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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFinance Comm. 06/17/2021Finance Committee Meeting Minutes RECEIVED June 17, 2021 �`ARKS OFFICE 1012 FEB 18 A11:3S Present: Mr. Brian Eagle, Chairman; Ms. Sara Walsh, Vice -Chairman; Mr. Scott Feely; Mr. Walter Wilk; Mr. Michael DeSantis; Mr. Michael Flaherty; and Mr. Jack Cogngr(,itk IELD it)SFTTS 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 7:32 p.m. 2. Specific Agenda items -See Minutes summary below - Reserve fund transferrequests - Update and discussion on tax -title property sale, including next steps - Review of FY 21 Fin Com goals and discussion of FY 22 Fin Com goals - Review and vote on Fin Com meeting minutes - Committee updates - Resident questions and comments - Administrative items 3. Items not known within 48 hours None 4. Audience Q&A None Motion: To adjourn the Finance Committee meeting of June 17 at 8:55p.m. (Feely/Cooney) Pass 6:1 John Cooney Finance Committee Clerk Signature Mi tes Clerk Signatur Minutes Prepared by Jack Cooney Fin Com 6/17 mte su 12/28/21 Date Date FinCom approved transfers from reserves to offset funding shortages for veterans' benefits ($15k) and makeup the difference in the salary of the town's new chief assessor ($13k). The Town's tax -title auction resulted in no sales likely due to lack of advertising. FinCom reviewed the process and discussed lessons learned for the next attempt. FinCom Members expressed concern over lack of Audit Committees meetings and will be taking that up with the Select Board/Town Manager. On June 17th the Finance Committee (FinCom) met for its last meeting of FY'21. The Assistant Town Manager (ATM) requested transfers from the FinCom reserves to (1) make up a shortfall in funding for veterans' benefits and (2) shortfall in the salary of the Town's new chief assessor. The Town helps pay for food, shelter, housing and funeral expenses for our benefits. This year we sadly had 2 deaths and unexpectedly added 2 new veterans to our rolls. 75% of those expenses are reimbursed by the state in the following fiscal year's Cherry sheets. This was an easy expense for FinCom to approve. With the retirement of the previous assessor, the Town Manager put in his budget an amount he thought appropriate to cover the salary of her replacement. During the job search, a well-qualified individual applied, but hiring would have to be done at a higher salary. Because of the role's importance, the Town Manager approved the hire and FinCom was requested to make up the salary difference for this year's budget. Moving forward, the correct amount will be budgeted for. There was no disagreement amongst FinCom, though we discussed our role in reviewing/approving salaries for town employees. FinCom has a very limited role, but suggested it should not be presumed we will always approve these types of situation when brought to us after the fact. FinCom has been working with Town Leaders for 3+ yrs on the sale of town owned properties (tax -title). In March, FinCom was told by the Town Manager the auction of 5-6 properties would likely not happen until Fall 2021; in April that timeline was sped up with the auction to occur in mid-May. On May 19th, the auction was conducted by a tax -title attorney following advertisements in the Sun Chronicle, Boston Globe and the Town's website and social media accounts. Only 11 people attended and the minimum bid for each parcel (decided in advance by town leaders) was not met. When asked by FinCom, the ATM said the Fair Market Value of each property had not been determined; instead, a discount was applied to their assessed value and that was used as a minimum price. The ATM told FinCom attendees asked for the minimum bid amounts, but that was not shared. Some attendees left the auction early as well. The ATM was directed to attend another's town's auction to get a sense of what could be done better. Attending Seekonk's, he found the event was run by a professional auctioneer and there had been much wider advertising resulting in over 100 attendees and significant sales. FinCom agreed the failure to advertise in papers and locations that would attract more than local folks, was a key reason behind the lack of success. In addition, the Town should have hired a professional auctioneer to take advantage of their network and ability to alert potential bidders, rather than saving a few dollars by using a tax -title attorney. The ATM agreed that valuable lessons were learned and moving forward will be applied to the next auction. No timeline was discussed for when the Town would try again, but FinCom made clear our support and willingness to transfer funds, if necessary, to address the advertising and auctioneer issues. FinCom had a brief discussion of FY'22 goals. We agreed that goals should flow from the Select Board's focus for the upcoming year while being actionable. While Members will go back and think where we should focus, some early suggestions including regular updates from Penta (Town's Communication consultant) and developing a method for tracking revenue projections and forecasts. 2 FinCom Members agreed to start looking at the later to draft up ideas that FinCom can work with the Town Manager and ATM on. After previous FinCom minutes were approved, 1 other issue was raised by a FinCom Member. The Town Audit Committee has not met in a while and no meeting is currently scheduled. FinCom agreed the Audit Committee plays an important role and lack of meetings could pose a financial risk to the town. The FinCom Chair agreed to reach out to the Select Board for an immediate update.