issues. FinCom also learned that infrastructure remedial efforts are lagging as the number of towns seeking to do similar work has clogged the system and delayed our own ability to hire the right resources. All agreed though that the Town did a good job aggressively moving forward and was able to begin efforts before many of our neighbors, likely speeding up our time to completion. At Fall Town meeting, residents will be presented with numerous recommendations on the use of about $3.3M of $4.1 M of certified free cash. Current recommendations were broken down into 4 categories: • Mise funding: setting money aside for 5 and 10 year assessor projects • Short term debt payments: paying off remaining balance on previous borrowings • CIP funding: large capital projects for the town and schools • Town reserve funding: restoring town accounts to pre-Covid recommended levels and initiating funding on school special education stabilization account TM/ATM presented the initial list, including items recommended by the CIP Committee and those consistent with the 2020 Select Board/School Committee/FinCom Memorandum of Understanding. While FinCom had high-level questions and a request for more details on current status and long-term obligations such as Other Post -Employment Benefits, FinCom will be submitting more substantive questions to share with TM/ATM to allow for adequate time to compile answers and hold deeper discussions. FinCom will make recommendations though on the final set of recommended Free Cash uses in advance of Fall Town Meeting. As initially developed in consultation with FinCom, the ATM recently shared town financial reports. Because of pressing time demands this summer, these reports were not shared monthly as originally recommended. The ATM committed to doing so moving forward. In Members' reports on other town boards and committees, we learned the Audit Committee met and started discussing outstanding issues, including on whistleblower/fraud reporting; the Downtown Committee is reviewing new flags; and the Trash Committee will continue meeting. FinCom will next meet in October. date TBD.