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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFinance Comm 04/16/2026Town of Mansfield 6Park iow,AIan#ield,Alar,acbnrells02048 RECEIVE Finance CommitteeTO� l"I Ct-FRKS OFFICE Meeting Minutes April 16. 2026 'n7 p� �� 33 Present: Sara Walsh, Chair, Scott Feely, Vice -Chair; Melinda 76i9�-O�tlf , Cler , Ryan Martin, and Jack Cooney, were present in the Meeting Room 3 A/B at Town Hall. Greta Loukos parYcipal�remaely. Guests: Mallory Aronstein, Town Manager and Nick Monticelli�,f",Ac a tia ir T c Opening Meeting 1. Open Meeting Ms. Walsh called the Finance Committee meeting to order at 6:00 PM. She welcome Mallory Aronstein, Town Manager to her first Finance Committee meeting and asked everyone to introduce themselves. 2. Discussion and Consideration to Approve February 26, 2026 and March 19, 2026 Meeting Minutes Motion: To approve the minutes of the February 26, 2026 and March 19, 2026. (Feely/Cooney) Roll Call Vote: Loukos — Yes Feely — Yes Walsh - Yes Tarsi-Goldfien — Aye Cooney -- Yes Passes 5:0 Financial Updates 3. Review and Discussion of FY 26 Financials Mr. Monticello started with the General Fund — He stated that everything is tracking well in the revenue reports and motor vehicle excise taxes are catching up. Mr. Feely stated that the only line that looks like it will not meet the target is income on investment. Mr. Monticello then went to the expense side and noted that everything is tracking as it should except the large deficit in the snow and ice line. Mr. Monticello then went to the enterprise accounts and there was nothing significant to report on any of them. Mr. Cooney asked about the Parking Enterprise and if the train station was back to pre-COVID levels and Mr. Monticello responded that it was not fully back to that level. He stated that the parking enterprise was at least supporting its own budget and Ms. Aronstein noted that the non- resident parking rate was recently increased which will also help. 4. Review and Discussion of Memo from Town Manager regarding snow and ice deficit and rising fuel costs. Ms. Aronstein stated that the snow and ice deficit was $698,734.57 and they have requested a reimbursement from FEMA but it will take a while for that money to get here. She stated that she has implemented a spending freeze as of April 81h and there is no non mandatory overtime and no ordering office supplies. Mr. Cooney asked if the spending freeze was also happening at the Schools and Mr. Aronstein responded that the schools are not under her purview. Ms. Aronstein then stated that there is also a projected fuel shortfall and so they are watching that closely. She then stated that all positions that become vacant will be paused. Ms. Walsh stated that she saw the Library Director position is open and Ms. Aronstein responded that the position is budgeted and will be filled. Ms. Aronstein also shared a document with Ms. Walsh that will be shared with the Committee. 5. Discussion and Consideration of financial transfer requests Ms. Aronstein explained that this transfer request was for ariel mapping which is something that is used by many departments. She also emphasized that it is important to do this prior to the trees getting their leaves. Motion: To move $31,485 ($6,297 per fund) to 01155200-530000 MIS — Professional/Technical, 60440200-530000 Sewer — Professional/Technical, 61450200-530000 Water — Professional/Technical, 64481200-530000 Parking — Professional/Technical and 65482200-530000 Airport— Professional/Technical. (Feely/Cooney) Roll Call Vote: Loukos— Aye Feely — Yes Walsh - Yes Tarsi-Goldfien — Aye Cooney — Yes Passes 5:0 6. Discussion of Town Green Hours Ms. Aronstein stated that the FY2027 budget includes an extra three hours for the Mansfield Green to open on Mondays. Mr. Feely asked why not Sunday and she responded that Sunday can be more expensive to pay employees but the day could change based on feedback. Ms. Aronstein then stated that they are considering increasing the sticker price. The full cost for Mansfield Green is $122,000 annually including what it costs the Town to dispose of certain items. She stated that are considering charging seniors $5 for a sticker to help reduce the operating costs. Mr. Feely said we should talk about the sticker fee and the option of charging the seniors but he thinks that there will be lots of complaints about that. 7. Discussion of plan for the vacant Finance Director Position Ms. Walsh stated that she heard that Ms. Aronstein was leaving the position of the Finance Director vacant. Ms. Aronstein stated that it was posted and the Select Board had taken the Assistant Town Manager portion out of the job. She felt that the position was diluted by doing that and she felt that she could take on the added responsibilities in tough budget years to save a six -figure salary. She stated that the position is not included in the FY2027 budget but it could potentially be in the FY2028 budget and this will allow her time to figure out what is needed. Mr. Feely stated that the team did a great job in the absence of having someone in the role. Ms. Walsh asked if there were concerns that things could have been missed. Ms. Aronstein stated that she is new so they have met a lot to discuss the budget and Mansfield does do things a little differently. She stated that there is always a concern and will address those should they arise. 8. Review and Discussion of FY 27 Budget Ms. Aronstein went through a spreadsheet (available online) of the cuts that are happening for the FY2027 budget. The cuts in the top half of the spreadsheet are savings from reductions in training, small amounts from expenses and reductions to some salaries. She then directed the Committees attention to the bottom part which is a list of options for the Select Board to consider for additional reductions. She stated that many of the options need to be bargained with the unions like furloughs and reducing Town Hall hours. Ms. Walsh skipped to agenda #11 — Public Comment. 