Selectmen approve robust municipal budget for FY17

Selectmen seized upon the positive news of greater town growth and revenue, and based on a recommendation of the town’s Revenue Committee submitted a municipal budget that is nearly 6 percent above last year’s figure.

The budget vote, which was taken at the end of Tuesday night’s selectmen’s meeting, followed some additional positive news from Finance Director Jim Murgia at the start of the meeting, namely that bond rating agency Standard & Poor’s has reaffirmed the town’s bond rating of AAA — the highest rating a community can receive.

Murgia said S&P based the high rating on the town’s cash reserve level of $12.2 million, which equates to 14.9 percent of the town budget. S&P also noted that property values were strong and have increased by 10 percent from 2014. Murgia said the Finance Committee was planning to add more money to the cash reserves to hit their original 15 percent target, but he added that there is more budget flexibility this year to address various one-time costs. Murgia also reminded selectmen that the high bond rating leads to lower borrowing rates for the town. Selectmen approved a bond note with an interest of 1.34 percent, a bond authorization note with an interest of .61 percent, and refinanced a former bond issue that will save the town $111,000 in debt service costs over the next 10 years.

As a result of the better than expected budget news, selectmen approved an operating budget of $19.05 million for the next fiscal year as recommended by Town Administrator Bill Friel. That figure accounts for roughly $600,000 of the $900,000 in new spending requests from town department heads.

The overall town budget may still be an issue, however, as the FinCom has asked all departments to limit budget increases to 4 percent and the School Committee has already submitted a budget that is 5.6 percent above last year’s level.

In other news:

* Selectmen Chairman John Connolly said that he expects more insurance payments to arrive for damages to Metropolis Rink on top of the $1.8 million check that came a few weeks ago. He also reiterated comments he made to the Citizen recently, noting that the town will work as a partner with the state Department of Conservation and Recreation to build a brand-new ice rink in Canton.

* Selectmen were pleased to announce that Friel has agreed to stay on until the end of the fiscal year (June 30) before he retires. Friel had originally planned to retire in January but agreed to stay on after negotiations broke down between the selectmen and their top choice for the position, Mendon town administrator Kim Newman. Selectman Bob Burr said it is possible that a new candidate could be in place for the May town meeting; however, he said having Friel attend town meeting and be available until June 30 is a great plus for the town.

* Selectmen held a moment of silence in honor of Mark Gibbs, who passed away recently following a sudden illness. He was the husband of Sue Gibbs and former president of the Blue Hills Civic Association …

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Posted by Mike Berger on Mar 10 2016. Filed under News, Town Government. Both comments and pings are currently closed.