9. Discussion and Consideration of Warrant Articles Ms. Aronstein gave a brief overview and summary of each of the warrant articles for Annual Town Meeting. Mr. Cooney stated that Article 3 the override is still on the warrant and there is no action to be taken but asked if discussion can happen on that item. Ms. Aronstein responded that it was under the purview of the Moderator. Motion: To support Articles 1 and 3 through 23 of the Annual Town Meeting Warrant. (Feely/Tarsi-Goldfien) Roll Call Vote: Loukos—Yes Feely — Yes Walsh - Yes Tarsi-Goldfien — Aye Cooney — Yes Passes 5:0 Motion: To support Article 2 as printed in the Annual Town Meeting Warrant. (Tarsi-Goldfien/Loukos) Roll Call Vote: Loukos—Yes Feely —Yes Walsh - Abstain Tarsi-Goldfien — Aye Cooney — Abstain Passes 3:0:2 10, Discussion of Long -Term Tracking a) Roland Green Building — Ms. Walsh stated that there was an update at the Select Board meeting last night. Ms. Aronstein provided a summary noting that the project is moving forward and the plan is to have the building torn down and the parcel will be divided into three lots that will be sold individually. She stated that there is a walk through on Friday and the medallions and corner stones are going to be preserved. She stated that each lot is estimated to sell for $350,000. There is also a time capsule that is buried on the property but it has not been discovered, and is included as part of the RFP process for them to return the time capsule should it be uncovered. b) Bristol County Pension Contribution — Ms. Walsh stated that they have been talking about this for a long time. Ms. Walsh stated that the Town has been paying a top up contribution and it was expected to be fully paid off by 2028 and that was then extended to 2035. The analysis still shows that Mansfield is only 60% funded. She stated that they want to have a conversation with Bristol County Retirement to see if there could be help and savings by lowering the yearly contribution in these hard financial times. Ms. Aronstein stated that she would reach out to Bristol County Retirement. Public Comment 11. Public Comment Ms. Walsh then handed the meeting over to Mr. Feely the Vice -Chair because she was recusing herself from the conversation, Mr. Cooney also recused himself from the discussion as well. Mr. Scott DuPont came forward and stated that he was the President of the Mansfield Educators Association for the past 15 years and a Mansfield teacher for 27 years. He stated that his job was saved by an override over twenty years ago. He stated today was a hard day and they had to dismiss 22 teachers. Mr. DuPont stated that he was here to represent the 350 members of his union and was willing to stand with the other unions and get the word spread about the need for an override. He stated that teachers should not have to do their jobs with less people and less resources. He noted that teaching today is not like it was years ago and the needs of students has drastically changed. He stated that if the health insurance contribution percentage changes many teachers will continue to work longer so there will not be savings seen. He stated that the cuts that keep getting made feel like someone is just slashing with a machete. Ms. Aronstein asked if she could respond. Mr. Feely allowed her to speak and Ms. Aronstein responded that the cuts that have been made at the Schools were not by her suggestion. Dr. Tarsi-Goldfien commented that communication amongst everyone is going to be the most important thing for FY2028. Mr. DuPont commented that he did not think he needed to advocate for teachers to be in front of students teaching. lie stated that it was a non-negotiable. He also believes this is not just a Mansfield problem and noted that it is a State and Federal level problem. He stated that teachers work hard and they work during the summer, maybe not at the schools but they are working. Ile personally worked up to five jobs. fie also commented that the schools are the pride and joy of Mansfield. Committee Business 12. Discussion of letters to state representatives Ms. Walsh stated that she provided a letter to the state delegation about their not being enough funding to cities and towns. Ms. Aronstein noted that she also has spoken to the state representatives to advocate for more Unrestricted Government Aid. 13. Discussion of Survey Status Dr. Tarsi-Goldfien stated that she can share the survey information with Ms. Aronstein and she can revamp the questions and bring it back in the fall. 14. Committee and Liaison Reassignment Discussion Ms. Walsh stated that the Committee always reorganizes in January, but she thinks it may be important to have new representation on the Budget Subcommittee for the coming year. She thought that maybe Mr. Martin and Dr. Tarsi- Goldfien would like to be on it. Dr. Tarsi-Goldfien confirmed that she would be interested in serving on Budget Subcommittee. Mr. Cooney asked when the Committee would be getting a new member. Ms. Walsh stated that Mr. Flaherty officially submitted a resignation letter and she thanked him for his time and she stated that it is the Select Board who would appoint a new member. Ms. Champagne noted that the vacancy is posted on the website but there have been no applications at this time. 15. Town Meeting Finance Committee Statement There was no discussion on this agenda item. 16. Discussion of May and June Schedule Ms. Walsh stated that Town Meeting is May 5th and the Town Election is May 121h. She then noted that the regular Finance Committee Meetings will be on May 2111 and June 18`n 17. Any items not anticipated by the Chair 48 hours prior to this meeting There were no items. 18. Member Comments Dr. Tarsi-Goldfien stated that she is on the Fiscal Policy Committee of MMA and the legislative analyst asked if Finance Committee members feel it would be helpful to have a commission to review statutory changes regarding how municipalities make investments. She stated that Mr. Martin has brought that up and wanted to know if everyone agrees that would be helpful to which everyone thought it would be helpful. Mr. Cooney asked if the Committee members were going to talk about all of the committees that Finance Committee members participate on and Ms. Walsh responded that she will have it be an agenda item for May and that way there can be discussion and changes to any of the committee assignments. Mr. Cooney thanked Ms. Aronstein for attending. Ms. Walsh hoping collaboration returns amongst everyone. 19. Adjourn Motion: To adjourn the Finance Committee meeting of April 16, 2026 at 8:01PM. (Feely/Cooney) Roll Call Vote: Loukos—Yes Feely — Yes Walsh - Yes Tarsi-Goldfien — Aye Cooney — Yes Passes 5:0 Signa re Minutes prepared by Carrie Champagne 6 j z6 Date